Tottenham defender Cristian Romero of Argentina criticized former Manchester United player Gary Neville for his comments before the England-Argentina match in the 2026 World Cup semi-final.

England were on their way to reaching the final for the first time since 1966 thanks to a goal by Anthony Gordon early in the second half, but Argentina turned the tables and snatched a dramatic win by scoring two goals in the 85th and 90+2 minutes through Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez.

Before the match, Gary Neville mocked Argentina's defense, saying: 'How will we not score two goals against this team with defenders of this level?'

But after the match, Romero responded to Neville, saying: 'Me and Lisandro (Martínez) were very motivated before the match because of what Gary Neville said.'

He added, according to what 'Foot Mercato' reported: 'In England, they like to talk before matches. We send him a big greeting... I hope I'm not like him when I retire, and I will not criticize players.'

England are preparing to face France on early Sunday in the third-place match, after the Roosters' loss to Spain (2-0) in the other semi-final.

On the other side, defending champion Argentina will play on Sunday evening the World Cup final for the second consecutive time against Spain, who have won the World Cup only once in 2010.