MARTINEZ PENALTY HEROICS SEND ARGENTINA INTO COPA AMERICA SEMIS
Emi Martinez once again performed penalty shootout heroics to help defending champions Argentina seal their place in the Copa America semi-finals.
The Villa keeper saved the first two spot-kicks as Argentina overcame Ecuador 4-2 on penalties after the game finished 1-1 after normal time on Thursday.
This was not the first time Emi Martinez has been the defining figure in a shootout, famously for his country in the World Cup final against France in 2022 and more recently for Villa in the Europa Conference League against Lille.
"I told the boys I wasn’t ready to go home - they weren’t either," Martinez said. "We are champions of the world and this team deserved to go on."
Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni also credited Martinez for his contribution to the win, saying: "Our goalkeeper came up clutch."
2024-07-05T09:49:34Z dg43tfdfdgfd