Lautaro Martinez has been in the form of his life this year. The Argentine has scored 24 goals for Inter Milan in the Serie A, and a total of 27 goals for Inter in all competitions.
The 26-year-old didn’t stop there he brought the same form to his national team. Lautaro Martinez was able to net five goals in the Copa America tournament, making him the highest goal scorer in the competition. Martinez won the Golden Boot.
What was now more remarkable about him was his die minute-winner for Argentina in the Copa America final. Lautaro Martinez’s only goal at 112 minutes helped Argentina clinch the Copa America for the 2nd time in a row. Whilst also winning the tournament, the goal also secured him the Golden Boot.
The Copa America trophy is the 2nd time in a row Lionel Messi and Argentina would win it. All through the tournament, they were unbeaten, allowing them to maintain a 100% record throughout the tournament.
Argentina vs. Colombia Recap
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Argentina played Colombia in the final of the Copa America. It was an intense encounter as both teams looked to play with the desire to win. The result of this led to several fouls and harsh challenges. Argentina’s skipper Lionel Messi was a victim, causing him to be substituted in the 64th minute. However he suffered a scare in the first half, and eventually, he could not continue after a while in the 2nd half.
Chances fell for both teams, however Colombia seemed to dominate the game more. Chances came for the likes of James Rodriguez, Jhon Cordoba, and Jefferson Lerma but they couldn’t find the net. The same also happened on the Argentine end but they couldn’t find a goal. Both teams looked to match each other, until a late winner in the second half of Extra time.
A Brilliant Right-footed strike from Lautaro Martinez in 112 minutes secure the victory.
Lautaro Martinez Impact in the Team
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Lautaro Martinez scored a total of five goals in his six games for Argentina at the Copa America. He nailed his first goal of the tournament against Canada in their first game. This was thanks to a sublime assist from Lionel Messi. He continued his campaign with another goal in their second game against Chile. His only goal at the 88 minutes won the game for them.
Lautaro Martinez didn’t stop there as he went on to score a brace in their final group game against Peru. As at then Martinez was already the highest goal scorer. However, in the knockout stages, he was able to score. In the final, he summed up his outstanding performance with the winning goal.
So far Martinez’s goals have been crucial for Argentina throughout this tournament. And so the Argentine is already attaining great heights for his country.
Lionel Scaloni on Martinez’s Performance
Coach Lionel Scaloni was all praises for the star striker. After the match coach said:
Lautaro never stopped working, and he deserved to score because he suffered after being excluded from the starting XI despite being the [tournament’s] leading scorer. He won’t be happy with me and he is surely right because he wants to play, but this is what he has to do. We may or may not make errors, but we thought the team had to play like this, and we won.
Lautaro Martinez on the Copa America
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Inter Milan’s leading scorer had a lot to say post the Copa America win. He stated:
When we won the World Cup in Qatar and I received the gold medal, I was very happy with what we had achieved, but I felt personally in debt because my ankle hadn’t allowed me to do what I wanted. The Copa America is not quite like the World Cup, but I can say that I prepared myself in the best way to play in this competition and make up for it.
