Fernando Romero Nuñez Argentina’s men’s national football team nearly had a night to forget in its 2024 Copa América quarterfinals clash against Ecuador on Thursday, as the Albiceleste required another heroic performance by goalkeeper Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez to make it through to the next round.
The Mar del Plata native saved two shots in a penalty shootout to send his team into the semifinals. Now, they await the winner between Venezuela and Canada.
The defending champion never had the game under control, as things were wide open since the start, with both teams going end to end. Argentina was imprecise with its passing, allowing Ecuador to counterattack with balls deep in behind for star striker Enner Valencia to run into.
The talk before the match had been dominated by Lionel Messi’s fitness. The Rosario native had suffered a muscle injury in Argentina’s second match against Chile and was rested in the last group stage game against Peru. Despite being cleared for the game, Messi seemed to miss the spark that usually allows him to leave his imprint on games.
Argentina opened the score at the 34th minute mark when a Messi corner was deflected by midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, allowing defender Lisandro Martínez to head it into an open net.
The goal didn’t change the game, as Ecuador kept pushing using the speed of its attackers. In the 69th minute, a handball by midfielder Rodrigo de Paul allowed La Tri the chance to tie through a penalty. Valencia was the man in charge of the shot but hit the post.
With Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni unable to gain control of the game through substitutions, Ecuador finally got a deserved tie in the 91st minute of added time, when winger Kevin Rodríguez deflected a cross by John Yeboah that slipped past Martínez. With no extra time in the quarters or semis of the competition, the match went straight to a penalty shootout.
Things started uphill for Argentina, as Messi missed his attempt, hitting the bar while attempting to chip the goalkeeper. However, much like he did in the 2021 tournament and during Qatar 2022, “Dibu” Martínez became the hero for the Albiceleste. He saved shots by Ángel Mena and Alan Minda, allowing Argentina to take a commanding lead in the shootout and wrap up a tricky game.
“I didn’t have a fun time this time around,” admitted Scaloni after the game. “Winning like this isn’t fun, but we are happy. Ecuador is a tough team that plays well. If we had been more accurate, we could have scored another in the first half. The second half was more difficult, the match was very rough.”
The Argentina boss added he liked Messi’s game, admitting he was limited by Ecuador’s defensive system, where “there were one or two guys on top of him.”
Martínez credited the Albiceleste fans in the stadium for his heroics. “I energized myself with the fans, because I had them nearby, and my family too.” “Dibu” has saved eight of the 18 penalties he’s faced on shootouts since becoming Argentina goalkeeper, tying Sergio Goycochea’s record.
“I told the guys I wasn’t ready to go home, and they agreed,” he said after the match. “We are World Cup and Copa America winners; the team deserved to advance after preparing for 35 days.”Venezuela and Canada will determine Argentina’s next rival on Friday, when they face off at Texas’ AT&T Stadium at 8 p.m. local time, 10 p.m. Buenos Aires time.