Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez took an important step towards his return to action after having his first full training session with the national team the day before. The goalkeeper is preparing for the “albiceleste“ opening match in Group J of the World Cup against Algeria, which will be played on Tuesday, BTA reports. The 33-year-old is expected to start in the match in Kansas City. This will be only the second official clash between Argentina and Algeria, since the two teams last met in a friendly match in 2007.
Martinez suffered an injury to the ring finger of his right hand during the warm-up before Aston Villa's 3-0 victory over Freiburg in the UEFA Europa League final on May 20. Despite the injury, he took to the field and helped the English team triumph. In order to be available for Argentina for the World Cup, the goalkeeper postponed surgery, but missed his club's last match in the Premier League - a 2-1 victory over Manchester City on May 24.
Martinez was among the key figures for the country's world title in 2022. After Lionel Messi, he was considered one of the most important players on the team and deservedly won the “Golden Glove“ award for the best goalkeeper of the tournament. The most memorable moment of his participation came in the final against France, when in the last seconds of extra time he saved a clean sheet from Randal Colo Muani and kept Argentina's hopes alive. Later, in the penalty shootout, Martinez saved a Kingsley Coman shot and contributed to the 4-2 victory that gave Argentina their first World Cup title since 1986. In qualifying, Martinez played in 16 of Argentina's 18 matches and kept 10 clean sheets. He has 59 appearances in his career as of 2021.