Dibu Martínez admits: "Qatar 2022 wasn’t my best World Cup" | OneFootball

Emiliano Martínez spoke from England about the current state of the Argentine National Team and his expectations for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, where La Albiceleste already knows it will be in Group J alongside Austria, Algeria, and Jordan. Dibu not only analyzed the draw, but also offered an unexpected self-critique regarding his performance in Qatar 2022, despite having been a key player in the Scaloneta’s triumph.

“I’m going to prepare better than I did for Qatar,” warned the Mar del Plata native, who admitted that the last tournament made him “suffer.” Although he said the pressure isn’t the same after lifting the trophy, he acknowledged that it would be painful for him not to reach the final again. “People know we’re going to compete and give it our all. But I want to experience it differently,” he assured on Dsports.

The most striking statement of the interview came when he reflected on his own performance in 2022. “I made technical mistakes during the matches. In Mbappé’s second goal, for example, I could have done more,” he said, adding that he felt far from his best level. “With my goalkeeping coach, we’re cold when it comes to analyzing, and we both agree that I didn’t have my best World Cup,” he asserted, even setting a personal goal to concede fewer goals in the next tournament: “They scored eight against me, I want to bring it down to five or four at most.”

Regarding the group that La Albiceleste will share with Algeria, Austria, and Jordan, Dibu was cautious. “In 2022 we lost to the team that was supposed to be the easiest, and that marked us,” he recalled, referring to the defeat against Saudi Arabia in their debut. He also valued the experience of that setback as a key lesson for what’s to come.

As for the possible rivals to beat, he mentioned South American teams like Ecuador and Brazil, and warned about the possibility of surprises, especially due to the weather and pitch conditions in the United States. “African teams are used to the heat, anything can happen,” he analyzed.

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