July 07, (THEWILL) – In a repeat of the 2019 Copa America semi-final, Argentina will meet Brazil at this year’s final of the continental competition as Argentina’s keeper, Emiliano Martinez, ensured they sailed through to the final by defeating Colombia in the penalty shootout after the scores remained 1-1 at the end of injury-time.
The Albiceleste had opened the scoring early, with Lionel Messi getting involved, and appeared to be on course to wrap up the match in regulation time but they found the Colombians too resilient and determined enough to find an equaliser at just after the hour mark.
There was nothing of the sort of free rein for the Argentines like they got in the quarter-finals where they cruised past Ecuador 3-0 because the Colombians made them work a lot harder to find spaces to operate and blocked pockets that a player like Messi could exploit with his dizzying runs and looping passes.
However, the end-to-end game in the first half-hour was a thrilling spectacle of football entertainment. Before the game had settled into that pattern, Messi set up Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez for Argentina’s opener after just seven minutes to settle Albiceleste into a comfortable position for the semi-final and it remained so for the rest of the first half.
In a match where both sides could have added to the scoreline but for the woodwork, as Colombia and Argentina struck the bar as the game progressed, Colombia found their equaliser with a quickly taken free-kick that Porto winger Luis Diaz latched onto, raced into the offguard Argentine defense area and hit past Martinez.
It was the last goal of the contest because after a hard-fought and entertaining 90 minutes, the match finished 1-1 as both sides could not find the telling strike to make a difference and the game went straight to a penalty shootout decider.
That was where Martinez earned the title of Argentine hero. He stood between the Colombians and the goal like a gladiator to prevent some of the finest players in the Colombia squad and secure Argentina’s passage to the final with three penalty saves.
It was an emotion-laden occasion just as all determining penalty-kicks are at this stage of every competition. But even with tensions as high as they could be, Messi still found the humour to taunt Colombia’s Everton centre-half Yerry Mina, who was once his team-mate at Barcelona, by shouting “dance now!” after Martinez stopped Mina’s penalty.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper was having the best day of his life in the sky blue and whites of his country’s jersey. Apart from stopping Mina, Martinez also kept penalty-kicks from Boca Junior’s Edwin Cardona and Spurs defender Davinson Sanchez out of the net with strong saves that were incredible to watch.
His antics consisted of trying to distract the Colombian players in the shootout with plenty of talking. With three saves, it is difficult not to think that it appeared to have worked out as effectively as the keeper wanted it to.
As destined as Martinez being in the post on Wednesday morning to take Argentina to the final appeared to be, the former Arsenal keeper may have not been between the sticks for the Albiceleste at all if first choice keeper, River Plate’s Franco Armani, had not tested positive for coronavirus.
That singular occurrence allowed Martinez, who made his international debut in the June 3 World Cup qualifier against Chile to perform such incredible feats and see Messi get another shot at a national honour for his country before he is out of time.
The story is similar to how Martinez came to prominence at the north London English Premier League side Arsenal in the first place. After a decade at the Emirates as the reserve goalkeeper, Martinez’s time to prove himself finally came with a longer-term injury to German squad keeper Bernd Leno on June 20, 2020.
Martinez did that and creditably too such that it was a fiesty debate in the Arsenal fan base about who to continue with in front of goal for the Gunners team when Leno returned to full fitness. With the decision of Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, to stick with Leno and keep Martinez in the reserves, the Argentine saw an opportunity to be first choice keeper at Villa and jumped on it for a transfer.
The 28-year-old completed the move on September 16 last year in a £20 million deal for a four-year contract. His penalty-saving skills were immediately on display in his September 21 debut as Martinez saved a John Lundstram spot-kick to allow Villa defeat Sheffield United by a lone goal.
He completely made a difference to the season for his new club at Villa Park. It was obvious to the Premiership what a solid keeper he was especially as he equalled Brad Friedel’s club record for clean sheets in a season with 15 games without conceding. He was recognised for his performance by fans who voted him the Aston Villa Supporters’ Player of the Season.
As Martinez helped Arsenal defeat Frank Lampard’s Chelsea to win their 14th FA Cup on August 1, 2020, where a visibly touched Martinez was in tears at their accomplishment with his crucial saves bringing it about, Argentines will be hoping he will have tears of joy on Sunday, July 11 when they play the final, beat arch-rivals Brazil and lift the Copa America trophy.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
