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England faced World Cup heartbreak yet again after Argentina scored two late goals within six minutes to secure their place in the final
09:40, Thu, Jul 16, 2026 Updated: 09:57, Thu, Jul 16, 2026
Gary Neville criticised two Argentinian players before the match yesterday (Image: Getty)
An Argentinian footballer branded Gary Neville "stupid" in an explosive rant after England's devastating defeat in the semi final last night. In the run up to Wednesday's match, Neville questioned the defensive capabilities of centre backs Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martínez, dubbing their capabilities "sublime to ridiculous".
The former Manchester United star said the pair - who play for Tottenham and Manchester United - were the "best-worst" central defensive duo in the world who lack consistency, flip-flopping between conceding goals to scoring them. He said: "I do not see any way we won't score at least two goals against Argentina. I call them the best-worst central defensive duo in the world." He continued: "They go from the sublime to the ridiculous.... You've got Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martínez who seem to give away a goal between them per game.
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Cristian Romero branded Gary Neville 'stupid' (Image: Getty)
"Then you see them again and it turns out they're scoring goals, winning all the headers and popping up everywhere."
However, Romero blasted the former English defender with a savage response while speaking to Latin American sports broadcaster DSports after the game.
Romero said: "Neville? I hope when I retire [I'm] not so stupid. Licha [Lisandro] and I were angry. In England they like to talk a lot before matches. We send them our best regards."
The World Cup ended in heartbreak again for England, who were leading 1-0 until the 85th minute when Argentina's Enzo Fernández scored a late equalizer. Six minutes later, Lautaro Martínez's injury-time header ended England's journey.
Argentina scored two goals in the last 6 minutes (Image: Getty)
The tense game was shrouded in controversy after Argentinian players held a banner that read "Las Malvinas son Argentinas"in the middle of the pitch following the match, which translates to "The Falkland Islands are Argentinian".
Business Secretary Peter Kyle slammed the demonstration, telling Sky News that it was "entirely inappropriate" and that it was now in the hands of FIFA.
He said: "Politics should stay away from football. That is a very clear principle of the World Cup, but any consequences that come from that is now a decision for FIFA."
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