IFFHS CONTINENTAL NEWS - COPA AMERICA 2024 (Quarter finals)
Picture : Lautaro Martinez and Argentina qualified for the semi-finals !
The statistics on Copa America 2024 quarterfinals (5 July)
Argentina vs Ecuador 1-1 (penalties 4-2)
*Ecuador missed the chance to reach the semifinals of the Copa América for the first time since 1993.
*Ecuador are still unable to beat a CONMEBOL rival in the Copa América. Their last such win was the 4-0 against Venezuela in 2001.
Since then, Ecuador recorded 7 draws and 13 losses in 20 games of the Copa América against South American teams.
*Ecuador remain the only CONMEBOL team that has never won a Copa América match after losing at halftime. They faced such situation 67 times (including now vs Argentina0 and could only rescue 5 draws (other 62 occasions finished as losses).
*Kendry Páez (Ecuador) became the youngest player in the history of the Copa América to appear in a quarterfinal match (17 years 61 days).
*Lisandro Martínez's goal to 1-0 became his first with Argentina (in 21 games).
*It was just the 2nd Argentina's goal from their last 28 in the Copa América scored with a header (another one was Guido Rodríguez’s goal against Uruguay in 2021).
*Lisandro Martínez is the first defender to score for Argentina at Copa América since Víctor Cuesta against Bolivia in the group stage of the 2016 edition (also held in the United States).
*The last defenders to score for Argentina in the Copa America knockout games were Gabriel Heinze vs Mexico in 2007 and Marcos Rojo vs Paraguay in 2015).
Curiously, all they including Lisandro Martínez now, were Manchester United player while doing their feat.
*Enner Valencia is the first player from Ecuador to miss 2 penalties in the history of the Copa América (he missed also against Bolivia in 2015).
*Kevin Rodríguez's goal to 1-1 is the first that Argentina conceded in the added time to miss a victory in the Copa América since the 2004 final against Brazil (Adriano scored 2-2 in the minute 90+3).
*Lionel Messi made only 32 touches of the ball, his lowest record in a match with Argentina in official competitions (World Cup, Qualifiers and Copa América) in which he completed the 90 minutes, since the CONMEBOL Copa América in 2011.
*Messi has missed his 2nd penalty of his 6 taken in the Copa América shootouts.
*"Dibu" Martínez has won all 4 his penalty shootouts for Argentina: also against Colombia at Copa America 2021, Netherlands and France at World Cup 2022.
*He faced 18 penalties within these shootouts: exactly half of them (9) were not goals. He stopped 8 attempts and 1 shot went wide.
*Ecuador lost their 2nd of 2 shootouts in Copa América (also against Mexico in 1997).