‘I’m extremely proud of Licha’
Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez could feature in his first-ever World Cup final on Sunday (18 December), when Argentina take on reigning world champions France at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar.
Our centre-back has featured in all but one of the La Albiceleste’s matches so far in the tournament, and will be hoping to play this weekend, when he could potentially line up against United team-mate Raphael Varane.
Ahead of the finale of the historic tournament, we spoke to lifelong United supporters Florencia Bernasconi and Agustin Galarza, both from Buenos Aires, to get the view from South America.
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“I’m extremely proud of Licha,” said Florencia. “Even though he doesn’t have that many caps for his country, he has proved himself to be an unbelievable centre-back under Lionel Scaloni, and he’s not even a regular starter in Argentina.
“I’m pretty sure his grandparents would be very proud of him as well.”
The 2022 final will be Argentina’s second across the past three World Cups, with La Albiceleste reaching the pinnacle of the tournament back in 2014.
On that occasion, the South Americans were defeated by Germany, but Florencia believes this year Lionel Scaloni’s side have a “great chance” of success.
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“Reaching the final got us all together as a country,” she said. “I think that’s amazing, so I’m really looking forward to the final on Sunday now!
“Argentina have a great chance to lift the trophy this time, because we’ve got young players who actually care about winning.
“They managed to win the Copa America last year, and that was a huge deal to us, so I’ve got faith in them.”
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With both Martinez and Varane taking part in Sunday’s showpiece, it is guaranteed that United will have one winner and one runner-up.
But despite this jeopardy, Reds supporter Agustin Galarza believes that even if Licha is on the wrong side of the result, his level of performance for the Reds will not dip.
“I still don’t know Lisandro that much, but from what I’ve come to know of him in this few months with us, I don’t think it will have any noticeable impact on his performances,” he explained.
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“He’s already outstanding and has been giving a great impression to the manager, team-mates and fans.
“Losing might be a blow for him, but, although it might affect his mood, I’m sure he would be back at his best in no time.”
Martinez and Varane’s nations will take on one another at the Lusail Stadium on Sunday 18 December, with kick-off scheduled for 15:00 GMT.
Remember, you can follow the action on our dedicated World Cup blog on ManUtd.com, or in the United App.