‘Look at this kid's face!’ - Argentina hero Emi Martinez savages Aurelien Tchouameni over ‘nervous’ World Cup final shootout as Aston Villa shot stopper opens up on Qatar heroics

After the final in Qatar ended in a 3-3 draw following extra time, Argentina won 4-2 on penalties. Martinez saved from Bayern Munich star Kingsley Coman, before Tchouameni missed, leaving Gonzalo Montiel to strike the winning spotkick and secure his country their third World Cup crown. Now, Villa keeper Martinez has spoken about facing off against Tchouameni, then 22, in the shootout.

Martinez told Star+, via ESPN: "Look at the look on this kid's [Tchouameni] face, tell me he's not nervous, I saw that he was dead in front of goal. And I thought that if he missed, they were half a step off and we'd be champions. And he was looking up, looking at the people, he was very nervous, and I had practised it with my psychologist, if I managed to save one, the next one I'd make his life impossible. And if I went to the goal, I'd save it, it was mine, I'd taken a really good shot, I'd pushed myself really well, if I grazed it, I'd take it out."

The 31-year-old also spoke about practising to save Coman's penalty - something he pulled off.

"I shoot high in the 90' (minutes) and low in the shoot-out. And he [Coman] goes up in the shootout, and down in the 90'. But I was calm because I knew that by saving one I was going to put them under pressure, so that was key. On top of that I missed it, I didn't save it with my hands, I pushed it with my chest and it went through my hands," he added.

Martinez's efforts helped secure Argentina another World Cup triumph in what was one of the best finals in the competition's history. The Villa star arguably did not cover himself in glory for his post-match celebrations, though. While he is an excellent goalkeeper, his crude actions may have been one of the main takeaways from the final.

The Argentine goalkeeper will be back in action for Aston Villa when they take on Bosnia and Herzegovina outfit Zrinjski in their final Europa League group match on Thursday.