Argentina are one of the candidates to win the 2026 World Cup. As reigning champions, many of the roster that won in Qatar 2022 will attend this edition, including Lionel Messi. However, key component Emiliano Martinez‘s could be limited. A hand injury could bother him throughout the competition.
Reported by Argentine national team insider Gaston Edul of TyC Sports, Martinez will undergo tests on his hand injury less than a week away from the start of Argentina’s preparation for the 2026 World Cup. Martinez appeared on Wednesday in the Europa League final where he helped Aston Villa win the tournament.
Martinez is a world class goalkeeper, born for the big moments and one of the leaders of the Argentinian locker room. While Messi guides the offense, ‘Dibu‘ is the one making it almost impossible to score against them. However, as Argentina’s 2026 World Cup roster could be revealed just before the deadline, Martinez is scheduled to go.
Martinez is more than just a GK for Argentina
Martinez is arguably the best penalty-kick-stopper in the world. Between his mind tricks, his skill, and his intuition, Martinez is one of the few goalkeepers that can actually make a penalty kick a dire situation for the attacking team.
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Per Fabrizio Romano, Dibu admitted to playing the Europa League final with a broken finger. Not having him would be a massive blow for Argentina, though all points sign to him playing even if not at 100% capacity. The defending champs would lose a top-tier keeper, an elite PK stopper, a locker room leader, and a guy who’s not afraid of the moment if he’s not there.
Who could be Argentina’s GK for 2026 World Cup if Martinez is out?
The guys who could step in for Martinez if he is not fit to play would be Geronimo Rulli from Marseille, or Juan Musso from Atletico Madrid. While both are very good goalkeepers, they don’t have the mileage Martinez has.
Rully is 34 years old. He was a big-time prospect back in the day, though he never established himself as Argentina’s #1 keeper. As for Musso, he is 32 years old. He was always a decent keeper, but has had a massive upgrade in form this season.
