Argentina is two wins away from defending its Copa América title and making history.
The reigning South American and World Cup champions beat Ecuador in a penalty shootout in Thursday's 2024 Copa América quarterfinal in Houston, sending Lionel Messi & Co. to next week's semi against the winner of Friday's contest between Canada and Venezuela following a 1-1 tie.
Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez was the hero for La Albiceleste, making two saves in the tiebreaker after Messi missed Argentina's first spot kick.
Lisandro Martínez opened the scoring for Argentina 10 minutes before halftime in front of a packed Independence Day crowd of 70,000 fans at NRG Stadium. Ecuador missed a second half penalty to preserve Argentina's lead, but Kevin Rodríguez scored a dramatic equalizer for La Vinotinto in second half stoppage time to send the contest to the tiebreaker. Argentina advanced when Nicolás Otamendi converted the final attempt from 12 yards.
Lionel Scaloni's side is aiming to become one of the few national teams ever to win three major tournaments in a row, and the first since Spain claimed the 2010 World Cup between consecutive European crowns.
Here are a few quick thoughts on Thursday's match.
As a diminutive central defender, Martinez isn't known for his scoring; he's managed just one Premier League goal in two seasons with Manchester United. His tally on Thursday was his first in 21 games for his country. It was worth the wait, as Martinez was perfectly positioned at the back post to nod home a deflected corner kick:
Turning point
Although the score was only 1-0, Argentina seemed to be in control the entire match — especially after Ecuador squandered the penalty it was awarded for a Rodrigo de Paul handball. Rodríguez's
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