Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez believes his side would have won the 2026 World Cup if the final against Spain had gone to a penalty shootout.
Spain won the title through a Ferran Torres goal in extra time, but Martinez remains confident that Argentina would have had the upper hand in a shootout.
Speaking on the programme Los Edul, the 34-year-old said he had felt confident throughout the final, in which he made 11 saves.
“I was totally confident it was going to be my day. You know that feeling when you just don’t think it’s going to go in? I think they felt it too.”
Martinez also claimed that Spain’s players were worried about facing him in a shootout.
“We all thought so. I even heard them saying, ‘We have to win it here. We can’t go to penalties’ when I went in goal.”
The goalkeeper accepted that Spain deserved to win the tournament. However, he believes Argentina could beat them if the teams met again.
“France impressed me in 2022 more than this current Spain side; they are a very strong team, but I feel that if we played against them today, we would beat them.”
Argentina reached the final after beating England in the semi-finals. Martinez believes the demanding schedule affected his team’s performance.
He said Argentina spent 51 days travelling during the tournament and had only three days between the semi-final and final.
“It was all marketing, that’s the only thing I didn’t like about this World Cup compared to Qatar. Here we had three days between the semifinal and the final with a trip and training session cut short. We were exhausted.”
Martinez also rejected claims that Argentina had deliberately lost the final.
“Who wants to lose a World Cup final? No matter how much money they offer, it’s impossible.”
The goalkeeper revealed that he played throughout the World Cup with a broken finger.
He suffered the injury before Aston Villa’s Europa League final against Freiburg in May. Doctors advised surgery, but that would have kept him out for six weeks.
Martinez chose to continue playing, while Adidas made a special glove to protect his finger.
“I was diving like a zombie. I dived like that, I got up and I put my hand down and I’d see stars … every night, until 12am, I’d be crying because my finger was like a blood sausage.”
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni gave him time to recover before the tournament.
“He only made me promise to be honest about whether or not I would be fit to play.”
Martinez said he had no regrets about taking the risk.
“Those are the risks you take for the national team, I’d do it again.”
The injury also affected his club career. A possible move to Juventus fell through before he joined Chelsea after six years at Aston Villa.
His finger has not healed properly, and he may eventually need surgery.
“They said it was impossible for me to play like that, that I needed surgery. Chelsea didn’t mind… (but) someday you will need an operation.”
Martinez has since suffered another serious injury after colliding with Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite.
The collision left him with a broken jaw and three missing teeth. Doctors inserted a metal plate during treatment.
“It was like a knockout blow in a UFC bout, I lost consciousness and remember nothing, they put a metal plate in me at the hospital and I had three teeth knocked out.”
Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso expects him to miss several weeks, but Martinez hopes to return during the next international break.
“I need to play with the national team. I intend to return during the international break.”
Martinez has made six appearances for Chelsea and conceded 11 goals. Young goalkeeper Mike Penders has stepped in during his absence.
Despite his injuries, Martinez wants to continue representing Argentina until he retires.
He also praised Lionel Messi for helping him deal with the disappointment of losing the World Cup final.
“He taught us everything. How to fall and rise again after failure, that is what helped me after the World Cup.”
