adminCristian Romero has pointed the finger at an unexpected figure following England’s dramatic World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina, insisting neither Thomas Tuchel nor Jordan Pickford should shoulder the blame.
Tuchel has faced fierce criticism for his tactical approach after England took the lead through Anthony Gordon early in the second half. As the Three Lions retreated deeper with a series of defensive substitutions, Argentina seized control.
Enzo Fernández levelled the score in the 85th minute with a powerful strike from distance—an effort many believed Pickford could have dealt with. Deep into stoppage time, Lautaro Martínez completed the turnaround with a decisive header.
Despite the scrutiny surrounding Tuchel and Pickford, Romero revealed that former England defender Gary Neville unintentionally inspired Argentina’s defensive pairing. The Tottenham centre-back said he and Lisandro Martínez used Neville’s pre-match comments as extra motivation.
Ahead of the clash, Neville had labelled Romero and Martínez as the “best worst centre-back pairing in the world.” Speaking on The Overlap, he predicted England would score at least twice against Argentina.
“I don’t see how we won’t score at least two goals. Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martínez seem to give away a goal between them in every match,” Neville said.
He continued by praising their unpredictability.
“Then you see them again and suddenly they’re scoring goals, winning every header, and appearing everywhere. There’s something that happens to them when they put on that shirt. It’s incredible. I call them the best-worst centre-back pairing in the world because at times they are absolutely extraordinary, and the next instant they go from the sublime to the ridiculous.”
Romero did not hide his feelings in response.
“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 the players. The only thing that I hope for is that when I retire, I am not that stupid.”
Even so, the majority of England supporters and football pundits have directed their criticism toward Tuchel’s game management. Former England captain Wayne Rooney argued that the manager’s substitutions drained confidence from the players.
“If you’re an attacking player on that pitch and you go 1-0 up and you see the changes which the manager’s making, you’re losing belief. There’s only so many times you can get away with it. Then you start thinking, ‘Oh no, we’re going to sit back for this long, how are we going to get through this?’”
Chris Sutton described Tuchel’s substitutions as a “coaching catastrophe,” while Gary Lineker questioned England’s defensive strategy against Lionel Messi.
“I found it absolutely unfathomable that, if your tactic is to sit everyone deep, you do that against the greatest player ever to play football,” Lineker said.
He added:
“Most goals in the World Cup, most assists in the World Cup. And he moves to the right, and you play a back five, and you still don’t go and get tight to him. Just put someone on him. He had so much space. He just whipped ball after ball after ball into the box.”
England’s collapse has intensified the debate over Tuchel’s tactical decisions, but Romero believes the criticism directed at Argentina before the match only fuelled his side’s determination to reach another World Cup final.
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