Romero fires back: Neville 'stupid' for criticising Argentina defensive duo

Cristian Romero has hit back at Gary Neville, calling the former Manchester United defender “stupid” for his recent criticism of the Argentina centre-back partnership with Lisandro Martínez. Neville, now a prominent pundit, labelled Romero and Martínez “the best, worst centre-half pairing in the world” ahead of Argentina’s dramatic 2-1 World Cup semi-final victory over England. The remark was made on the Overlap Podcast, where Neville acknowledged their strengths but insisted they also carry a defensive fragility. “The only thing that I hope for is that when I retire, I am not that stupid,” Romero told DSports. “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.” The Tottenham centre-back and his Manchester United counterpart started all but one of Argentina’s matches this summer, helping Lionel Scaloni’s side reach their second consecutive World Cup final. In the semi-final, both were booked, but they limited England to just two shots on target as the defending champions came from behind with late goals. Martínez shrugged off the criticism with a measured response. “We’re used to people always talking about us,” he said. “It seems like they like doing it, and we respond on the pitch, that’s it, always with respect.” Argentina have kept two clean sheets in the six World Cup games where Romero and Martínez started together, conceding six goals overall. They now face Spain in Sunday’s final, while England meet France in the third-place match.