Argentina: Emiliano Martinez puts France ahead of Spain

The Argentine goalkeeper praises Les Bleus

World Today at 14:03

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Argentina: Emiliano Martinez puts France ahead of Spain

After being at odds with the French for a long time, Emiliano Martinez is once again confirming the reconciliation. The Argentine goalkeeper sees France as a stronger team than La Roja, the reigning world champions.

After being beaten by Spain (0-1 aet) in the final of the 2026 World Cup, Emiliano Martinez is convinced that Argentina could have retained its title. Indeed, in an interview with journalist Gaston Edul, the Chelsea goalkeeper acknowledged La Roja's superiority that day.

Emiliano Martinez praises Les Bleus

Emiliano Martinez felt that his team would get revenge if they met again. He took the opportunity to pay an unexpected compliment to the French team.

🚨 Emiliano Martinez 🇦🇷😳 : « 𝗟'𝗘𝗦𝗣𝗔𝗚𝗡𝗘 🇪🇸 𝗘́𝗧𝗔𝗜𝗧 𝗧𝗥𝗘̀𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗘, 𝗠𝗔𝗜𝗦 𝗟𝗔 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 🇫🇷 (2022) 𝗔 𝗚𝗔𝗚𝗡𝗘́ 𝗗𝗔𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧. Elle était championne du monde, avait plus d'âge et d'expérience, avait une finale à son actif... 🏆 Mais j'avais aussi beaucoup de respect pour l'Espagne. Je savais qu'ils étaient très bons, mais je ne sais pas... J'ai le sentiment que si on les affrontait aujourd'hui, on les battrait. 𝗧𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝘀𝗶 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝘂𝘅 𝘁𝗶𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝘂 𝗯𝘂𝘁, 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗮̀ 𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘃𝗲𝗮𝘂 𝗲́𝘁𝗲́ 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. » (Los Edul via @mundodeportivo)
— BeFootball (@_BeFootball) October 31, 2026

"As a team, France was the one that earned my greatest respect in 2022. Because they had been world champions and had more experience. I had greater respect for them. I knew Spain were very strong, but today, if we faced them again, we would beat them," said the Argentine goalkeeper, who had won the 2022 World Cup against Les Bleus.

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Joshua SOSSOU

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As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.