Argentina advanced to the semifinals with a stellar performance by “dibu” Martínez

Argentina’s national team advanced to the semifinals of the 2024 Copa América on Thursday after beating Ecuador on penalties with a stellar performance by goalkeeper Emiliano “dibu” Martínez.

The match, which was played at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, ended in a 1-1 tie after 90 minutes of regulation time, so the game went straight to a penalty shootout, where the Albiceleste team won.

Draw at the end

As the match progressed, the southern team looked better than the team led by Lionel Scaloni. However, it was the current champion of America and the world that struck first to take the lead on the scoreboard.

From a corner kick, Lionel Messi sent the ball to the near post, where Alexis Mac Allister headed it back to Lisandro Martínez, who simply pushed the ball in for the 1-0 in the 35th minute.

At 62′ Ecuador had the opportunity to equalize with a penalty after a handball by Rodrigo De Paul in the area. Enner Valencia was in charge of taking the shot, but his low shot hit the post and went wide.

La Tri continued to try to breach Martínez’s goal and it was at 90+1′ when they succeeded. A cross from John Yeboah from the right was headed in by Kevin Rodríguez for 1-1.

The southerners had one more chance to take the win. A cross from the left by Alan Minda was headed by Jordi Caicedo, but the ball went wide of the goal.

Penalties

In the penalty shootout, the already customary show of Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez arrived.

Messi was the first to score for the Albiceleste, but his shot hit the crossbar and went over the goal. However, “Dibu” saved the penalty taken by Ángel Mena to keep everything level.

Then Julián Álvarez executed perfectly for Argentina, while Alan Minda was the victim of a great save from Martínez.

From then on, both teams took advantage of their shots, but it was Nicolás Otamendi’s shot that sealed Argentina’s passage to the semi-finals with a 4-2 victory in the penalty shoot-out.

The current continental champion will find out today its next opponent, which will come from the duel between Venezuela and Canada at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Puerto La Cruz / Javier A. Guaipo