Cristian Romero Responds to Gary Neville's Criticism

Cristian Romero didn’t wait long to answer Gary Neville.

As the final whistle went in Atlanta and Argentina booked their place in another World Cup final, the centre-back went looking for the cameras – and for his critics. The celebrations were raw, noisy, defiant. So were his words.

“The only thing that I hope for is that when I retire, I am not that stupid,” Romero told DSports when asked about Neville’s punditry. “Hopefully I won't criticise a player or anyone. 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.”

It was a direct hit aimed squarely at the former Manchester United defender, who had spent the build-up questioning the Romero–Lisandro Martinez partnership on the Overlap Podcast. Neville had branded them “the best, worst centre-half pairing in the world”, accusing the pair of handing opponents chances almost every game, even while admitting their impact all over the pitch.

“They seem to give a goal away between them every single game,” Neville had said. “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.”

Those comments travelled fast. They landed in a dressing room that already thrives on a siege mentality.

Lisandro Martinez was never likely to let it pass.

“We’re used to people always talking about us,” the Manchester United defender said, standing alongside his teammate as the world champions marked another step into history. “It seems like they like doing it, and we respond on the pitch, that's it, always with respect.”

Responding on the pitch is exactly what they did. Argentina had to claw their way back after a second-half strike from Anthony Gordon, the kind of moment that might once have rattled a more fragile side. Instead, Lionel Scaloni’s team tightened up, pushed higher, and turned the semi-final on its head through Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez.

The comeback lit a fire in their coach as well. Scaloni, normally measured, could barely keep his voice steady as he tried to explain what this group keeps producing.

“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 in his post-match 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.”

Arrogance? Scaloni rejected the idea. For him, what the outside world reads as bravado is something else entirely – a bond forged over years, sharpened by criticism, and hardened by nights exactly like this one.

Romero personified that edge from first whistle to last. He snarled through duels, threw himself into blocks, and played the role of emotional barometer. When Argentina scored, he went straight to Jordan Pickford, celebrating in the England goalkeeper’s face. At full-time, he locked eyes with Jude Bellingham, a long, unflinching stare that told its own story.

This is a team that does not just win; it confronts. It answers back. It remembers every slight.

“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, the adrenaline still coursing.

Now comes Spain, a final dripping with narrative. Argentina chase a fourth star, a defence of their crown, another layer to an era already gilded in gold. They will leave Atlanta for New Jersey with their chests out, their critics noted, their circle tighter than ever.

England, beaten again on the biggest stage, are left to pick over the wreckage before a third-place play-off against France. Argentina move on, bristling, unapologetic, one win from another World Cup – and with Romero and Martinez still exactly the kind of defenders nobody can ignore.