Gary Neville says Tottenham have one of the ‘best worst centre-backs in the world’

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Gary Neville has showered praise on Cristian Romero, but not for the Tottenham captain’s defensive attributes.

Argentina produced one of the finest comebacks in World Cup history as they fought back from 2-0 down to beat Egypt 3-2, with all three of their goals coming in a 14-minute spell towards the end of the game, leaving the North African side shell-shocked.

Romero was in the thick of the action as usual, with the Tottenham Hotspur man starting the turnaround with his header in the 79th minute.

It is the 28-year-old’s second goal of the tournament, and his attacking instincts have left Gary Neville thoroughly impressed.

Gary Neville applauds fighting spirit of Tottenham’s Cristian Romero

Neville praised Argentina’s centre-back pair, Romero and Lisandro Martinez, for the fight they show throughout the 90 minutes.

The Man Utd legend described the pair as the ‘best worst centre-backs in the world’, noting their tendency to concede cheap goals but their character to make decisive contributions at the other end of the pitch.

Speaking after the World champions’ dramatic win at the Atlanta Stadium, Neville told ITV’s post-match coverage: “You watch [Cristian] Romero and [Lisandro] Martinez, and they’re the best ‘worst centre-halves’ in the world.

“You watch them, they give goals away constantly. But they don’t care about giving goals away because they’ll score goals at the other end. They have massive personalities and they keep going.

“Look, at that point in the game, you think Argentina are hanging on for dear life. They’re fighting for their lives and Romero is part of that comeback, you know what I mean? Why is he there?

“You always ask the questions: ‘why is Martinez scoring in the last game? Why is Romero scoring there?’ Because they don’t give in and they fight, and they fight, and they fight.”

Spurs fans are certainly aware of the quality Romero possesses in the attacking third, with the centre-back having scored six goals and provided four assists for the Lilywhites last season.

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