Neville and Keane clash over Messi marking debate

Gary Neville and Roy Keane were involved in a heated on-air argument while dissecting England’s heavy World Cup defeat to Argentina.

Thomas Tuchel’s side led through Anthony Gordon, but defensive substitutions left England pinned inside their own box. Argentina then turned the game with a long-range strike from Enzo Fernández and a fine Messi pass that set up Lautaro Martínez.

The discussion on The Overlap centred on whether England should have used a tighter man-marking plan on Lionel Messi. Neville argued that Nico O’Reilly, or another full-back, should have been assigned to stay close to Messi and stop him receiving in dangerous wide areas.

Keane rejected that idea, saying teams have tried similar tactics for years without success. Neville responded that he meant staying alongside Messi, not lunging at him, but Keane insisted football does not work that way.

England found no answer to Messi’s influence as Argentina reached a second straight World Cup final. Tensions were not limited to the studio, either, with Jude Bellingham and Valentín Barco also clashing on the pitch after the final whistle.