Argentina's formidable defender, Cristian Romero, has publicly dismissed Gary Neville's recent critique of his partnership with Lisandro Martinez as 'stupid', following the defending champions' dramatic 2-1 World Cup semi-final victory over England.
In the lead-up to the feisty last-four encounter in Atlanta, former Manchester United defender and prominent pundit, Gary Neville, had characterised the centre-back pairing as "the best, worst centre-half pairing in the world." Despite both Romero and Martinez, aged 28, receiving bookings during Wednesday's spirited clash, their defensive efforts were instrumental in limiting England to a mere two shots on target, as Lionel Scaloni's side orchestrated a comeback with decisive late goals.
Speaking to DSports, Tottenham defender Romero, who boasts 57 caps for Argentina, addressed Neville's punditry directly. "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," Romero stated. He elaborated on the dedication of the squad: "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."
Manchester United defender Martinez echoed a similar sentiment of resilience, explaining, "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."
Romero and Martinez have been pivotal to Argentina's journey this summer, starting all but one of their World Cup games. The duo has contributed to two clean sheets across the six matches they've started together, with the team conceding a total of six goals during that period, as they steered Scaloni's squad to their second successive World Cup final.
Neville, an 85-cap England international who works for ITV and Sky, had expanded on his assessment of the pair on the Overlap Podcast. "They seem to give a goal away between them every single game," he commented. However, he also acknowledged their dynamic play: "But you watch them, 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 can be unbelievable, but the next, it's the sublime to the ridiculous."
Argentina now prepares to face Spain in Sunday's World Cup final at 20:00 BST, vying for their fourth tournament title, while England is set to play France in Saturday's third-place match at 22:00.