Roy Keane Stunned By Neville's Nonsensical Lionel Messi Semi-Final Take

Roy Keane was left flabbergasted by Gary Neville's surreal Lionel Messi take after Argentina stunned England in Wednesday's World Cup semi-final.

1-0 up through Anthony Gordon's 55th-minute opener, England made the bizarre decision not to attack once for the remainder of normal time, inviting a constant wave of Argentine pressure.

Eventually, that would prove as disastrous a strategy as it always seemed destined to, as Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez both scored after the 85th minute to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat for Argentina.

Frustrations boiled over for England at full-time, but they could only have themselves to blame for a shamefully defensive second-half performance.

Strangely, England allowed Messi to have swathes of space in behind throughout the second half, even having dropped back so deep. Ultimately, he would provide the assists for both of Argentina's goals.

The Stick to Football crew dissected the semi-final on Thursday morning, and Gary Neville put forward a bizarre suggestion for how England could have dealt with Messi that was firmly shot down by Roy Keane.

READ HERE: Wayne Rooney Slams Jude Bellingham Quote After England’s Argentina Loss

READ HERE: Thomas Tuchel Not Happy With BBC Interview Questions On England World Cup Collapse

Roy Keane shuts down Gary Neville take

Speaking on Stick to Football, Gary Neville suggested that England should have attempted to man-mark Lionel Messi when they sat back into a defensive shape in the second half of their World Cup semi-final defeat.

For some reason, [Tuchel] didn't just say to Nico O'Reilly, 'I don't care whoever else is inside you, stay with Messi when he drops outside you, do not let him go. Man mark him, and when he comes out here, force him to go back inside.'

If he goes central, he can't cross it. The minute he's out here, he's where [Kevin] De Bruyne, he's where [David] Beckham used to be. He's basically putting them wicked crosses in.

Sitting across the table from him was an absolutely baffled Roy Keane.

The Irishman snapped back at Neville, telling him to listen to himself and trying to explain why the concept of man-marking the greatest footballer of all time was a ludicrous notion.

Keane: "But listen to yourself. Listen to yourself."

Neville: "I-"

Keane: "No. Listen to yourself. Cool your jets."

Neville: "I am cooling my jets."

Keane: "No, you're on about Messi."

Neville: "Roy, how can you not just go and man-mark him in that channel?"

Keane: "Do you not think people have been doing that the last 20 years?! What makes him great? If you were marking Messi, and it was getting towards the end - remember, they scored with five minutes to go - whatever about the 60-odd minutes..."

Neville: "Roy-"

Keane: "No, let me finish this point. Messi crosses. If you go out to him, whether it's O'Reilly or whoever...football's not like that. You can't stand next to people. Do you not think people have tried that?"

At one point, Neville got to his feet to demonstrate exactly what he meant.

That, too, fell on deaf ears, as Keane bluntly pointed out that teams had been trying to man-mark Messi to no avail for years.

"What's happened for the last 20 years?" Keane cried.

"All the great players and coaches have done that. But he'll go, 'You can stand next to me, but I'll do a little shimmy, or I'll move.'"

Roy Keane's rants are infamous, but it's rare enough that we see him this rattled by another member of the Stick to Football team.

Evidently, Keane took plenty of joy in the English meltdown in the aftermath of such a disastrous defeat.

Some in the English media have delivered a remarkable overreaction to the Argentine players flying a 'Malvinas' banner at full-time, suggesting that the Premier League contingent should have their visas revoked.

Meanwhile, the English rugby team received their comeuppance after goading Argentina fans in the main square in Buenos Aires ahead of their Nations Championship game on Saturday evening.

One man who certainly seems to have no problem at all with Argentina's victory is Roy Keane.

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