Argentina’s Lisandro Martinez scores their first goal. Photo: Reuters/Agustin Marcarian
Ecuador turned up the pressure in the second half and it paid off at a corner on the hour mark when the cross was deflected onto Rodrigo De Paul’s hand and the referee immediately pointed to the spot.
Skipper Enner Valencia stepped up and sent Martinez the wrong way but Ecuador’s top scorer saw his effort come off the post before Argentina defender Cristian Romero blocked a shot from the rebound.
Martinez turned to the crowd and roared in delight with his arms raised and the miss took the wind out of Ecuador’s sails.
“He’s the captain and he took the penalty because he was feeling confident enough, but he missed. That happens in football,” Ecuador coach Felix Sanchez said.
“In many other areas of the game, he was able to contribute… We really appreciate that he took the chance. It’s a lottery today, it didn’t go in. Maybe next time it will.”
But as the game went into stoppage time Ecuador, who have never beaten Argentina at the Copa America, found the equaliser when John Yeboah whipped in a cross and Rodriguez stayed onside to direct a header past Martinez in the 91st minute.
The Argentina goalkeeper had the last laugh, however, making two crucial saves in the shootout before Nicolas Otamendi scored the decisive kick to book a semifinal spot.
Source link : https://www.onmanorama.com/sports/football/2024/07/05/argentina-ecuador-copa-america-semis.html
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Publish date : 2024-07-05 05:00:00
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