‘I dreamt it’: Martinez revels in Argentina’s winner against England
“I dreamed about it. I told Alexis (Mac Allister) that I was going to score,” said Martinez, after his heroics off the bench as the reigning champions won 2-1 in Atlanta.
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“So I told Facundo Medina on the bench that I was going to come and score.”
With the World Cup holders trailing 1-0 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Inter Milan’s striker came on to replace left-back Nicolas Tagliafico in the 81st minute.
Lionel Messi set up Enzo Fernandez to equalize in the 85th minute and the Argentina captain scored the winner with a header from Martinez in the second minute of extra time.
Displaying an emotional attitude, Martinez said, “When my father first bought me shoes, I always dreamed of scoring this goal.” Speaking to reporters again after leaving the locker room, Martinez said that he had just talked to his mother, who was at work, on the phone.
Martinez, 28, lost his place in Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina squad early on their way to victory at the 2022 World Cup.
This time he started all three group matches and scored in a 3-1 win over Jordan, but was substituted in the narrow win over Cape Verde in the last 32 and has not started since.
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However, before his decisive role against England, he managed to score in the quarter-final defeat of Switzerland 3-1 in extra time.
Argentina will now face Spain in the final in New Jersey on Sunday.
“We will face a first-class team with great players, unbeaten in 38 matches,” Martinez said.
“We need some rest now, but we also need to enjoy it because what we are doing is not easy – to return to the final as champions three and a half years after winning.”
Spain’s last defeat was a 1-0 defeat in a friendly against Colombia in March 2024.
The teams were due to meet in Qatar in March in the recently introduced Finalissima to pit European champions against the winners of the Copa America.
This game was postponed due to the war in the Middle East triggered by US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
The only previous World Cup meeting between Spain and Argentina was in 1966, when the South Americans won the group stage match 2-1 at Birmingham Villa Park.
