Lionel Messi must thank Emiliano Martinez for making more Argentina magic at Copa America

Argentina came close to disaster in the Copa America quarter-finals against Ecuador. First, it threw away a late lead, with Kevin Rodriguez's stoppage time goal leveling the score 1-1.

And Jordy Caicedo could have won it for Ecuador moments later, his wide-open header in front of goal narrowly missing to set up a shootout with no extra-time permitted in this stage of the tournament.

Lionel Messi then tried to chip down the middle to begin the shootout but struck the crossbar with the Panenka gone wrong. It was a repeat of his nightmare from 2016 when his infamous miss in the Copa America Centenario final led to an international hiatus.

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On this occasion, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez bailed him out, stopping two Ecuador attempts as Argentina advanced on penalties. Messi and Argentina are now on to the semi-final, having avoided complete heartbreak against Ecuador.

Martinez was already a legend in Argentina for his heroic work stopping penalties at the 2021 Copa America and role in the Qatar World Cup. He added to that status with his efforts against Ecuador - and Messi will happily thank him for it.

For many years, Messi's 2016 miss haunted him. Until he won the last Copa America and the World Cup, it threatened to define him. "The most broken one is Messi for his missed penalty," then-teammate Sergio Aguero said at the time after scenes of Messi sobbing on the pitch. "It is the worst I have ever seen him in the dressing room after a game."

So Messi, the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star, now in MLS with Inter Miami, could only watch with concern as another misstep from the spot put Argentina at a disadvantage.

Instead of that disappointment, Martinez sparked glee from the Argentina contingent, who may have expected a much more straightforward quarter-finals encounter against a side it normally obliterates. All four Argentina takers after Messi converted: Julian Alvarez, Alexis Mac Allister, Gonzalo Montiel and Nicolas Otamendi.

During regular time, Manchester United center-back Lisandro Martinez opened the scoring by latching onto a flicked header from Liverpool midfielder Mac Allister after a Messi corner. Argentina failed to sail smoothly from there. It conceded a second-half penalty that Enner Valencia missed off the post after sending Martinez the wrong way before Rodriguez hit them with the late equalizer.

Perhaps Martinez's subsequent shootout heroics will give Argentina the chance to use their sloppy performance as a lesson for killing games off at the Copa America, where it'll now face Canada or Venezuela in the semi-finals before a potential clash with Brazil in the final.