Lautaro Martinez, Argentina's match-winner in the World Cup semi-final, disclosed that he had dreamt of scoring the goal that propelled his team past England and into the final. Martinez, who came off the bench to score the decisive goal in a 2-1 victory, shared his pre-game confidence with teammates Alexis Mac Allister and Facundo Medina. "I dreamt it. I told Alexis that I was going to score," Martinez said. "And I said on the bench to Facundo Medina that I was going to come on and score."
A Dream Realized
Martinez's dream came true when he headed in the winning goal in the second minute of injury time. The Inter Milan striker entered the game in the 81st minute, replacing left-back Nicolas Tagliafico with Argentina trailing 1-0. Lionel Messi's assist to Enzo Fernandez equalized in the 85th minute, setting the stage for Martinez's heroics. "When my old man first bought me a pair of boots, I always dreamed of scoring this goal," Martinez said emotionally. "I just got off the phone to my mother, who was at work."
Road to the Final
Martinez's journey to the semi-final goal was marked by resilience. Despite losing his starting place early in the tournament, he scored in the 3-1 win over Jordan and came on to score in the 3-1 extra-time defeat of Switzerland in the quarter-finals. Argentina now faces Spain in the final, a team on a 38-game unbeaten streak. "We are going to be coming up against a top-class side who have not lost in 38 games and have great players," Martinez said. "Now we need to get some rest but also enjoy this because what we are doing is not easy, getting back to the final as defending champions three and a half years after winning it."
