Argentina, against all odds, booked a place in the Semi-final of the Copa America 2024 after conceding a late equalizer against Ecuador and seeing Lionel Messi miss the first kick in their penalty shootout victory on Thursday in Houston, Texas.
Argentina, who looked very shaky throughout the game, thought they were going to run away with a slim 1-0 victory after Lisandro Martinez had given them a lead via a header in the first half but their opponents had other ideas as Kevin Rodriguez popped up in the 90th minute to give Ecuador a crucial equalizer and send the game to penalties.
Messi returned to the starting line up for this game, with the prolific Lautaro Martinez starting up front for Argentina ahead of Julian Alvarez but it was Ecuador who looked the more threating of both side and could have gone ahead but Argentine goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez denied Jeremy Sarmiento a chance to give Ecuador the lead.
Those chances seemed to put an urgency into La Albiceleste as they threatened via few chances. The breakthrough however came via a corner kick. Lionel Messi swinged in a corner from the left side, with Alexis MacAllister nodding the ball into the path of the oncoming Lizandro Martinez who had the wide open post to aim for.
The goal was Martinez’s first-ever international goal for Argentina and ensured that they went into the break with the crucial lead.
The second half started with both teams looking to grab a goal but it was Ecuadpr who looked the most likely to grab an equalizer and they were presented with a golden chance after Argentina conceded a penalty as Rodrigo De Paul was penalized for a hand ball in the penalty area.
Ecuador could not make the opportunity count as captain and record holder, Enner Valencia could only watch as his penalty struck the bar despite sending Martinez the wrong way. It was looking like the penalty miss was going to come back to hunt Ecuador until Rodriguez got ahead of Otamendi to head the ball home in added time of the regular 90 minutes, sending the match to penalties, although Ecuador had a massive chance to win the game in normal time with the whole stadium holding its breath as Jordy Caicedo’s free header from the center of the box went just wide of the post.
Lionel Messi then stepped up to take the first penalty kick of the night but could only watch as his panenka attempt bounced off the woodwork and out. Ecuador then saw their first two penalties saved before Otamendi secured Argentina’s place in the semi-final with their last kick.
