On the morning of July 5, the Argentine team won a thrilling 4-2 penalty shootout against Ecuador (1-1 draw in regulation time). Although the famous player Messi missed the first penalty, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez came to the rescue to help the home team advance to the semi-finals.

The first quarter-final match of Copa America 2024 at the packed NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas (USA), became extremely dramatic, especially in the final minutes of the match. 

Messi did not play really impressively and also missed the penalty kick in the penalty shootout.

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Messi had previously recovered from a right thigh injury sustained in the second group stage match and was back in time for the quarter-final against Ecuador. As a result, coach Scaloni fielded his strongest squad, with the 37-year-old playing alongside Nicolas Gonzalez and Lautaro Martinez in attack.

Messi’s biggest mark in this comeback match was the opportunity to create for center-back Lisandro Martinez to score the only goal of the match, after taking a dangerous corner kick near the end of the first half. He still hasn’t scored to increase his record for goals scored in Copa America (currently 13 goals), but he has added 1 assist and the record for most matches played (37 matches).

The match between Argentina and Ecuador was extremely dramatic.

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On the Ecuadorian side, coach Felix Sanchez made only one change from the draw with Mexico (0-0) in the final round of the group stage, midfielder Carlos Gruezo replaced Kevin Rodriguez to strengthen the midfield. “La Tri” played with a more defensive lineup, with 17-year-old star Kendry Paez playing alongside Moises Caicedo and Jeremy Sarmiento in the midfield, with only veteran striker Enner Valencia in the front line.

Despite being underestimated, Ecuador was the team that created two early chances to open the score. However, Caicedo and Sarmiento’s chances were not able to overcome goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez’s excellent saves.

Meanwhile, Messi was closely marked by Ecuadorian players. But the Argentine team, with the mobility of De Paul, Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez, gradually took control of the match more tightly. They organized continuous attacks across the field, making it impossible for Ecuadorian players to push their formation as high as at the beginning of the match.

In the 36th minute, Argentina’s advantage was confirmed with Messi’s dangerous corner kick. Mac Allister headed the ball to center-back Lisandro Martinez, who suddenly appeared in the far corner and headed the ball into the goal to open the score 1-0.

Lisandro Martinez opened the scoring for Argentina

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The opening goal helped Argentina dominate the match, forcing Ecuador to adopt a tough approach to limit their opponents’ attacks.

In the second half, in the 59th minute, Ecuador was unexpectedly awarded a penalty because midfielder De Paul (Argentina) handled the ball in the penalty area. However, with a great opportunity to equalize, striker Enner Valencia fooled goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, but his shot hit the post and bounced out, missing a golden opportunity for Ecuador.

Having escaped defeat, the Argentine team had to consolidate the game when coach Scaloni brought in striker Julian Alvarez to replace Lautaro Martinez to increase the attack. Above all, this change was to help Messi avoid being too closely marked by the opponent, thanks to Alvarez’s active movement.

However, the tight play of both teams meant that there were very few opportunities created. The Argentine team took the initiative to play solidly to protect the score. Meanwhile, the efforts of the Ecuador team did not create many significant changes.

Ecuadorian players tried their best until the last minute, making Argentina sweat to reach the semi-finals.

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The drama of the match only took place in the extra minutes, the efforts of the Ecuadorian team were rewarded when 2 players came on as substitutes, striker John Yeboah passed the ball to midfielder Kevin Rodriguez who headed the ball past goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to equalize 1-1, bringing the match into a penalty shootout.

Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez becomes hero once again

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On the 11m mark, Messi took the first shot, but the 37-year-old player missed when the ball hit the crossbar and went out. In a suffocating situation, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez once again became the hero to save Messi and the Argentina team when he blocked two consecutive 11m shots from Ecuador by Mena and Minda. Thereby helping the home team regain confidence, allowing Alvarez, Mac Allister, Montiel and Otamendi to successfully take the shot to help the Argentina team win 4-2 and qualify for the semi-finals, waiting for the opponent between Venezuela or Canada in the second quarter-final match taking place at 8am on July 6.