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Argentina
goalkeeper, Sergio Romero, is likely to see more action in Saturday’s
quarter-final with Germany than he has in their World Cup matches so
far. Romero, who has conceded two goals in four wins, faces one of the
higher scoring attacks at the finals when they meet in a mouth-watering
clash in Cape Town. The giant 23-year-old knows he must also be
prepared for a penalty shootout which is how Germany eliminated
Argentina in Berlin at the same stage of the 2006 finals.

“We have been
studying the penalties of all players since the World Cup started
because we know that at any moment we might have to face one and you
need to know about the taker,” the 1.92-metre tall Romero said on
Tuesday. In the 2006 quarter-final shootout, Germany goalkeeper Jens
Lehmann benefitted from a crib sheet he had on him with details of
Argentina’s likely penalty takers. Germany won it 4-2. “It was a piece
of cunning by them for the goalkeeper to have a little paper tucked
away to know about the players who were going to shoot,” Romero told a
news conference. “I think that with the work we’re doing we’re ready
for any time in the match, during the 90 minutes or in penalties,” he
said after Monday’s practice at Argentina’s University of Pretoria base.

The threat

Romero said
Germany, who have scored nine goals to Argentina’s 10 in four matches,
have “great forwards and great fighters when they don’t have the ball.
“(Lukas) Podolski has a great shot from distance, he always sets up his
left foot to shoot, (Miroslav) Klose chases every ball, he doesn’t give
any up for lost, (Mesut) Ozil plays very well, he’s technical, they
have tall people who go to all the corners and free kicks.” Romero
believes he is playing behind a very strong defence but he needed left
back Gabriel Heinze’s two clearances off the line to avoid conceding
more goals against the Mexicans in their 3-1 win on Sunday.

“Only two or three balls reach me per match, not more than that, and
I think that means I have a good defence,” said the keeper with the
long ponytail who has won the World Youth Cup and Olympic soccer titles
with Argentina. Romero has been criticised for punching the ball away
at times rather than trying to catch it. “In a match you can’t run any
risks,” he said. “If you have to parry, you parry it, if you have to
catch it you catch it and I think that’s how a goalkeeper gives his
team mates confidence.”