“I wasn’t ready” – Emiliano Martinez shares his first reaction after Lionel Messi’s missed penalty against Ecuador

Argentina secured their place in the semi-finals of the Copa America 2024 by beating Ecuador. They won the hard way, after a 1-1 draw that took the match straight to penalties, which the world champions managed to pull off with a thrilling 4-2 victory. match Lionel Messi missed the opening penalty. While the latest disappointment sees the captain thrust into the spotlight, the hero of the night, Emiliano Martinez, assured fans they were not ‘go home’ it’s easy.

Reacting to his captain’s failure, the Aston Villa man said: “After Messi missed the first penalty, I told the fans that we are not going home yet. I was not ready to go home, this group deserves to continue.” He assured that Messi is a human being after all and such mistakes can happen even to the greatest of them all. “Leo Messi will always be the best in the world. Anyone can miss a penalty.”

Revealing his secret to making brilliant saves, Martinez added: “I train a lot to be able to do this. I practice about 500 times for penalties. We have to give our best because our fans deserve it.”

(More soon…)