Argentina's Cristian Romero has reacted strongly to Gary Neville's commentary on the centre-back partnership he shares with Lisandro Martinez. After Argentina defeated England 2-1 in a World Cup semi-final on Wednesday, with both defenders receiving yellow cards, Romero characterised Neville's assessment of their pairing as 'stupid.' Romero expressed his position firmly, stating that he and Martinez are giving their utmost efforts for Argentina and questioning why such criticism should be levelled at players performing their national duty.

The former England defender had previously offered a mixed evaluation of Romero and Martinez, calling them 'the best, worst centre-half pairing in the world' due to their combination of offensive contributions and defensive lapses. When both players have started matches together during this World Cup, Argentina has recorded two clean sheets across six games whilst allowing six goals in total. Martinez acknowledged the persistent commentary surrounding their performances but indicated a preference for responding through on-field displays rather than words. Argentina will contest the World Cup final against Spain on Sunday.