Manchester United star Lisandro Martinez sent out a heartfelt message after Argentina kicked off their Copa America title defence with a 2-0 win over Canada.
Argentina were crowned Copa America champions in 2021 after beating host nation Brazil before going on to win the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Lisandro Martinez, who has been capped 19 times for his country, made only one appearance for Argentina at the last edition of the Copa America.
However, the 26-year-old Manchester United defender was used more frequently by manager Lionel Scaloni during Argentina’s triumph at the 2022 World Cup.
Martinez, who received his Argentina debut under Lionel Scaloni, made five appearances for his country at the last World Cup tournament.
Argentina boss Scaloni started former Ajax star Martinez in his country’s opening match at the 2024 Copa America on Friday against Canada.
Martinez played alongside Tottenham defender Cristian Romero and impressed with his superb showing in the 2-0 win at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Martinez sends out message after Argentina win
Goals from Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez and Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi in the second half against Canada sealed all three points for Argentina.
Lionel Scaloni’s men moved top of Group A after their win over Canada at the 2024 Copa America, while Peru will face Chile in the other Group A fixture on Saturday.
Argentina will face Chile on 26th June before their final Group A encounter with Peru on 30th June, with Scaloni’s side heavily tipped to reach the knockout rounds.
Lisandro Martinez took to Instagram after the Canada match and posted an emotionally charged message thanking Argentina fans for their support.
The United star wrote: “Good way to kick off, great effort from everyone and tremendous support from our fans!! We continue!!”
Julian Alvarez was among those who reacted to Martinez’s message and the City star posted two clapping emojis after his Argentina teammate’s impressive performance.
Scaloni not happy with quality of pitch
Scaloni expressed his frustrations after the Argentina match due to the conditions of the pitch at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The Mercedes-Benz Stadium has been known to use artificial turf, but the pitch was modified with natural grass only days ahead of the Copa America starting.
“We have known for seven months that we are going to play here and they changed the grass two days ago,” he said, as per Goal.
“We didn’t play on a decent court. It was similar to [Saudi] Arabia but with the difference that we played there on a suitable field. It cannot be like this.”