Watch: Argentina star cries inconsolably after World Cup quarter-final win, says ‘…we didn’t deserve to end like that’

Lionel Messi’s 73rd minute penalty almost assured Argentina a place in the semis before Netherland threatened to snatch away the ticket when Wout Weghorst struck twice in the final minutes of the quarterfinal tie of the 2022 FIFA World Cup to push the match to extra time. Argentina eventually made their way to the semis, to book a date with Croatia, after winning 4-3 on penalties. After match, Argentina star Lisandro Martinez was left in tears in the post-match interaction when he recalled the moment Lautaro struck the final penalty to keep the team’s World Cup hopes alive.

After both sides failed to make a difference to the scoresheet, the high-octane quarter-final match rolled onto penalty shootout. Netherlands have won only one tie-breaker in their World Cup history. And history did not change for the Dutch. They missed their first two chances before Enzo Fernandez’s miss threatened yet another twist in the tale. But Lautaro Martinez eventually converted the the decisive penalty top send Argentina into the semi-final.

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After the match, Lisandro was asked about the final penalty and he could not back back his tears as he cried inconsolably.

“It was just incredible. I just freed [when Lautaro scored], because we didn’t deserve to end like that. We were much better than them. I want to hug everyone the players, the coaching staff.. everyone,” he said.

Argentina will now face Croatia, who stunned Brazil earlier the same night via penalties. After Neymar’s stunner, that put him at par with the legendary Pele as Brazil’s joint top-scorer in world football, was cancelled out in the second set of extra time, Croatia once again worked their magic in penalties. The 2018 runners-up maintained their flawless record in tie-breakers as they knocked out the title favourites in the quarters.