Cristian Romero has fired back at Gary Neville after helping Argentina beat England 2-1 and reach the FIFA World Cup final.
The Argentina defender criticised the former England international for his comments about Argentina’s central defensive partnership with Lisandro Martinez.
Before the semifinal, Neville described Romero and Martinez as “the best, worst centre half pairing in the world.”
The pair responded with a solid performance as Argentina limited England to only two shots on target before completing a dramatic late comeback.
After the match, Romero did not hide his feelings.
“The only thing that I hope for is that when I retire, I am not that stupid,” Romero said.
“Hopefully I won’t criticise a player or anyone. 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 defender said reaching another World Cup final is a special achievement for the squad.
“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.”
Romero and Martinez have been first choice defenders throughout the tournament. They have started all but one of Argentina’s matches as Lionel Scaloni’s side reached a second straight World Cup final.
Manchester United defender Martinez also responded to Neville’s remarks.
“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’s defence has been one of the key reasons behind the team’s success. Romero and Martinez have helped keep two clean sheets in the matches they have started together while guiding the defending champions into another final.
Argentina will now face Spain on Sunday as they try to win a fourth World Cup title. England will take on France in the third place playoff.
