To save Lionel Messi and the Argentina team, keeper Emiliano Martinez once again played the “hero” part.

During the regular game on July 1, the score was tied at 1. In the penalty shootout, the Argentine team won 4–2. The famous player Messi missed the first chance, but Emiliano Martinez saved the game and helped the home team make it to the semi-finals.

At the packed NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, USA, the first quarterfinal match of Copa America 2024 turned out to be very exciting, especially in the last few minutes.

Messi had hurt his right thigh in the second group stage game, but he had already healed and was ready for the quarterfinal against Ecuador. So, coach Scaloni put together his best team, and the 37-year-old played in attack with Nicolas Gonzalez and Lautaro Martinez.

After taking a risky corner kick near the end of the first half, Messi set up centre back Lisandro Martinez to score the only goal of the game. That was his biggest contribution to the comeback. While he still hasn’t scored to break the record for most Copa America goals scored (13), he has added an assist and now plays in 37 games, which is a record.

Felix Sanchez, the coach of Ecuador, only made one change from the team that tied 0-0 with Mexico in the last game of the group stage. Midfielder Carlos Gruezo came in for Kevin Rodriguez to make the middle stronger. “La Tri” played with a more defensive team. In the middle, 17-year-old star Kendry Paez played with Moises Caicedo and Jeremy Sarmiento, while Enner Valencia, a veteran striker, was the only one in the front line.

Even though they were thought to be weak, Ecuador had two early chances to score the first goal. Even though Caicedo and Sarmiento had good chances, goalie Emiliano Martinez made some great saves.

Messi, on the other hand, was being closely watched by Ecuadorian players. However, the Argentine team slowly took over the game thanks to De Paul, Mac Allister, and Enzo Fernandez’s ability to move around. They planned strikes all over the pitch, so the Ecuadorian players couldn’t push their formation as high as they did at the start of the game.

Messi’s dangerous corner kick in the 36th minute made sure that Argentina had the lead. Later, Mac Allister sent the ball to Lisandro Martinez, a centre back. Martinez came out of nowhere in the far corner and headed the ball into the goal to make it 1-0.

After scoring the first goal, Argentina took control of the game, making Ecuador play tough to stop their opponents from attacking.

Argentine defender De Paul handled the ball in the penalty area in the 59th minute of the second half, which came as a surprise to everyone. But Ecuador had a great chance to tie the game when striker Enner Valencia tricked goalie Emiliano Martinez. But his shot hit the post and bounced out, missing a great chance.

After barely avoiding loss, the Argentine team had to keep the game going, so coach Scaloni replaced Lautaro Martinez with striker Julian Alvarez to make the attack stronger. The main reason for this change was to help Messi escape being marked too closely by the other player, since Alvarez was moving around a lot.

There weren’t many chances, though, because both teams played very close together. To keep the score high, the Argentine team stepped up and played strongly. At the same time, the Ecuador team’s work did not lead to many big changes.

When the clock struck 11, Messi took the first shot. The 37-year-old player missed, though, as the ball hit the crossbar and bounced off. Emiliano Martinez, the goalkeeper for Argentina, saved Messi and the team again when he stopped two 11-meter shots from Ecuador, one by Mena and the other by Minda. This gave the home team confidence and let Alvarez, Mac Allister, Montiel, and Otamendi take the shots that helped Argentina win 4–2 and move on to the semi-finals. They will now wait for the winner of the second quarter-final match between Venezuela and Canada, which will take place at 8:00 on July 6.