Lechuga Roa: «I wanted Argentina to face England again» | OneFootball

Carlos Roa, goalkeeper for the Argentina national team at the 1998 World Cup in France and a key figure in the penalty shootout win over England in the round of 16, spoke on ADN Gol on Radio Gol ahead of a new semifinal between the two national teams. The former goalkeeper recalled that historic night in Saint-Étienne and said that, although the squad understood the meaning of the match, “it was a football match.”

The memory of ’98.

Roa also recalled the atmosphere after qualifying on penalties and revealed that the squad received a special recommendation when the match ended: to avoid any gesture toward the English players, whose buses were parked just a few meters from the Argentine one. “We were told that no one should even think about making any gesture because it could cause a disaster”, he recalled.

About the match against England, the former goalkeeper said the squad arrives fully mentally prepared. “They already know deep down what this match means. They’re going to give it everything, as always. The fans also play a hugely important role, and that gives the player an enormous boost”, he said.

“Implicitly, we all knew it was a very emotionally difficult match, but we also knew that things shouldn’t be mixed.”, he clarified.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.