‘I wasn’t ready to go home,’ says Argentina’s Copa shoot-out hero Emiliano Martinez

HOUSTON – Emiliano Martinez said he “wasn’t ready to go home” after becoming Argentina’s saviour in their Copa America shoot-out win over Ecuador on July 4, saving two spot kicks and picking his team up off the floor after captain Lionel Messi had missed the first penalty.

The clash went to penalties after Kevin Rodriguez’s stoppage-time leveller for Ecuador cancelled out Lisandro Martinez’s first-half opener.

After the quarter-final ended 1-1, Martinez’s saves from Angel Mena and Alan Minda put Ecuador on the back foot at the NRG Stadium in Houston and set the platform for defending champions Argentina to win 4-2 on penalties.

The Aston Villa goalkeeper had pumped up the crowd earlier when Ecuador skipper Enner Valencia missed a second-half penalty, and the 31-year-old said he made it clear to his teammates before the shoot-out that defeat was not an option.

“I told the boys I wasn’t ready to go home. They weren’t either,” added Martinez, after being named Player of the Match.

“We are champions of the world and of (South) America, this team deserved to go on.

“I got a bit carried away by the crowd, because we had the Argentinians here and also my family nearby.

“We didn’t give the game that people wanted to see, but in the end we won.”

Martinez had every right to be confident in the shoot-out.

He has now won all four he has been involved in with Argentina – including the 2022 World Cup final, where they beat France.

“I work for that, I throw myself 500 times a day in training,” Martinez added.

“I try to be at my best level for the national team because the country deserves it, the people who spend their money to come and watch us.”

Rodrigo de Paul said his teammate deserved the plaudits after another stellar performance in a shoot-out.

“Dibu is an animal. The truth is that what he’s doing is crazy, he deserves it. He loves wearing these colours,” de Paul said.

“He gives us a lot of security and peace of mind. We try to do the same for him, but in these important moments, he is always there.”

Martinez has established such a rapport with the Argentinian team, and produced such vital saves from the spot and in open play, that coach Lionel Scaloni said he had ensured an ultra-confident mood for his teammates in the shoot-out.

“In the penalties I think the team felt a blind trust in their goalkeeper and for us that is fundamental. Even if Leo missed, I think the team knew that something positive was going to happen. That is so important,” he said.

Argentina will face either Canada or Venezuela in the semi-finals as they look to claim a record 16th Copa title.

Meanwhile, the Ecuador Football Federation announced their Spanish coach Felix Sanchez was leaving the team, just a few hours after the defeat.

The 48-year-old worked as a youth coach with Barcelona in his homeland before moving to Qatar, where he led the national team to the Asian Cup title in 2019.

He signed a four-year deal with Ecuador in March 2023 and his team lie fifth in South American World Cup qualifying. REUTERS, AFP