How Argentina’s grittiness showed up again in penalty shootout vs. Ecuador

Argentina did not become the No. 1 men’s team in FIFA’s world rankings only because of its talent-rich roster led by the man many consider to the greatest soccer player ever — though having Lionel Messi has certainly helped.

Lionel Scaloni’s side may have just two losses over the past five years en route to becoming the reigning Copa América and World Cup champion, but Argentina has not done so by being a juggernaut. Rather, Argentina has developed a gritty mentality that showed up again when it was needed most in a dramatic penalty shootout against Ecuador in the 2024 Copa América quarterfinals Thursday.

“There’s that element of survival that Argentina needs to thrive in these competitions,” Jimmy Conrad said on “FOX Soccer NOW” immediately after Nicolas Otamendi’s clinching penalty kick. 

“They had it in the last Copa América, they had it in the World Cup — most notably when they were up 2-0 [against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals] and they gave up those two late goals to send it into [penalties] — they still found a way to get through. It really speaks to the core of this group and their mentality.”

Thursday’s match against Ecuador drew some parallels to that dramatic, intense contest against the Netherlands in Dec. 2022 in Qatar. Both times, Argentina seemed in control for most of the match only to surrender a dramatic late equalizer in stoppage time. In the most recent case, it was a dramatic Kevin Rodriguez header that tied things up for Ecuador in the first minute of added time Thursday.

Some teams would not have been able to regain momentum from that dramatic late swing. Many teams would never have recovered when Messi stunningly missed his penalty kick to begin the shootout. But, as Conrad’s “FOX Soccer NOW” co-host Melissa Ortiz pointed out, this Argentina team has been here before, and that was on full display Thursday. 

Immediately after Messi’s miss, Emiliano Martinez saved Ecuador’s first two penalties while Julian Alvarez, Alexis Mac Allister, Gonzalo Montiel and Otamendi all nailed their spot kicks to send their team through to the Copa América 2024 semifinals.

“That’s when you know not only how much experience these players have, but the confidence they have,” Ortiz said. “Not only in themselves but in each other — and in the one that is the most important pillar of penalty kick scenarios, the goalkeeper Emi Martinez. These players set up, get to the midfield line and are already engulfed with confidence, just given the fact that they have Emi Martinez and they have been in this position in so many different occasions.”

Martinez has been part of four major tournament penalty shootouts since taking over as Argentina’s first-choice goalkeeper — against Colombia in the 2021 Copa América, in the aforementioned World Cup match against The Netherlands, in the iconic 2022 World Cup Final against France, and on Thursday. He has won all four.

“They’ve been in this scenario, and they know how to manage their emotions, their nerves,” Ortiz said.

The “FOX Soccer NOW” trio of Conrad, Ortiz, and third co-host Wes Morgan all agreed that each of Argentina’s penalty attempts was class, including Messi’s, which they said had the right idea but just missed execution as his chip down the middle bounced off the top of the goal’s crossbar. 

“It’s one of those ones where, if it goes in, everyone’s saying ‘Messi, the GOAT, what a goal,'” Morgan said. “If it doesn’t, there’s a backlash to it. Luckily, Emi Martinez and his teammates have pulled him out.”

Conrad noted that Argentina’s ability to win games like this, where Messi and his co-stars played far below their potential, is a scary thought for their upcoming Copa América opponents. If Argentina still has the ability to win games where they stumble late, what happens when they put on a more complete performance?

“Somehow, the champions know how to survive,” Conrad said.

“That’s what champions do,” Morgan said. 

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