Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez took yet one more swipe at France star Kylian Mbappe, who scored a hat-trick within the Qatar World Cup closing however misplaced the trophy to Argentina.
Martinez, who saved Randal Kolo Muani’s dying-minute strike to drive the match to the penalty shootout, has been phenomenal below the three sticks, making quite a few saves. In the shootout, he saved one and noticed two extra going off beam as Argentina gained the ultimate 4-2.
As Argentina celebrated its first World Cup victory in 36 years, Martinez held a second of silence for Mbappe within the dressing room. And then on Tuesday, throughout Argentina’s return to Buenos Aires amid large fanfare, Martinez carried round a child doll with Mbappe’s face plastered on it.
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Before the World Cup, Mbappe spoke on the variations between South American and European soccer. “The advantage we have in Europe is that we play among ourselves with high-level matches all the time, such as the Nations League for example. When we arrive at the World Cup, we are ready, whereas Brazil and Argentina do not have this level in South America. Football is not as advanced as in Europe. That’s why at the last World Cups, it was always the Europeans who won,” he was quoted as saying by TNTSPORTSBR.
