“It was an impressive game, we dominated the first 80 minutes, it was the best thing we did in the World Cup, it was to take off the hat how we played the final”declared Martínez to the ESPN Fútbol 90 program.
But “The game took us to penalties, suffering, and when it was all over, we enjoyed twice as much, for the satisfaction and for the work done”said the 25-year-old, who admitted he “didn’t watch the final again.”
The match ended tied 3-3 (two goals from Lionel Messi and Ángel Di María and Kylian Mbappé -3-) and then it was decided on penalties in favor of Argentina by 4 (Messi, Paulo Dybala, Leandro Paredes and Gonzalo Montiel) to 2.
Regarding the injury he suffered in his right ankle, the former Racing Club acknowledged that he played the first matches of the World Cup “infiltrated, I couldn’t kick, my ankle was very inflamed, it didn’t allow me to play comfortably.”
“In Abu Dhabi I spoke with (Lionel) Scaloni, I asked him to rest to recover, in Italy I had already been playing with pain,” admitted the footballer from Bahía Blanca.
“After the first game that I played undercover (the 2-1 loss, with Saudi Arabia in the debut), I was no longer able to train normally,” Martínez declared.
And about his replacement in the post, Julian Alvarezformer River Plate and current Manchester City player, from England, argued that “he did very well”.
Martínez considered that the team was going to be champion in the World Cup despite “having lost to Saudi Arabia” and pointed out: “the team clicked, because the game had not been interpreted well.”
From that defeat – he said- “a different Argentine national team was seen, and then there were six finals”.
As for the coach of the Argentine national team, Lionel Scaloni, the attacker described him as “a simple coach, who tells you things as they are, is frontal and analyzes and prepares the matches very well”.
By lifting the World Cup “I got goosebumps, because it is a trophy with which you will go down in history, it is beautiful to see it shine, I dreamed that the referee would end the game and we could touch it”the attacker said.
“It was incredible” the reception of the Argentine people to the world champions; “It was imaginable, but not that big, it would have been nice to get to the obelisk and greet the people, but we couldn’t continue,” he said.
“I think that for us (as a team) it will be important for Messi to continue”admitted the player, with respect to the statements of the “Flea”, which stated that the one in Qatar was his last World Cup.
Lastly, and considering the future steps, Martínez assured that his objective is to “continue growing” and also fight for the next “Copa América and Copa del Mundo”
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
