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

Emiliano Martínez spoke from England about the current state of the Argentina National Team and his expectations for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, where the 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 figure in 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 is not the same after lifting the cup, he acknowledged that for him it would be painful not to reach the final again. “People know we’re going to compete and give everything. But I want to experience it differently,” he assured on Dsports.

The most striking statement of the interview came when he reviewed 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 one: “They scored eight against me, I want to bring it down to five or four at most.”

Regarding the group that the 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 the opening match. He also valued the experience of that blow as a key lesson for what’s to come.

As for 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 field 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.