“We have an animal in goal” - Rodrigo De Paul reacts to Emi Martinez heroics as Argentina beat Ecuador on penalties in Copa America
Argentina midfielder Rodrigo De Paul hailed goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez for his heroics in their penalty shootout win over Ecuador at the 2024 Copa America on Thursday, July 4. La Albiceleste prevailed 4-2 on penalties at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, despite skipper Lionel Messi missing his chance from the spot.
Ecuador had an early advantage in the shootouts, but Angel Mena and Alan Minda saw their spot-kicks saved by Martinez. On both occasions, the Aston Villa star guessed the right way to parry their efforts away, putting Argentina back in the driving seat.
Argentina's Julian Alvarez, Alexis Mac Allister, Gonzalo Montiel, and Nicolas Otamendi buried their penalties as the reigning champions prevailed to reach the semi-finals.
De Paul, who played the entirety of their game, heaped praise on Martinez after the match by calling him an 'animal'.
"We were born to suffer. We have an animal in goal," he said (via Roy Nemer).
In normal time, Martinez had a relatively comfortable outing with Ecuador rarely threatening. Although the Ecuadorians were awarded a penalty on the hour mark, Enner Valencia's effort struck the post. Previously, Argentina opened the scoring through Lisandro Martinez in the 35th minute.
Martinez was finally beaten in the 91st minute when Kevin Rodriguez headed home a cross from John Yeboah. But the 31-year-old redeemed himself in the shootouts with two vital saves that eventually got Argentina through.
Argentina will play either Venezuela or Canada in the semi-finals of the 2024 Copa America.
Emiliano Martinez, an Argentinian legend in just three years
It's hard to believe that Emiliano Martinez only made his debut for Argentina three years ago. But what's more unbelievable is that he has established himself as a legend within such a short period.
The former Arsenal custodian played a key role in Argentina winning Copa America 2021, wherein he saved a penalty from Chile's Arturo Vidal in the group stages. He kept out three spot-kicks against Colombia in the semi-finals and registered a clean sheet in the final against Brazil.
At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Martinez was at it again, saving two of the Netherlands' penalties in the quarter-final shootouts. He then made a vital one-on-one save against France's Randal Kolo Muani in the extra time of the final before standing tall in the shootout as Argentina were crowned world champions.