Dibu Martínez's blunt remarks after Argentina's poor display | OneFootball

Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez was one of the few Argentina national team players to speak out after the lackluster performance in the 2-1 win over Mauritania at La Bombonera, making strong statements about the team’s display and also adding a harsh remark regarding the cancellation of the Finalissima.

“Pretty poor, honestly. It was one of the worst matches we’ve played, even if it was just a friendly. We lacked a lot of intensity, we lacked play, we lacked speed. It’s something we have to analyze, and when we put on the national team shirt, we have to do much better,” the national team goalkeeper began, adding: “I try to step up when I’m needed, and they got at us far too much. We won, and we didn’t really know much about the opponent either, and they played like their lives depended on it. We need to show a bit more heart.”

What the Mar del Plata native also did not let slide was the Finalissima against Spain, canceled because no agreement was reached on the venue, a situation Dibu used to make a joke that sounded more like criticism: “Thank goodness (it was canceled), because if we played like this, we’d lose.”

In response to criticism from Spain, Dibu came out all guns blazing against those who think Argentina is not even in a position to reach the semifinals of the tournament. “The last World Cup was the same, we didn’t play important matches and we had a great World Cup. It goes match by match, and we have the experience of going far and they don’t,” he said.

“In the second half we lacked intensity, we have to do better. It’s true that we hadn’t played together in a long time and we also rotated the team a bit. Yesterday we lost Panichelli to a cruciate ligament injury, it hurt us a lot. Maybe today we played with a little less intensity out of fear of an injury, but when we put on the national team shirt, we have to do much better,” he added to ESPN.

Martínez’s anger seems justified by the few chances Argentina had in the second half, when they managed just one shot compared to the opponent’s eight attempts; that forced two saves from the Aston Villa goalkeeper and one final chance that ended in the visitors’ stoppage-time goal.

Incredibly, the African side (115th in the FIFA rankings) finished with more shots than the world champions, with 11 attempts for the team coached by Spaniard Aritz López Garai against the seven by the Albiceleste, while both sides were level at four shots on target apiece.

Another figure who was also highly self-critical was Lionel Scaloni, who regretted the poor performance and acknowledged that there is still a lot to change in order to arrive at the World Cup in the best possible shape: “It’s true that the match wasn’t good, that’s the reality. But we can draw a lot of conclusions from this match. As we always say, there are no easy opponents. Today the team wasn’t good. That has to be said and corrected.”

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