The Argentina defender couldn’t resist a swipe at Gary Neville following his country’s 2-1 World Cup semi-final win over England on Wednesday night
When all was said and done, Cristian Romero couldn’t resist.
Having heard the comments from Gary Neville during the World Cup, the Tottenham Hotspur captain had his chance to respond. And he wasn’t going to waste it.
In the bowels of the Mercedes Benz Arena following Argentina’s 2-1 World Cup semi-final win over England, Romero indicated that he and defensive partner Lisandro Martinez, the Manchester United centre-back, had used “stupid” Neville’s comments as motivation to eliminate England.
Former Three Lions defender Neville recently called the duo “best worst centre halves in the world.” He also stated on The Overlap that he expected England to score at least twice in their final four showdown, declaring: “I don’t see how we won’t score at least two goals. Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martínez seem to give away a goal between them in every match.
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“Then you see them again and suddenly they’re scoring goals, winning every header, and appearing everywhere. There’s something that happens to them when they put on that shirt. It’s incredible.
“I call them the best-worst centre-back pairing in the world because at times they are absolutely extraordinary, and the next instant they go from the sublime to the ridiculous.”
Clearly, Romero has been made aware of those comments. Speaking after Argentina’s win, he fired back.
“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,” he told DSports when asked about Neville’s comments.
“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.”
Martinez had his say on the matter too, declaring: “We’re used to people always talking about us. It seems like they like doing it, and we respond on the pitch, that’s it, always with respect.”
Both men were booked in the win over England, but they restricted the Three Lions to just two shots on target and will now line up against European champions Spain in Sunday’s final.
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