Formless and written off? Warrior Nicolás Otamendi is back from the dead as Argentina’s World Cup rock

No one would have guessed, at the conclusion of Argentina’s 2018 World Cup campaign, that Nicolás Otamendi would still be in the team four-and-a-half years later. He was already 30 years old, and had endured a torrid tournament, failing to keep a single clean sheet as Argentina conceded nine goals in their four matches. Yet here he is, two months short of his 35th birthday, along with Lionel Messi and Nicolás Tagliafico, among the only players who started the round-of-16 game against France in 2018 and Tuesday night’s semi-final against Croatia.

The Benfica centre back has been one of the unexpected stars of the tournament. His young-and-old partnership with 24-year-old Cristian Romero has been the rock upon which Argentina’s success has been founded. Otamendi has