Cristian Romero has taken a swipe at Gary Neville over the pundit’s criticism of him following Argentina’s 2-1 victory over England in the World Cup semi-finals.
The former England right-back labelled Argentina’s Romero and Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez as “the best, worst centre-half pairing in the world” during the build-up to the semi-final in Atlanta.
But the pair, despite picking up yellow cards, defended resolutely, with the champions edging the contest to advance to a second successive final against Spain.
The run to New Jersey adds another famous chapter to the pair’s time together with the Albiceleste, including the 2024 Copa America final victory over Colombia, with the duo at the heart of all but one of their matches this summer, which was the final group stage match against Jordan.
And Romero could not resist a shot at Neville after the match, telling DSports: “The only thing that I hope for is that when I retire, I am not that stupid. Hopefully I won’t criticise a player or anyone.
“Because at the end of the day, we are doing our best for our national team. Sometimes it goes right for us, sometimes badly, but we are just happy to be in a World Cup final again.
“I think we are making history, for us it is something really huge, and we feel the significance of this shirt like no one else.”
Neville was critical of the pair, who have struggled for consistency during their time in the Premier League, despite their quality for Tottenham and Man United.
“They seem to give a goal away between them every single game,” Neville said on the The Overlap ahead of the tie.
“But you watch them (for Argentina), they are scoring goals, heading the ball, they’re literally everywhere — it’s incredible.
“I call them the best, worst centre-half pairing in the world. Because they absolutely at times they can be unbelievable but the next, it’s the sublime to the ridiculous.”
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