Argentina defenders respond to Gary Neville's 'stupid' comments after England win

By Oliver Harrington — 16 July 2026 — 3 min read

Argentina’s Victory and Neville’s Critique

Argentina defenders Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez have addressed comments made by Gary Neville following their team’s 2-1 victory over England in the World Cup semi-finals. Neville had previously described the pair as “the best, worst centre-half pairing in the world” ahead of the match in Atlanta.

During the semi-final, England initially took the lead in the 55th minute through Anthony Gordon. The dynamic of the game shifted in the 72nd minute when Ezri Konsa was introduced as a substitute for the goalscorer. Argentina capitalised on this change, with Enzo Fernandez scoring an equaliser in the 85th minute from the edge of the box. The winning goal for Argentina came in added time, a header from Lautaro Martinez.

Neville’s initial remarks about Romero and Martinez were made on The Overlap ahead of the semi-final. He noted their inconsistency in the Premier League despite their quality for Tottenham and Manchester United, stating, “They seem to give a goal away between them every single game.” However, he also acknowledged their strong performances for Argentina, where they are often seen scoring goals and being active across the pitch, describing it as “incredible.”

Following Argentina’s 3-2 win against Egypt, Neville reiterated his assessment on ITV Sport, stating that the pair “give goals away constantly, but they don’t care about giving goals away because they’ll score goals at the other end.” He highlighted their strong personalities and resilience, noting their role in Argentina’s comeback in that match.

Players Respond to Criticism

After the victory against England, both Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez responded to Neville’s earlier criticisms. Speaking to DSports, Romero expressed his hope that he would not be as “stupid” as Neville when he retires. He added, “Hopefully I won’t criticise a player or anyone.”

Romero emphasised the dedication of players to their national team, stating, “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.” He also highlighted the significance of their achievement, saying, “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.”

Lisandro Martinez also commented on the ongoing discussions about their performance. He told DSports Argentina, “We’re used to people always talking about us, it seems they just love talking about us.” Martinez indicated that the players prefer to let their actions on the pitch speak for themselves, adding, “We don’t really respond, we just let our play on the pitch do the talking, always with respect.”

Neville had also commented on Jordan Pickford’s performance during the match, suggesting the Everton goalkeeper should have saved Enzo Fernandez’s equaliser. He stated on the Stick to Football World Cup Watch Party that the shot was “Not gone in the corner, that, he’s got to save that. Got to save it. He’s past it.”

The Argentina duo’s strong defensive display helped secure their team’s place in a second consecutive World Cup final against Spain, adding another significant chapter to their time with the Albiceleste, which includes a 2024 Copa America final victory over Colombia.

Romero and Martinez have been central to nearly all of Argentina’s matches this summer, with the exception of the final group stage match against Jordan.