Julian Alvarez and Lionel Messi may have scored the goals as Argentina beat Canada 2-0 in the Copa America semi-final, but special praise was again reserved for Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez.
Aston Villa players have returned to Bodymoor Heath this week, but Unai Emery won’t be able to welcome those still on international duty back for a little while longer.
Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins are both representing England at Euro 2024, with new signing Ian Maatsen yet to feature for England’s semi-final opponents Netherlands this summer.
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Those three players will all be hoping to now emulate their Villa teammate Emi Martinez, who has just helped Argentina to another final having won the last World Cup and Copa America tournaments.
Argentina media praise Emi Martinez despite quiet night v Canada
Argentina do not know their final opponents yet, with Uruguay and Colombia set to play their semi-final in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Remarkably, in the 2-0 win over Canada Martinez kept his fourth clean sheet in five Copa America games this summer.
Martinez is a hero in his homeland after his penalty shootout winning performance in the World Cup final in Qatar two years and his display against Canada has again drawn praise from national media.
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Whilst most Argentinian media noted he had little to do, they were still very complimentary of his role in the victory, with three outlets scoring him a seven out of ten and one an eight.
It was TyC Sports that gave the 31-year-old an eight, saying: ‘He saved two balls that were worth the win. They chanted his name again during the match’.
La Voz echoed this sentiment, commenting: ‘He saved against a post at the end of the first half and another against Tani Oluwaseyi’.
La Selección Argentina were full of praise for the Villa ‘keeper, as they said: ‘The “Dibu” did not have much participation but as always, in the moments where the defence falters or the rival presses the accelerator, he appeared. In one of the last plays of the game, Martínez saved an offensive of the Americans’.
It was La Nation who were most complimentary in their review of Martinez, though, saying: ‘ALWAYS SAVES YOU.
He was not very demanding, but when the national team needed him, he was there. At the end of the first half, when his teammates defended the ball badly, he blocked a shot from two metres away from David.
He appeared again at the end, after another defensive distraction, to save Oluwaseyi’s shot. He celebrated it, because he lives and saves a thousand times, just as his legion of admirers like to’.
Martinez could make history again in Copa America final
Martinez already has one Copa America trophy on his CV, as well as playing a crucial role in helping Argentina win their first World Cup since the days of the legendary Diego Maradona.
The Alibiceleste are currently tied with Uruguay for the most Copa America wins in history with 15, so they now know they will have the chance to make history in the final that will take place in the early hours of Monday morning in UK time.
With Uruguay playing in the other semi-final, it could end up being a straight shootout between the two nations to be the one to claim the record outright.
