It was a gripping showdown at Copa America in which Argentina managed to ease past a significant challenge from Ecuador in the quarter-finals. Following a 1-1 score, Lionel Scaloni’s side cruised to the last four by clinching a thrilling 4-2 win in the penalties. Some turned out to be heroes, notably Emiliano Martinez, who made crucial saves, while others faltered, including captain Lionel Messi, who missed the kick from the spot. This compels us to delve into the penalty records of both the hero and the loser from tonight’s fixture.

How many penalties has Emiliano Martinez saved for Argentina?

Well, one can say that Argentina is literally in safe hands if they have Emiliano Martinez guarding the sticks. Touchwood alert, the Aston Villa star has a knack for saving penalties. Throughout his career, Dibu Martinez has featured in over four penalty shootouts for Argentina so far and has managed to win all of them.

In total, Martinez has faced 24 penalties while playing for the Argentina national team. He has saved 9 of them himself, and his opponents have missed 3 others, with the remaining 12 penalties being converted by his opponents. Despite this, his effectiveness rate stands at 50%, considering both his saves and opponents’ misses.

How many times has Lionel Messi missed a penalty for Argentina?

Lionel Messi has faced criticism for past failures on the international stage, particularly regarding penalty misses. However, a closer look at the numbers might soften opinions. Throughout his career, Messi has taken a total of 31 penalty kicks for Argentina, missing just 6 of them. This means that he has 25 penalty goals for Argentina. Interestingly, the last time Messi missed a penalty was during a group-stage match against Poland in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Unfortunately, today proved to be unlucky for the FC Barcelona icon as he failed to convert from the spot.

Notably, Argentina took an early lead within 35 minutes when Messi’s corner was deflected by Alexis Mac Allister to Lisandro Martinez, who headed it neatly into the goal. The match took a dramatic turn at the hour mark with Ecuador awarded a penalty. Despite Martinez diving the wrong way, Enner Valencia’s shot struck the bottom-left post, sparing Martinez. Ecuador persisted, and Kevin Rodriguez scored the equalizer during injury time.

However, Argentina prevailed in the end; securing their spot in the semifinals through a successful penalty shootout. While Messi missed his spot-kick, Julian Alvarez, Alexis Mac Allister, Gonzalo Montiel, and Nicola Otamendi scored theirs without error. Martinez played a crucial role by saving Ecuador’s first two penalties, contributing significantly to Argentina’s victory.