After a complicated night, finally Argentina beat Ecuador in the penalty shootout with an Emiliano “Dibu” Martinez once again a figure. It was 1-1 in regular time and 4-2 from the penalty spot for the albiceleste to get their ticket to the semi-finals.
Lionel Messiwho had a difficult match, made a statement and referred to his performance and physical condition: “ I had no discomfort, but I did have psychological fear.“, admitted the 10.
Messi’s statements about his injury
The Argentine star He trained several days separately in the run-up to the match against Ecuador and was a doubt until the last moment. However, Lionel Scaloni decided to put his captain in to face the challenge of the quarter-finals.
“I was trying to get rid of the discomfort I had, the pain, by training little by little, feeling a little scared, but in the end I felt better and felt like I could be“, justified the number 10 in what was the key match for the National Team. However, Messi also admitted that “I had no pain” But yes “I had psychological fear” to aggravate the injury.
In the penalty shootout, the Flea decided to chip his shot, which finally hit the crossbar and ended up going out. Referring to his failed execution, the captain made it clear that he felt “a lot of anger” and explained that he was “convinced to kick it like that“.
What Messi said about Dibu Martínez’s performance
“I knew that the Dibu is always in these moments. He likes it. He grows up. Besides, he is great when he is there in goal during the penalties. It is complicated, he is very fast,” praised Messi to the national team’s goalkeeper, who saved two penalties to help the Albiceleste advance to the next round.
According to the Argentine star, in the run-up to the penalties Martínez “there was a lot of faith“. And then he added: “Even before the games he was joking with the possibility that if there were penalties we would be calm. He always has that in mind.. He likes these moments. It’s not nice to get to this point, but when we get there, we have a little bit of an advantage there.”
Finally, the Flea revealed that they usually practice penalties in training, although he did not respond as he would kick the goalkeeper of the national team in an official match: “I kicked several of them in training. Kicking in training is not the same as kicking in a match or in a defining moment. We know each other very well. We hang out a lot. He helps me and I help him. I’m telling you, in a moment it will be different for the points. I don’t think we will meet again, I think it will be up in the air,” he said.
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.
