Cristian Romero Responds to Gary Neville's Criticism After World Cup Semi-Final Win

Cristian Romero didn’t wait long to answer Gary Neville. He did it the way defenders enjoy most: after a win, with a World Cup final booked, and a microphone in his face.

The Argentina centre-back, targeted for weeks in English punditry circles, used the semi-final triumph in Atlanta as his stage. Neville had questioned the reliability of the Romero–Lisandro Martinez partnership, branding them “the best, worst centre-half pairing in the world” on the Overlap Podcast – brilliant one minute, chaotic the next. It was a line that stuck.

Romero had clearly heard every word.

“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 after the game, the adrenaline still coursing. “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.”

That wasn’t a passing remark. It was a pointed response from a defender who has carried Argentina’s edge all tournament. Neville’s assessment – that Romero and Martinez “seem to give a goal away between them every single game” while also being “literally everywhere” – captured the chaos of their style. Argentina’s players heard the criticism. They chose to turn it into fuel.

Martinez, never one to shrink from a confrontation on or off the pitch, backed his partner without hesitation. The Manchester United defender knows the Premier League noise better than most.

“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,” he said amid the celebrations, the words underlining a dressing room that has grown comfortable living under the microscope.

That defiance runs straight through Lionel Scaloni’s squad. It is not arrogance, the coach insists. It is a pact.

In Atlanta, they needed every ounce of it. Argentina had to claw their way back after a second-half strike from Anthony Gordon, England’s bright spark on a brutal night. The response was ruthless: Enzo Fernandez dragged them level, Lautaro Martinez drove them through. When the final whistle went, the World Cup holders had turned another tight knockout game into another statement.

Scaloni could barely get his words out.

“My voice is breaking because this is a demonstration of so many things: team spirit, brotherhood, never giving up, fighting until the very end,” he said afterwards, visibly moved in his press conference. “After this, we're going to win the final, but what more does this team have to do? They have moved me deeply. I don't have much more to say; it's all thanks to them.”

On the pitch, Romero embodied that emotion. He celebrated in the face of Jordan Pickford, relishing every duel, every clearance, every English misstep. At full-time he locked eyes with Jude Bellingham, refusing to look away. No words needed. This is a defender who plays on the edge and has no interest in stepping back from it.

That edge has become Argentina’s identity under Scaloni. A group forged in pressure, hardened by criticism, and now one win away from another star on the shirt. The “best, worst” label might amuse the neutral, but inside this camp it has become something else: a challenge.

“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 said, his voice cutting through the noise of a jubilant dressing room.

Next stop: New Jersey. A final against Spain, a chance to defend their crown and lift a fourth World Cup. While Argentina pack for another showpiece, England are left to pick through another chapter of tournament heartbreak before a third-place play-off with France.

Romero, Martinez and the rest of this snarling, unshakeable back line will not care who talks about them now. The only verdict that matters comes on Sunday.