Player ratings: Martinez excels on penalties in Argentina win
Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was the main player when he came on time during a shootout penalty Argentina beat Ecuador to reach the finals in the Copa America.
By Luis Miguel Echegaray
Jul 05, 2024 04:04 AM
HOUSTON, Texas — On America’s Independence Day, Lionel Messi and Argentina wanted to set off the fireworks for their fans with a quarterfinal win, but once again, just like the 2022 World Cup final, it was their goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez , who took the role of hero as his two massive saves helped his team beat Ecuador in a dramatic penalty shootout , securing a place in the semifinals of the Copa América on Thursday night.
After being unable to play Argentina’s final group stage game with Peru because of a muscular injury Messi was able to return to his starting line-up, and helped lead the current World Cup and Copa America champions to victory against their South American rivals in a physically demanding match due to a muscle injury in Houston. It wasn’t an easy game for Argentina but, despite their dominance it was a time that Ecuador ought to have gained advantage.
The first half of the match was controlled by La Tricolor in the beginning as their left-hand side was pushed by Argentina’s backline constantly, taking Full-back Nahuel Molina off guard. In reality there was a time when it took a superb save by Martinez (from Jeremy Sarmiento) to keep the game scoreless.
Apart from one great drive and cross in the initial twenty minutes Messi seemed to remain silent for the first 30 minutes. Argentina like most teams took a bit of time to start however, the more the first half progressed and the more used they were to Ecuador’s midblock and later, when Ecuador played man-to-man, Argentina was able to catch up.
Enzo Fernandez‘s blocked effort following a counter-attacking game resulted in a corner and this is how the opener began itself. Messi’s cross was spotted by Liverpool‘s Alexis Mac Allister inside the box. He whipped the ball towards the post. He then found an unguarded Lisandro Martinez and the Manchester United defender was waiting to strike. Argentina scored the first goal when they entered the break.
The second period was filled with excitement as Ecuador was awarded a penalty following Rodrigo De Paul‘s hand was caught in the box. It was the perfect opportunity for the team of Felix Sanchez Bas to level the score. But, Enner Valencia‘s poor penalty ruined Martinez’s and Argentina’s ongoing quest to keep the score clean throughout the entire season. The situation changed rapidly when Ecuador was equalized in stoppage-time because of Kevin Rodriguez, which led to an epic penalty shootout.
That’s the place Dibu was once was once more, stood for his team, particularly following Messi missed his panenka goal. It was the Aston Villa stopper who has proven important in these scenarios in the past, both in Copa America and the World Cup has produced two massive chances. His teammates took care of the rest of the work with spot kicks and, ultimately, Argentina came out victorious.
It is clear that coach Lionel Scaloni will probably leave this match with a sense of prudence as he realized his team was allowing too many chances and were not very imposing in the forward. In reality, Ecuador should have won the game in just 90 minutes. There’s a lot for Scaloni think about.
However, that’s another day. A final four place is awaiting The Albiceleste. They’ll now play who will win Venezuela as well as Canada.
MANAGER RATING (1-10)
Lionel Scaloni, 5 -5 – Changes were made a bit too late and, even after the team had entered the game, Scaloni struggled to motivate his team to take on an extremely fast, physical and forward-thinking Ecuadorian midfield, specifically Moises Caicedo who was everywhere. Argentina triumphed but it wasn’t an easy feat, and certainly not due to the decisions of Scaloni.
PLAYER RATINGS (1-10; 10: best. The first time a player is introduced, they get no ratings)
GK Emiliano Martinez 9 -9 –A huge stop in the 14th minutes by Jeremy Sarmiento and made himself large — physically and mentally — after the missed penalty by Valencia. And then, another amazing shooting performance, with two huge saves. At the moment Messi is the most important player in Argentina. And I am including Messi.
DFA Nahuel Molina 6 -6 –Not an ideal start in the opening half, getting disengaged from his defensive duties while Ecuador’s left team continued to push forward the lines. However, as the game progressed the player became active in forward thinking game helping the wide areas of Argentina.
CSS0_ Cristian Romero 6 An average performance by Cuti that started with a penalty against Valencia, to show his presence. In the end, he did a decent job however, not as spectacular like he is usually.
F Lisandro Martinez 7 -7 –A fantastic game. He scored his first ever goal for Argentina due to his head attempt in the opening half. The goal was scored in the 78th minute.
DF Nicolas Tagliafico 6 — Relatively calm game, in which the focus was on the defensive aspect in his play. Good tackles and runs during the second half.
MF Enzo Fernandez 5, 5 -5 – A half-decent header during the first half, and a second in the 35th minute when Argentina tried to counter, but it struck the defense. Overall, he struggled to keep his head in place and was overshadowed in the first half by Chelsea teammates Caicedo.
MP Alexis Mac Allister 7, 7 -7 – He was able to clean up a number of mistakes made by Argentina’s midfield during the first half as well as it was his swoop from Messi’s corner that led to the goal for Licha Martinez. The penalty was converted.
The MF Rodrigo De Paul 6 -6 – An uncharacteristic beginning to the game. was a victim of Ecuador’s midfielder, which was the error which resulted in the penalty. He improved in the second half however, overall an average performance.
FM Nicolas Gonzalez: 7-7- An excellent change in his Fiorentina player who used to travel across the field from the left side. He never stopped running and was relentless in getting each ball.
F Lionel Messi: 5 -5 –One good run, an unintentional cross as well as a superb shot to Fernandez at the start of the half, after not getting many chances but he didn’t have the same space to play with his teammates. His corner provided the setting that led to the final goal but. His presence was evidently still significant, however he was searching for his first goal of the competition. Panenka was not scored in the shootout. Messi also recorded 32 ball touch-ups against Ecuador according to Opta the match report. These were the fewest he had in a 90-minute game for Argentina since 2011.
FW Lautaro Martinez 5 -5 – After an exciting start to the tournament the game was quiet match to Martinez, the Internazionale guy. A lot of plays that didn’t seem to make any difference. Replacing Julian Alvarez in the 64th minute.
SUBSTITUTES
F.W. Julian Alvarez: 6 -6 –A effective cameo appearance, mainly in the role of pressing and running for Messi. He attempted a half-attack to come on. The penalty was converted.
DF Nicolas Otamendi, N/A
MF Giovani Lo Celso, N/A
DF Gonzalo Montiel, N/A — Converted his penalty.