Lisandro Martinez was part of the crazy Argentina vs Cape Verde game on Friday night, and he was the game’s most impactful player.
What a game that was as Cape Verde took the reigning world champions to extra-time as Argentina only just avoided a huge upset, beating the World Cup debutants 3-2.
Lisandro Martinez started for Argentina in a centre-back pairing with Cristian Romero, which looked very solid, and wasn’t able to do much about the goals, especially the second one.
Martinez was absolutely brilliant, effectively keeping Argentina in the competition with a goal and an assist, both being moments of absolute brilliance. Due to this, Martinez has earned rave reviews.
WHAT A PERFORMANCE by Lisandro Martinez 🔥 How would you rate his World Cup campaign for Argentina? 🇦🇷
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What Argentine press thought of Lisandro Martinez vs Cape Verde
It was a performance that reminded us that Martinez really is world-class on his day, and the media in Argentina agree with this.
TYC Sports rated Martinez a 9/10, the star of the match, hailing his performance.
“We can now say that Lisandro has had a great World Cup. Argentina needed the long ball, and Licha was there with surgical precision for a 50-meter goal-scoring pass. But he also needed it many times to start plays, and he did so flawlessly with perfect judgment. And when it mattered most, when the game was heating up, he delivered a spectacular goal. An unforgettable match.”
Ole also decided Martinez deserved a 9/10 match rating.
“Another defensive beast. Impassable, quick, and reliable. A goal and an assist. He stood out with his passing. In the 28th minute, he delivered a perfect long pass to surprise and break down the opposition’s defence, allowing Messi to open the scoring”, then mentioning the goal.
It was another 9/10 for Martinez from La Pagina Millonaria.
“A superb assist for Messi when the game seemed impossible to break open. An impeccable first half. He took a nap during the play that led to Cape Verde’s goal. He recovered with an unstoppable strike in the opening minutes of extra time to make it 2-1.”
While Clarin labelled Martinez the “star of the show”, praising him as a playmaker.
“Lisandro Martínez, the playmaker playing as a defender, delivered a perfect left-footed pass to Messi.”
Argentine reporter Gaston Edul also sang Martinez’s praises on X. “Lisandro Martínez was the standout.”
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Martinez’s statistics against Cape Verde
It was a masterclass in defending, creating, passing and finishing for Martinez, with his goal in particular shocking as he demonstrated his undeniable brilliance.
Sofascore rated Martinez 9.3 out of 10, and here are the numbers which made that rating deserved.
- 120 minutes
- 1 goal
- 1 assist
- 130 touches
- 116/119 passes completed (97%)
- 1/1 dribbles completed
- 73 carries
- 8 defensive contributions
- 6 clearances
- 4 recoveries
- 3/5 duels won
This kind of performance will have Michael Carrick keen to get the ‘Butcher’ back and have him be a key part of the 2026/27 United side. If Martinez can stay fit next season, he looks to be on a whole other level than anyone else in the league right now.
A very special player, arguably Argentina’s second-best player right now after the greatest of all time, Lionel Messi.
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