Rodrigo De Paul went straight over to Lionel Messi after he missed a penalty in Thursday’s Copa America quarter-final clash between Argentina and Ecuador.
Argentina secured their spot in the Copa America semi-final thanks to penalty-saving expert Emiliano Martinez, who produced another shoot-out masterclass for La Albiceleste.
Following a 1-1 draw in normal time, after Kevin Rodriguez cancelled out Lisandro Martinez’s opener, the game went straight to penalties.
Unsurprisingly, Messi stood up to take the first spot-kick but in a rare slip-up, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner fluffed his Panenka penalty to give Ecuador an advantage.
After goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez consoled the former Barcelona man, Rodrigo De Paul went straight over to his Argentina teammate and said: “We are going to win it, we are going to win it.”
And they did just that. Julian Alvarez, Alexis Mac Allister, Gonzalo Montiel and Nicolas Otamendi all converted for Argentina as they secured a 4-2 shootout win at the NRG Stadium, Houston.
After the victory against Ecuador, Messi revealed that Martinez joked about the quarter-final clash going to penalties.
“Before the match, he was joking about the possibility of penalties and said he was going to save them. When we reach this stage, we have an advantage,” he said.
“[After the game against Chile] I was suffering from pain and fear of injury, but in the last training I felt better and felt that I could participate, I told Scaloni that I was fine and I was no longer feeling any muscle discomfort.
“I was very angry because I was convinced to take it that way if the opportunity arose. I had talked with Dibu and Rulli in advance.”
Messi and De Paul, meanwhile, are close friends off the pitch. In fact, De Paul left a note for Messi in his room, just two months before their World Cup win in Qatar.
At the time, Argentina were in the middle of their World Cup preparations, taking on Honduras and Jamaica in international friendlies.
And De Paul wrote the following note: “I am Rodrigo De Paul (7). It is 9/18/2022. I sign this paper and say that we will win the World Cup two months from now.”
Source link : https://www.sportbible.com/football/football-news/lionel-messi-argentina-copa-america-ecuador-de-paul-024210-20240705
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Publish date : 2024-07-05 09:48:10
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