Cristian Romero Hits Back at Gary Neville After Argentina Beat England
Cristian “Cuti” Romero fired back at Gary Neville after Argentina’s victory over England, saying the former Manchester United defender’s pre-match comments motivated the team to perform with even greater determination.
Before the World Cup semi-final, Neville questioned Argentina’s central defensive pairing of Romero and Lisandro Martínez. Confident England would score, he claimed, “I do not see any way we won’t score at least two goals against Argentina.”
Neville also described Romero and Martínez as “the best-worst central defensive duo in the world,” adding that the pair “go from the sublime to the ridiculous” and appeared to “give away a goal between them per game.”
However, Argentina’s defence stood firm as Lionel Scaloni’s side secured a place in the World Cup final, leaving Neville’s prediction well wide of the mark.
Speaking after the match, Romero admitted the criticism became extra motivation for the squad.
“We played today with a bit more anger because of that… Send Neville a big hug!” Romero said.
The Tottenham defender then took another swipe at the English pundit, adding:
I just hope that when I retire, I’m not as misguided as Gary Neville. I won’t criticize players.
Romero and Martínez produced a disciplined defensive display, helping Argentina keep England’s attack under control throughout the match. Their performance has been widely praised after being questioned in the build-up to the semi-final.
The exchange has quickly become one of the major talking points following Argentina’s victory, with fans on social media reacting to Romero’s blunt response and celebrating the defender’s passionate defence of his teammates.
Argentina will now turn their attention to the World Cup final, while Romero’s comments ensure Neville’s pre-match criticism will remain a memorable subplot of the semi-final.
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