Martinez plays down his heroics: ‘The important thing was that we reached the final’

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ATLANTA — Lautaro Martínez has spent much of this World Cup as Argentina’s impact man off the bench. Against England in Tuesday’s semi-final, he delivered the biggest impact of all — a 92nd-minute headed winner that sent the defending champions to a second consecutive final.

But when the Inter Milan striker faced the media after the 2-1 victory, he was in no mood to accept individual plaudits. Instead, he deflected every compliment toward his teammates and the collective resilience that has come to define Scaloni’s Argentina.

“The match was evenly balanced, but we conceded an unexpected goal,” Martínez said, referring to Anthony Gordon’s 52nd-minute opener that had given England a surprise lead. “Although we were a bit shaken afterwards, we dominated the final half-hour of the match.”

His assessment was accurate. England had soaked up Argentina pressure for much of the first half, then struck against the run of play when Gordon finished Morgan Rogers’ cross. For the next 30 minutes, Thomas Tuchel’s men sat deep, daring Argentina to break them down. The defending champions grew frustrated — passes went astray, crosses were cleared, and Messi’s trademark dribbles were met by a wall of white shirts.

But Argentina’s recent history is written in late drama. In the round of 32, they needed an 89th-minute equalizer to force extra time against Cape Verde before winning on penalties. In the last 16, they trailed Egypt 2-0 with 11 minutes left and scored twice to force overtime, eventually prevailing. Scaloni’s side had been here before.

“Enzo Fernández scored a brilliant goal and we were back in the game,” Martínez continued, referencing the 25-yard thunderbolt from the Chelsea midfielder that flew past Jordan Pickford in the 85th minute. The stadium erupted. Argentina, who had looked headed for a bronze-medal match just moments earlier, had found new life.

Then came Martínez’s moment. In the second minute of stoppage time, Messi received the ball on the left flank, drifted inside, and curled a perfect cross toward the far post. Martínez, who had replaced Julián Álvarez in the 78th minute, leaped above Manchester United defender Harry Maguire to power his header past Pickford. Bedlam.

“I don’t want to talk about my goal,” Martínez insisted, brushing off questions about his contribution. “No — the important thing was that we reached the final. That’s all that matters.”

It was typical of the 28-year-old, who has embraced a squad role with humility despite being Argentina’s second-highest active goalscorer behind Messi. He has started only twice in the tournament but has scored three crucial goals as a substitute, including the winner against Egypt and now the semi-final clincher.

Martínez’s partnership with Messi has been a theme of this campaign. The two have combined for six goals in the knockout stages alone, with Messi providing the assist for all three of Martínez’s substitute strikes. “Lionel sees things no one else sees,” Martínez said after the Egypt match. Against England, he was on the receiving end of yet another piece of magic.

The victory extends Argentina’s remarkable run of reaching at least the semi-finals in every major tournament since Scaloni took charge — five in total, with three titles already secured. Now they have a chance to make it four on July 19 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, against a Spain side that beat France 2-0 in the other semi-final.

Spain’s tiki-taka possession game will pose a different challenge, but Martínez is unfazed. “We’ve come back from worse,” he said with a grin. “We trust each other. We trust our game. And we know that this shirt demands everything we have.”

For now, though, the man who scored Argentina’s latest dramatic winner refuses to be the story. Enzo’s strike, he insisted, was the turning point. The team’s collective spirit was the difference. His own goal? Just another contribution.

“Ask me about that after the final,” he said, walking away with a smile. “If we win, maybe I’ll talk about it. Right now, we have one more game to win — and that’s the only thing on my mind.”