Lisandro Martinez has given Argentina a selection headache after Mexico performance

Lisandro Martinez has been one of Manchester United’s best players this season and it’s difficult to argue against the Argentine becoming the player of the season come May.

The 24-year-old was one of Erik ten Hag’s first signings in the Dutchman’s first transfer window this year, having also signed him for Ajax in 2019. Clearly, he is a big fan of the combative defender and it doesn’t take a genius to see why.

Martinez was already a settled international for Argentina before he joined United but it’s safe to say that his strides in Manchester have helped catapult his career for his nation.

He was, however, named on the bench for their opening game against Saudi Arabia in this winter’s World Cup. Astonishingly, Argentina lost that game and manager Lionel Scaloni shuffled his pack for their next game against Mexico.

Tottenham defender Cristian Romero endured a difficult game against Saudi Arabia and that has worked in Martinez’s favour, who was drafted back into the side for the second game.

Martinez certainly took the opportunity to impress and came out of the game to immense praise from supporters online. His dominance on the pitch was reflected in the stats as well.

According to Staman Dave, Martinez won 100% of his attempted tackles against the North American giants and boasted a pass accuracy of 86%.

He was one of the players Argentina relied on in their build-up phase as he had 66 touches in total, completing 47 passes over the 90 minutes.

Additionally, he completed four clearances, won two ground duels, won one aerial duel and completed one interception.

Argentina now have three points from two games but after coming into the tournament as favourites to win it all, they will be hoping to win the group altogether.

The final game is against Poland, who are currently group leaders on four points. Argentina must beat the Robert Lewandowski-inspired side to win the group.

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