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Between my last halves
Leaks from the Argentina dressing room revealed that goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez sent his teammates on between the two halves of the 2026 World Cup final against Spain in an attempt to wake up the team after a dull first half in which Tango failed to put the ball on target.
According to a video that went viral, “Debo” Martinez yelled at his teammates, saying: “Move forward. Cowards play backwards. Let’s move on… Let’s win” in a moment of extreme tension that reflected the team’s frustration with a poor first-half performance.
Martinez wasn’t the only one to try to spark enthusiasm in the hearts of the players, as captain Lionel Messi intervened with some sharp words for his teammates.
The motivational messages came after a disastrous first half for the Albiceleste, where Spain completely controlled the game and denied Argentina any real scoring chances, prompting the goalkeeper and Inter Miami striker to try to rouse the team from their slumber.
But despite rousing words and desperate attempts in the second half, Argentina failed to turn the tables on La Roja, losing the final 1-0 and bidding farewell to their title hopes on a night that exposed the world champions’ fragility in front of Spain’s organized machine.
🚨🇦🇷🇪🇸 |: At half-time in the final, Dibu Martinez had some very harsh words for his teammates after Argentina failed to score in the first half.
“FRONT, WE PLAY WITH KAGONS BACK. WE ARE GOING TO WIN.”
“Personality, people,… pic.twitter.com/p0Fe7lPpAn
— La Derecha Diario (@laderechadiario) July 20, 2026
