Emiliano Martínez spoke of his delight after helping Argentina win a place in the World Cup final.
Aston Villa’s No1 kept a clean sheet as his country beat Croatia 3-0 in Qatar on Tuesday night, sending them into Sunday’s showpiece.
Speaking after the game, the 30-year-old revealed how much the achievement means to him and his teammates following an eventful run to the final.
“We lost the first game. All of sudden it’s everything upside down. People doubting us. Obviously we lost the unbeaten run of 36 games,” he said.
“Against Mexico the first half was a little bit sloppy. Everyone wanted us to lose, so it was us against the rest of the world.
“I am so glad that this 26 [man] group of players are all fighters and we’ve got 45 million Argentinians all behind us.
“It’s just amazing. We feel the crowd on the streets – they’re all full of Argentinians. Every time we play we’re at home.
“We feel like we’re at home. There’s 40,000, 50,000 Argentinians in every ground. We’re so happy to have them."
Martínez will now prepare to take on either France or Morocco in Sunday’s final, which takes place at Lusail Iconic Stadium at 3pm.
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