Gary Neville has doubled down on his criticism of Cristian Romero after the defender branded him 'stupid' for comments made prior to Argentina's World Cup semi-final win over England. During ITV's World Cup coverage, Neville described Romero and centre-back partner Lisandro Martinez as 'the best worst centre-halves in the world,' remarks that clearly impacted the Argentinian camp.
Neville's Pre-Match Comments
Speaking before the semi-final, Neville said: 'They give goals away constantly, but they don't care about giving goals away because they'll score goals at the other end. And they have massive personalities and they keep going.' He made these remarks after Argentina narrowly avoided upsets against Cape Verde and Egypt before beating Switzerland in extra-time to reach the final four.
Neville added: 'At that point in the game [when Egypt scored their second goal] you think Argentina are holding on for dear life. They're fighting for their lives and Romero is part of that comeback. Why is he there? You always ask the question. Why is Martinez scoring in the last game? They don't give in and they fight, and they fight, and they fight.'
Argentina's Comeback Victory
In a tense semi-final on Wednesday, England took the lead through Anthony Gordon, who directed Morgan Rogers' cross into the net. However, Argentina staged a stunning late fightback, with Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez scoring in the closing stages to secure victory.
After the match, Romero and Martinez gave a joint interview to Argentinian press. Martinez told DSports Argentina: 'We're used to people always talking about us, it seems they just love talking about us. We don't really respond, we just let our play on the pitch do the talking, always with respect.'
Romero's 'Stupid' Remark
Romero fired back at Neville, saying: 'The only thing I hope is that when I retire, I won't be that stupid. Hopefully, down the line, I won't go around criticising players or anyone else. After all, you go out there trying to do your best for your team and your national team, sometimes it works out well, sometimes it doesn't, it's not the end of the world. We're making history here, it's huge for us. We feel the shirt like no one else, and we're really happy to be making history.'
Neville's Response
Neville refused to let Romero have the last word, responding on Sky Sports News: 'Yeah, I said they give goals away and they've conceded six, by the way, in the knockout games, in four matches. If they didn't have Lionel Messi up front… those two should go and hug him every single minute of every single day because he's had to pull them out of the mire. They conceded two against Egypt and two against Cape Verde, one against Switzerland and one against England so they've conceded six goals in the knockout phase.'
He continued: 'I did go on to say that they are incredible – and those were my exact words – and their force of nature of how they try and win their games, they go from the sublime to the ridiculous. Romero played in a team [Tottenham] last year that nearly went down and got relegated in the Premier League, conceding 65 goals, so I think I know what I'm talking about when I watch a player. He's very talented, as is Lisandro Martinez, but they do make mistakes, lots of them, and they have conceded goals. But they are a force of nature, they have incredible personalities, they go and win every header in the attacking box and sometimes in the defensive box and I just see such a contradiction in games. He's relatively young, Romero, he's not an experienced defender yet. He's won a World Cup and he's got incredible achievements. But without Lionel Messi last night and without Lionel Messi in these last two tournaments…'
Messi's Influence
Neville insisted Argentina's victory was largely down to Messi, whom he called a 'genius.' He added: 'We should talk about him because what we saw last night was absolute genius. Argentina didn't win last night because of their centre-backs, they won last night because of their great player who is arguably the greatest player of all time.'
England's Elimination
On England's exit, Neville said: 'I'm disappointed with how it's ended. You obviously get there and think we've got a chance, particularly with five minutes to go and we're 1-0 up. But the reality of it is that some of the same patterns emerged in the game that have hampered England in tournaments gone by over the last 20 or 30 years.' Thomas Tuchel's defensive approach after England took the lead has drawn heavy criticism, with calls for the German to step down. However, the FA is reportedly planning to keep faith with Tuchel, who signed a two-year extension in February, running through to Euro 2028.
Argentina's victory sets up a final against Spain on Sunday, while England faces France in the third-place playoff on Saturday.
