Emi Martinez will become the first active Aston Villa player to play in a FIFA World Cup Final on Sunday after he and Argentina toppled Croatia in the semifinal round on Tuesday.
The keeper made three saves in a comfortable 3-0 win that saw Lionel Messi convert on a penalty kick and assist on Julian Alvarez’s second goal in the 69th minute.
Argentina will play in the final for the sixth time overall and the second time in the last three tournaments. Mario Götze scored the only goal in Germany’s 1-0 win over the Argentines in the 2014 Final.
La Albiceleste will face the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal between defending champions France and Morocco, Africa’s first-ever World Cup semifinalists.
“It’s us against the rest of the world.”
Martinez said post-match: “I am so glad that this 26 (man) group of players are all fighters and we’ve got 45 million Argentinians all behind us.
“It’s just amazing. We feel the crowd on the streets – they’re all full of Argentinians.
“Everyone wanted us to lose, so it’s us against the rest of the world.”
Coming into the match, Martinez was only credited with three saves in the tournament. After a shock defeat to Saudi Arabia in their opening match, Argentina have been the World Cup’s hottest team and have the highest expected goals (xG) differential in the tournament.
Martinez made two saves in a penalty shootout win over the Netherlands in the quarterfinals and has positioned himself well to win the Golden Glove award — given to the tournament’s top goalkeeper — should his side win on Sunday.
Messi’s goal and assist put him top in the Golden Boot award race, level with France’s Kylian Mbappe on five goals, but ahead with two assists to Mbappe’s one.
Martinez is unlikely to be available for Aston Villa’s Premier League return at home against Liverpool on December 26. According to Ashley Preece, Martinez’s availability will be determined by the keeper.
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