Romero taunts 'stupid' Neville after Argentina edge England 2-1 in Atlanta

Cristian Romero publicly mocked Gary Neville after Argentina defeated England 2-1 in Atlanta, saying the Sky Sports pundit’s pre-match comments had fired up both him and Lisandro Martínez ahead of the contest.

Neville had labelled the Tottenham defender and his Manchester United counterpart “the best worst centre halves in the world”, predicting England would score at least twice because the pair “give away a goal between them in every match”. He acknowledged their inconsistency, noting they could swing “from the sublime to the ridiculous” within the same game.

Romero was in no mood to let those words pass after the final whistle. “Licha and I were fired up before the game because of Gary Neville’s comments,” he said. “In England, they love talking before the games. I hope that when I retire, I’m not as stupid as him. I won’t criticise players.”

In the event, neither Romero nor Martínez gave England much to work with. Harry Kane struggled to make an impact against the pair, and England’s own approach after taking the lead through Anthony Gordon proved costly.

“Once we went 1-0 up, we seemed to just try to hold on, which at this level isn’t enough,” Kane said. “After the goal, whether it was because they were pushing more men forward or because we couldn’t match them individually, it was wave after wave, and we were trying to hold on. But in the end, it just wasn’t enough.”

Kane added that the message in the dressing room had been to keep attacking after Gordon’s opener, but Argentina’s two-goal response left England chasing the game. “Once they scored their two goals, the objective was to find something, but we could have regained control of the game,” the England captain said.

The result underlines the enduring quality of Argentina’s central defensive partnership, whatever doubts outside observers may carry into a fixture. For Romero, the satisfaction of proving Neville wrong appeared to matter almost as much as the result itself.