GARY NEVILLE’s criticism of Argentina fired them up for their World Cup semi-final win over England on Wednesday.
Neville branded Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez as the “best worst centre halves in the world” prior to the huge game.
Speaking on The Overlap earlier this week, he said: “They seem to give a goal away between them every single game.
“But you watch them (for Argentina), 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 at times they can be unbelievable but the next, it’s the sublime to the ridiculous.”
He also praised the duo for their elite mentality, highlighting their influence in the knockout stages – particularly the 3-2 comeback win against Egypt last week.
However, Romero took issue with the criticism and hit back at Neville following Argentina’s 2-1 win against England – which sent the nation to a second successive World Cup final.
Asked about the comments from the former Manchester United star following the match, the Tottenham captain said: “Lisandro and me, we were on fire before the game because of what Gary Neville said.
“In England they love to speak before. We send him a big hug… I hope I’ll not be like him when I retire, I will NOT criticise players.
“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.
“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.
“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.”
Martinez went on to add: “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.”
Anthony Gordon fired England into the lead against Argentina in the 55th minute of the match.
However, the Three Lions subsequently sat back and went defensive for the remainder of the game – which invited pressure from the reigning world champions.
Enzo Fernandez eventually equalised with a strike from outside the box in the 85th minute.
And striker Lautaro Martinez scored the winner in added time with a close-range header.