The first edition of Villa Watch in Qatar is here and Emiliano Martínez is up first as his Argentina side faced Saudi Arabia in Group C. Find out how Villa’s No.1 got on at the Lusail Iconic Stadium…
An emotional Emi Martínez lived his boyhood dream and represented Argentina at the World Cup. The 30-year-old didn’t get the big stage debut he craved however as Saudi Arabia came away 2-1 winners.
It was a quiet first-half for the No.23 as Argentina bossed most of the play. Captain Lionel Messi opened the scoring in the 10th minute after slotting home a penalty. Martínez had very little to do but was called into action in the 17th minute to deal with a deflected cross at the front-post. Bar a couple of claimed set-pieces and the odd pass into his backline, Dibu was rarely involved in the first 45 minutes.
It was quite the opposite in the second showing, however. Saudi Arabia equalised instantly as Saleh Alshehri’s low strike into the side-netting beat a helpless Martínez. Moments later, winger Salem Aldawsari hit a superb effort for 2-1. Emi could only get a fingertip to the ball before watching it soar past him and into the back of the net.
Messi and co. couldn’t find a late equaliser as the Saudis remained resilient and resolute at the back. Martínez will be disappointed after conceding two, having only conceded three times in an Argentina shirt since last year’s Copa America final against Brazil. There was very little he could have done about either of the goals though – two unstoppable strikes.
PLAYER RATING
UP NEXT & PAST MEETINGS
Up next for Martínez and Argentina is Mexico in Group C. The two sides meet at the Lusail Iconic Stadium on Saturday 26th November, and you can watch the match on ITV with kick-off at 7pm.
In the last meeting between the two teams, a hat-trick from Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez and a penalty from Leandro Paredes helped Argentina to a 4-0 friendly victory.
This fixture has only appeared at three other World Cup’s in the past and have all ended in victory for Argentina. Can Emi Martínez help his side to another victory over El Tri and, more importantly, a first three points in Qatar?
GROUP TABLE
Here’s how things stand in Group C…
AUTHOR | LIAM DAVIES
Author’s UTV PODCAST archive liamayrtondavies – UTV Podcast | An Aston Villa Blog
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