Emiliano Martínezwho was sanctioned by FIFA for “offensive behavior” last night, did not enter the call for the Argentine National Team for the double date of the South American Qualifiers in which you will face Venezuela y Bolivia. And then you have to activate the most hidden spaces in the archive to find when Dibu’s last foul was and how Scaloni’s team fared when the Aston Villa goalkeeper was absent.
Since his debut in the National Team’s goal on June 3, 2021 against Chile, in the Qualifiers, Dibu played 47 games (35 wins, 9 draws and just 3 losses) of the 54 in which the national team played.
The last time the National Team could not count on Dibu in official matches was on the last double FIFA date of the Qualifiers for Qatar 2022, also serving a two-date sanction imposed by FIFA (after the scandalous Brazil-Argentina in 2021).
On that occasion, Argentina played against Venezuela in La Bombonera (3-0 victory) with Franco Armani in goal and then, in the 1-1 draw against Ecuador in Guayaquil, it was Gerónimo Rulli who guarded the Argentine goal.
Subsequently, Dibu Martínez played in all of Argentina’s official matches: Finalissima against Italy, World Cup, Copa América 2024 and so far in these Qualifiers.
However, after the crowning in the Finalissima at Wembley, the coaching staff released Dibu Martínez due to inflammation of a nerve in his knee. After the 3-0 defeat of Italy in the Finalissima, which declared a new title for the Albiceleste, the Aston Villa footballer did not continue with the squad and underwent cleaning on his left knee, in which he suffered from inflammation. in the patella. The cleanliness allowed him to face the World Cup and the season with Aston Villa in optimal conditions.
Against this backdrop, in the 5-0 win against Estonia on June 5, 2022, the goal once again went to Franco Armani.
The other absences of Emiliano Dibu Martínez
The first of the seven absences that the fetish goalkeeper of the Scaloni cycle accumulated occurred in the third game of the group stage of the Copa América 2019 against Bolivia.
Martínez was confirmed as the incumbent in the position after Franco Armani did not arrive in optimal condition due to having gone through the coronavirus. However, the coach returned ownership to River 1 to take care of the man from Mar del Plata who had accumulated a yellow card, with the team already classified since the match against Uruguay.
On September 9, 2021, it was Juan Musso’s turn. The goalkeeper who emerged in Racing, and who stood out in Udinese and Atalanta, was the starter against Bolivia in the Qualifiers due to the loss of the Aston Villa player who traveled to join his club in the context of a conflict over the transfer of footballers and the injury by Franco Armani.
The former Independiente’s absences continued in March 2022. As we already said, at the close of the Qualifiers heading to Qatar he was not with Venezuela in La Bombonera (Armani saved) and Ecuador as a visitor (Rulli).