Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez taunted Brazil in Argentina's 4-1 win
Emi Martinez
Villa's Argentina star Emi Martinez(Image: Getty Images)
Emi Martínez has spoken out after taunting Brazil by juggling the ball during Argentina’s 4-1 victory over their South American rivals in a key World Cup qualifier.
Julián Álvarez opened the scoring in the fourth minute, before Enzo Fernández doubled the lead soon after.
Alexis Mac Allister restored Argentina’s two-goal advantage before half-time, following Matheus Cunha's brief effort to halve Brazil’s deficit.
Giuliano Simeone extended the hosts' lead at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires in the 71st minute, effectively putting the game out of Brazil’s reach.
Deep into the second half, goalkeeper Martínez juggled the ball with his knees inside his box, taunting his rivals. However, Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni was seen wagging his finger in apparent disapproval.
TyC Sports quoted the Aston Villa keeper as saying: “These are things I sometimes don’t do at my club. I just had the ball in the air, but that’s fine.
I know the coach doesn’t like that kind of thing. If I’d pulled off three more tricks, he might have taken me off. He’s kind of crazy.”
Reflecting on the match, Martínez added: “We treated it like a final. We didn’t care about having qualified for the World Cup before the match; we wanted to win today, and it showed.
We want to continue making history—not just by winning titles, but by showing the fans pride, desire, and sacrifice.
The truth is, people come and pay for tickets. The least we can do is give them the kind of performance we delivered today.”
The result leaves Brazil fourth in the South American World Cup qualifying standings on 21 points after 14 matches, still on course for automatic qualification but with little margin for further night’s like Tuesday.
“I have broadcast on the Brazilian national team for over 40 years. I have never seen the national team play so badly,” veteran broadcaster Galvão Bueno declared before calling for the head of national coach Dorival Júnior after Brazil's heaviest defeat in a World Cup qualifier.
Not that Martínez and his Argentina team-mates will have been bothered after another resounding success over their old rivals. They have now not lost to Brazil in six years.
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