Emiliano Martinez.. 90 minutes separate him from a historic achievement in the World Cup

Argentine national team goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is one step away from having his name written in golden letters in the history of the World Cup, as he has become a strong candidate to retain the Golden Glove Award for the best goalkeeper in the 2026 World Cup, if he leads his country to win the title at the expense of Spain in the final match scheduled for next Sunday.

The achievement will not be limited to his contribution to Argentina retaining its world title, as Martinez will become the first goalkeeper in the history of the tournament to win the Best Goalkeeper Award in two consecutive editions, after he also won it in the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

According to numbers and statistics, Martinez maintained a consistent level throughout the Argentine national team’s journey towards the final, as he played all the full matches for a total of 690 minutes, confirming his technical and mental presence in the most important dates.

He scored clean sheets in two matches against Algeria and Austria, while conceding goals in matches against Jordan, Cape Verde, Egypt and Switzerland. However, this did not detract from his technical value, after he played a decisive role in his country’s national team reaching the final match, the most notable of which was against Switzerland in the quarter-finals, when he saved four chances that preserved Argentina’s lead.

The accuracy of his passes also reached 77%, an indicator that reflects his major role in building attacks from the back, in line with coach Lionel Scaloni’s style based on possession and organized exit with the ball, in addition to his leadership personality and his ability to inspire confidence in the defense line.

Martinez is also known as one of the most prominent specialists in saving penalties, which has previously proven his importance in major tournaments, in addition to his influential presence in decisive moments during the current edition.

The competition for the Golden Glove is limited to the goalkeepers of the four teams that reached the semi-finals, with Spain’s Unai Simon being Martinez’s most prominent competitor, while the fortunes of England’s Jordan Pickford and France’s Mike Maignan declined following their teams’ exit.

Sunday’s final will be the final chapter in the Golden Glove race, as Argentina’s victory gives Martinez a great advantage in retaining the award and achieving an unprecedented historical achievement that strengthens his position among the greatest goalkeepers in the history of the World Cup.