In the quarterfinals of the Copa America, Argentina faced Ecuador, facing the World Cup champions, Ecuador showed tenacious tenacity, and finally equalized the score with a goal in the 91st minute when they were one goal behind in the first half. Due to the change of the rules of this Copa America, there is no longer extra time, and in the case of a draw in regular time, it will immediately enter the penalty shootout, and Argentina relied on Martinez's brave play to make two consecutive saves to help Argentina successfully advance to the top four of this Copa America.
The highlight of the penalty shoot-out was Argentina goalkeeper Martinez, who saved penalties from Mena and Minda to seal the win. Another player to watch is Messi, who took the lead in taking a penalty for Argentina, because he pursued too much angle, the ball hit the crossbar and bounced off the field, and Messi also looked very annoyed when he missed the first penalty. Luckily, Martinez saved Messi again, saved Argentina, and he became the most important player in Argentina's qualification process, just as he did in the World Cup final.
On the one hand, although the penalty is the most efficient way to score, there is still the possibility of mistakes, whether it is the brave play of the opponent's goalkeeper, or the pursuit of angle and speed too much, it may lead to the loss of penalties. On the other hand, the age of Messi and Ronaldo cannot be ignored, both are close to 40 years old, and their careers are at the end of their careers, which is much more common than before.
However, Ronaldo still has Costa, Messi also has Martinez, and the two goalkeepers have played the role of "savior", helping Portugal and Argentina to complete the promotion respectively, and are the team's best players. Especially Martinez, judging from the statistics, Martinez faced 24 penalties in the national team, 12 of which blocked the opponent's goal, and the goal conceded rate was only 50%, in 12 saves, 9 of which were successful, 2 missed, 1 hit the crossbar, Martinez is still one of the best save goalkeepers in football.
Compared with other top goalkeepers, Martin is a little late bloomer, having previously served as a substitute goalkeeper at Arsenal for a long time until he joined Villa before becoming the team's main goalkeeper. Last season, Villa played bravely in the league, Martinez's performance is still relatively stable, is the team's main goalkeeper, although there are certain shortcomings in personal physical conditions, but his dominance and passion in the goal-line position is also a point that Villa coach Unai Emery values very much.