There was a moment in the knockout stages of this World Cup where Argentina looked vulnerable. Cape Verde, disciplined and defiant, had clawed their w...
There was a moment in the knockout stages of this World Cup where Argentina looked vulnerable. Cape Verde, disciplined and defiant, had clawed their way back into the contest. The noise inside the stadium shifted from a confident hum to something altogether more anxious. Then, from a corner routine that had been rehearsed a thousand times, Lisandro Martinez rose. The ball met his forehead with a thud that seemed to silence the doubters.This is not a headline that writes itself easily. For all the talk of Argentina's glittering attack, it is often the defensive resolve that gets them through the squeaky bum time of a knockout fixture. Martinez, the Manchester United centre half, has made a career of being the man you want in the mixer when the chips are down. His goal was not pretty. It was not a sweeping team move. It was a bloody nosed battle won in the air, a piece of clinical finishing from a set piece that Cape Verde simply could not deal with.What did we learn about Scaloni's side tonight Tactical flexibility, for one. Argentina had been forced to shift shape after the equaliser, moving away from their measured build up play to a more direct, aggressive approach. It was a risk. It invited pressure. But it also created the chaos that Martinez thrives on. Cape Verde, to their credit, did not park the bus. They came to play, and for large spells they matched the South Americans stride for stride. But in the end, the individual quality of a defender who thinks like a striker made the difference.Can Argentina go all the way That question will hang in the air until the next round. But if they keep finding heroes from unlikely sources, they have every chance. Martinez has given them a lifeline. Now the rest of the squad must show they can carry the burden.
