🌎 Argentina sneak past Ecuador after penalties and move on to semi-final | OneFootball

Argentina required penalties but they found a way past Ecuador to book their passage to the Copa América semi-finals.

Scorers: Martínez 35′ ; Rodríguez 90+2′

It was a grind for both sides early on as the bulk of the play was stuck in midfield, a pattern we’ve seen through much of the tournament this summer.

Argentina finally came to life after dodging a bullet when Jeremy Sarmiento missed a chance from close-range, and just 10 minutes later Lisandro Martínez headed home from a free-kick for his first international goal and the lead.

Ecuador appeared to fashion their chance to pull level when a shot ricocheted off of Rodrigo De Paul’s hand in the box, forcing the referee to award a penalty.

Ecuador legend Enner Valencia stepped up, but the striker sent his spot-kick off the post to spare the Argentine blushes.

While it looked like the world champions would hold on and book their qualification to the semi-finals, drama struck in stoppage-time when Kevin Rodríguez headed home a cross to pull level and send the game to penalties.

After Leo Messi missed the opener, Emiliano Martínez stepped up to make a bundle of saves before Nicolás Otamendi buried the winner into the bottom corner.

Argentina will now await the winner of Canada and Venezuela.