Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez did not hold back after Argentina's disappointing display in their 2-1 win over Mauritania.
However, this time the disappointment is not anger for the 33-year-old.
TyC Sport report on Aston Villa goalkeeper today And his strong comments came after the world champion's disappointing performance on Friday.
Lionel Scaloni's side continued their preparations for the World Cup as they defeated the African nation in an international friendly in Buenos Aires last night.
Argentina's poor performance
Goals from Enzo Fernandez and Nico Paz ensured the victory, with Mauritania scoring a consolation goal in the 93'.third Minutes after a scuffle in the box.
Despite the result, Argentina's reaction afterwards was not positive. Lionel Scaloni later openly admitted that his team needed improvement. It was a sentiment shared by the Aston Villa goalkeeper.
His assessment of the performance was, "Pretty weak, to be honest."
"It was one of the worst matches we have played, considering it was a friendly match. We lacked intensity, our game was lacking, we lacked pace. That is something we have to analyse. When we wear the national team jersey, we have to perform much better.
"I try to be available whenever I'm called upon, and they attacked us too much. We won, but we didn't know the opponent well. They played like their lives depended on it. We need to have a little more heart."
Fear of injury increases performance
Emiliano Martínez believes injury fear could also be a contributing factor behind the negative performances of the World Cup holders.
Mauritania defeated them in the game. African team is in 115th placeth In the FIFA rankings, he finished with more shots than his elite counterparts.
Martínez was called into action on more than one occasion, especially in the second half when Mauritania pressed hard. Afterwards he became clearly frustrated, calling on the Albiceleste to abandon his ideas.
"We lacked intensity in the second half; we have to do better," he said.
"It's true that we haven't played together for a long time, and we've also rotated the team a bit. Yesterday we lost Panichelli with a cruciate ligament injury; that hurt us a lot.
"Maybe today we played with a little less intensity because of the fear of injury, but when we wear the national team jersey, we have to perform even better."
Dibu Martínez's harsh self-criticism for his performance #argentina in victory against #Mauritania: "It was one of the worst games we played. You have to have a little more heart. Finalísma? Thankfully it didn't play out. If we had played like that, we would have lost." pic.twitter.com/8XLVys96zC
- TyC Sports (@TyCSports) 28 March 2026
Dibu Martínez's harsh self-criticism for his performance Post Aston Villa star not angry but disappointed - clearly disappointed and explains why first appeared on sports witness.
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