Emiliano Martinez has been rock solid between the sticks for Argentina so far in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He was the hero for La Albiceleste when they defeated the Netherlands in the quarterfinals. The game ended with a scoreline of 2-2 after 120 minutes. Martinez denied Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis from the spot to seal the win for his team.
Sergio Aguero has now lauded the Aston Villa shot-stopper for his confidence. The former Manchester City and Atletico Madrid striker also outlined how Martinez is different from other keepers.
Speaking on Star+, the retired striker said (via Birmingham Mail):
“What surprised us most about Dibu is that normally goalkeepers train separately and are in their own world, and each one has his own goalkeeper’s rule. It’s difficult to know what a goalkeeper is like, but with Dibu we realised as soon as he arrived that he was a madman, like in the time of Mono (Germán) Burgos. A good, funny madman."
He further added:
“He used to tackle, and he’d shout at you, he’d tell you things all the time. He’d shout ‘come on, kick me, take it’ in the (penalty) area. We used to say ‘what a madman, he’s just arrived…’ That’s when we realised that he had confidence in him. But all that we saw, then he showed it in the games.”
Argentina have reached the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup with a win against Croatia
Argentina and Lionel Messi are only one step away from glory as they reached the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup with the win against Croatia. Lionel Messi scored the opening goal from the penalty spot before Julian Alvarez added a spectacular second.
Messi was at his brilliant best when he provided Alvarez with the assist in the 69th minute of the game. The Argentine captain left Josko Gvardiol in his tracks before finding Alvarez inside the box.
The winner of the other semifinal game between France and Morocco will take on Lionel Scaloni's side in the penultimate game of the tournament.