The Aston Villa goalkeeper was barely tested for nearly 90 minutes as Argentina took a two-goal lead before substitute Wout Weghorst produced an incredible Dutch comeback in the quarter-finals.
Argentina were stunned when Weghorst equalized in the 11th minute of added time, forcing an extra 30 minutes to the astonishment of the 88,235 spectators at the Lusail Stadium – almost all of whom cheered on Lionel Messi and his team-mates.
But Martinez seized his chance to be the hero just when it looked like Argentina were in for more ordeal at the World Cup, flying to his right to parry Virgil van Dijk’s opening shot from the penalty spot.
After Messi, who had doubled Argentina’s lead during the game with a penalty, coolly rolled in his team’s first try, Martinez threw to the left to thwart Steven Berghuis.
Enzo Fernandez shot wide and had a chance to win for Argentina, but Lautaro Martinez made no mistake with his subsequent shot and set up a duel with 2018 runners-up Croatia.
“I feel the emotions. What I’m doing, I’m doing for 45 million[Argentinians]going through a bad economic crisis,” Martinez said. “Making people happy is the best thing that’s happened to me at the moment. The guys were tired, I felt like they needed help but there was nothing I could do. Luckily I was able to do it later by saving two penalties .”
The win not only kept Messi’s dream of finally getting his hands on the World Cup alive, but also came just hours after Argentina’s great rivals Brazil were eliminated from the tournament on penalties by the Croatians.
All Argentinian players ran to the fans after the winning penalty, but Messi celebrated alone with Emiliano Mar… https://t.co/kHUmavavrw
— Hamza 🇦🇷 (@lapulgafreak) 1670626194000
At 35, Messi knows this will be his fifth and final World Cup – and a winner’s medal would burnish his legacy as one of them Soccers greatest player of all time and puts him right next to his compatriots Diego Maradona and Pele.
But it could all have been over were it not for Martinez, who also played a starring role in the 2021 Copa America triumph that ended Argentina’s 28-year title drought.
Martinez saved three tries in the semi-final shootout against Colombia before being named goalkeeper of the tournament after keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over hosts Brazil in the final.
“We knew, like he did against Colombia, that he could save some penalties,” said Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni.
Martinez was named goalkeeper of the tournament but it’s been a long and winding road to the top for a player who spent 10 years at Arsenal before finally finding a home.
He conceded five goals in his second appearance for the Gunners in the League Cup, a game best remembered for Arsenal’s comeback after a 7-5 win, four goals behind, at Reading.
Martinez’s time at the Gunners was mainly spent on loan in the English lower leagues and he appeared destined for a career as a journeyman before his Premier League club Aston Villa bought him for an alleged £20million in September 2020 (24, 5 million dollars) bought.
He became Villa’s first choice goalkeeper from the start and was the first choice for Argentina at the end of the season, where he made his debut 10 years after his first call-up.
Over the past year he has established himself as Argentina’s undisputed number one, a dependable presence the Albiceleste sorely missed in Russia four years ago – and one they hope can guide them to a third World Cup.
