Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez emerged as the hero for Argentina as they secured their place in the Copa America semi-finals with a dramatic 4-2 penalty shootout victory over Ecuador.
The match, which ended 1-1 in regular time, saw Martinez’s crucial saves propel Argentina to the next round.
The quarterfinal clash in Houston began with Argentina taking the lead through Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez, who headed home from close range following a corner in the first half.
Despite their advantage, the World Cup holders struggled to assert dominance, and Ecuador had several opportunities to equalize.
Ecuador’s captain, Enner Valencia, missed a golden opportunity to level the score in the 60th minute when his penalty kick hit the post.
This miss came after Rodrigo De Paul was penalized for handball. However, Ecuador kept pushing and finally found their equalizer in injury time, with Kevin Rodriguez heading an in-swinging cross past Emi Martinez.
The game then proceeded to a penalty shootout, where Argentina’s fortunes initially looked bleak. Captain Lionel Messi’s chipped effort hit the crossbar, giving Ecuador an early advantage. However, Martinez’s heroics quickly turned the tide. He saved Ecuador’s first two spot kicks from Angel Mena and Alan Minda, keeping Argentina in contention.
Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez and Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister successfully converted their penalties for Argentina. Former Manchester City defender Nicolas Otamendi sealed the victory by scoring the decisive penalty after John Yeboah had kept Ecuador’s hopes alive.
Martinez, who has now faced 24 penalties for Argentina, has conceded only 12, with nine saves and three off-target misses. His performance in the shootout was particularly noteworthy, as he taunted Ecuadorian fans following his saves and celebrated with the largely Argentine crowd in Houston.
Argentina, the 15-time Copa America champions, will face either Canada or Venezuela in the semi-finals. The victory, however, did not come without repercussions for Ecuador, who parted ways with their manager Felix Sanchez after the defeat. Despite having three years remaining on his contract, the Ecuadorian Football Federation decided to terminate his tenure.
“We thank Felix and his coaching staff for their work and professionalism, and wish him success in his future endeavours,” the Ecuadorian Football Federation said in a statement.