It is an image that will haunt French heads for a long time. The stoppage of Argentinian goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez against Randal Kolo Muani at the last second of extra time, when the score was 3-3, sounded the death knell for French ambitions. After having had the version of one of the two protagonists, Randal Kolo Muani, here is now that of the last rampart of Argentina.
A stop for history. The scope of this judgment led argentina on top of the world and prevented Randal Kolo Muani from being one of the heroes of this evening. But in France Soccer, Emiliano Martinez explains that this stop owes nothing to chance.
“I pushed him to shoot there”
On a long balloon Konate, the ball flies over the entire Argentine defense to land in front Kolo Muani who does not ask questions and hits hard. Emiliano Martinez then recounts this sequence: The ball took a strange effect after bouncing (on a long pass from Konaté) and I felt he could volley it. I then left “diagonally”, deliberately leaving a little space on my left, at the first post. As if to say to him: “Go ahead, put it there.” I pushed him to shoot there. »
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“It’s something I worked on”
Emiliano Martinez continues, confident that this exit was totally worked: “ Then, as he struck, I relaxed my left arm and left leg to close the angle. It was something that I had worked on, of course. The fact of having trained for years with great attackers helped me in this action. (…) This is the most beautiful stop of my life? In relation to the moment, to the pressure, to the match… Clearly, yes, even if I had some of the best in my career. Right after extra time, I said to myself: “Wow, what a final! “. I was not disappointed with the draw, I just thought that we had just experienced something crazy. I came into the penalty shootout with a lot of confidence “.
