Lisandro Martinez played a significant role as Argentina secured a place in the round of 16 after a dramatic win over Cape Verde.
Manchester United centre-back Lisandro Martinez didn’t just assist Lionel Messi’s opener against Cape Verde; he restored Argentina’s lead in the second half with a stunning strike as the ball hit the roof of the net.
It was Martinez’s second-ever goal for the world champions, but he has solidified his place in the Argentina defence at the 2026 World Cup, despite having to overcome serious injury struggles.
For instance, during the 2025/26 campaign, Martinez missed roughly 4-5 months of action due to two separate injury spells.
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Lisandro Martinez striving at World Cup after injury struggles
Martinez missed the first three months of last season as he was recovering from an ACL injury he picked up in the previous campaign.
The recovery took roughly nine months, and almost a year on from that injury, Martinez sustained an issue with his calf that kept him out for over a month.
Then, Martinez returned for the final stretch of the season, helping Michael Carrick’s side to secure Champions League qualification by finishing third in the Premier League.
It’s a remarkable turnaround when you consider how Martinez is now starring at the World Cup.
In Argentina’s 3-2 win over Cape Verde in the round of 32, Martinez was probably the best player for the world champions, even though Messi was voted man of the match for his performance.
The United defender became the first Argentinian player other than Messi to score and assist in a single World Cup match for the world champions since Hernan Crespo and Carlos Tevez in 2006.
A striker would have been proud of Martinez’s finish two minutes into extra time, but he also played an outstanding diagonal pass for Messi’s opener in the 29th minute.
Argentina made hard work of their round of 32 clash against Cape Verde, but Martinez is thriving at the World Cup as one of the best-performing centre-backs.
Speaking to the press after the match, Martinez opened up on how he considered retiring after his injury setbacks.
“I was considering retirement from football after I suffered ACL injury last year,” Martinez said, as quoted by Fabrizio Romano.
“I just didn’t want to suffer anymore, you know? I was really hit low, but then my daughter was born, and that kind of balanced everything out for me. I saw how my wife gave birth and the immense effort she made, and I said to myself: How am I not going to keep fighting?”
- ⚡️ NEWS IN BRIEF
- Lisandro Martinez missed almost 5 months of action last season, but he is now starring for Argentina at the 2026 World Cup
- The Manchester United defender scored a goal and registered an assist against Cape Verde in the round of 32
- Martinez admits he considered retirement after his ACL injury
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Lisandro Martinez hails Lionel Messi
Messi’s goal against Cape Verde was his 20th World Cup goal.
The defending champions escaped an upset against a resilient Cape Verde side, but Messi will take the headlines as he continues to find the back of the net at the top level, aged 40.
Martinez sang Messi’s praise after the match, saying (via Fabrizio Romano): “Leo Messi is a massive example because he has suffered a lot throughout his entire career, he has suffered losses and he never gave up.
“Today he is here at 39 years old, fighting, battling, he has already won everything, he has absolutely nothing left to prove.
“He is the best player in history, not just in football, but in all of sports. It’s madness. And for those of us coming up behind him, how can we not keep fighting if the best of all time does it with this kind of passion? We have to follow behind him in the exact same way.”
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