Cristian Romero did not wait long to answer Gary Neville. After Argentina's semi-final win over England, the Tottenham's defender called Neville's criticism of his partnership with Lisandro Martínez "stupid", after the former England defender had described them as "the best, worst centre-half pairing in the world".

Both centre-backs then doubled down on the same point. They said they were used to people talking about them and that the response would come on the pitch, not in a back-and-forth in public.

Neville's criticism and Romero's reply

Neville had said the pair seemed to give a goal away "between them every single game" and later summed them up as "the best, worst centre-half pairing in the world". Romero's answer was blunt. "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 said.

There was no attempt to smooth it over. Romero also said Argentina were doing their best for the national team and that he and Martinez were simply happy to be in a World Cup final again. Martinez was even calmer: "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."

Argentina's run gives the pair their backing

The noise around the row lands differently because of what Argentina have just done. They came from behind to beat England in Wednesday's feisty semi-final in Atlanta and reach their second successive World Cup final. Both Romero and Martinez were booked in that match, which fitted the edge of the evening and the tone of the argument around them.

The partnership has also been central to the run. Romero has made 6 World Cup appearances and logged 557 minutes. Martinez has 6 appearances too, with 607 minutes. Argentina have started both of them in all but one of their World Cup games this summer, and when they have started together the team have kept two clean sheets in six games and conceded six goals.

That does not make Neville's criticism vanish, but it does make the response easier to understand. Romero and Martinez have been on the pitch for almost the whole tournament, and Argentina are still here with one game left.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →