Roma star Paulo Dybala has revealed Emiliano Martinez gave him vital advice in the World Cup final penalty shootout with France. The Aston Villa ace helped Argentina win the title.
La Albiceleste twice failed to hold onto a lead in the showpiece FIFA tie at Qatar 2022 last Sunday. Kylian Mbappe single-handily pulled Les Bleus back into the game from two goals down in normal time and one in extra time. He also converted his penalty in the shootout.
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But Kingsley Coman failed to keep France tackling the shootout with one foot ahead after Mbappe’s attempt. Martinez reacted perfectly to turn the Bayern Munich forward’s strike away. Then it fell to Dybala to follow Lionel Messi’s lead to beat Hugo Lloris from the spot.
Martinez convinced Dybala of where to put Argentina’s penalty vs France
Lionel Scaloni had only introduced Dybala for Nicolas Tagliafico in the 121st minute of the World Cup final. So, the Roma forward knew the Argentina coach wanted him to take one of their penalties. But his initial intentions changed instantly after speaking with Martinez.
“The truth is that when the coach called me to enter, I knew it was due to penalties,” said Dybala, via TyC Sports. “So, I had to try to have as cool a head as possible. It’s not easy because obviously a world final is not played every day.
“When it was my turn, it took me a long time to walk to where the ball was. I couldn’t get any further. I had spoken with Dibu, he had advised me to shoot in the middle after they had missed. I was going to cross it.
“The goalkeeper jumped at that stick but I heard what my partner said and strong in the middle does not fail.”
Martinez followed up Dybala converting by distracting Aurelien Tchouameni enough for the France midfielder to send his penalty wide of the post the Argentina and Aston Villa star dived towards. The miss would ultimately see La Albiceleste win the shootout 4-2.
Martinez is the first Aston Villa player to win the World Cup or play in final
Martinez is now the first Aston Villa player to ever win the World Cup and also became the first Villans star to play in a final after starting for Argentina against France. He was vital to La Albiceleste’s successes in Qatar – not least in their penalty shootout win over Les Bleus.
The 30-year-old had already shown his steel in a shootout after making two saves against the Netherlands. Martinez denied Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis to see Argentina win their quarter-final clash. While his late save in the final ensured it even went to a shootout.
Randal Kolo Muani had the chance to snatch the title from Argentina in the final moments. But Martinez made himself big to smother the Eintracht Frankfurt forward’s shot as France broke four on two. His save and his penalty heroics helped Martinez win the Golden Glove.
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