Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez slammed his national teammates after they struggled to a 2-1 win over Mauritania, saying that it was one of their worst-ever performance. “Pretty poor. It was one of the worst games we’ve played, even for a friendly. We lacked heart, thank goodness we weren’t playing the Finalissima like this. We lacked play and speed. We need a bit more heart. We lacked intensity, defensive solidity, and conviction when defending,” Martinez said. Martinez’s Finalissima dig was in reference to Argentina and Spain’s exhibition match getting cancelled after Iranian strikes on American bases in middle eastern countries which had put the match at the Lusail stadium in Doha, in doubt. UEFA had said that despite many attempts to reschedule the match across different venues, the participants weren’t able to come to a decision and the match would thus have to be cancelled. UEFA said that multiple options were put in front of the Argentine Football Association, including a 50-50 split of fans at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid but most of the options provided were refused for various reasons. UEFA then said that they offered Argentina a neutral venue as well and that option was refused as well. Argentina then proposed that the match be held after the World Cup but due to Spain not possessing any available dates, that option could not be exercised as well. Argentina also said that they could play on March 31, but that date turned out to be unworkable. In Friday’s match, Argentina were in control in the first half after early strikes from Enzo Fernandez and Nico Paz in the 17th and 31st minute. But things changed in the second half as the world champions failed to maintain the momentum even with their talisman Lionel Messi coming off the bench. Ultimately Jordan Lefort scored a consolation goal for the 115th ranked Mauritania to end the match 2-1.
‘Thank goodness we weren’t playing the Finalissima like this’: Emiliano Martinez brands Argentina’s performance against Mauritania ‘one of the worst games’
