Credit: Twitter
The reigning World Cup winners, Argentina defeated Paraguay 1-0 in the CONMEBOL World Cup 2026 qualifier on Thursday night at the Estadio Mâs Monumental in Buenos Aires. With a clean sheet, the 2022 World Cup Golden Glove winner, Emiliano Martinez broke the Argentina National Team record for most minutes without conceding a goal.
Stand-in captain Nicolas Otamendi's fourth-minute winner was enough to keep Argentina's perfect run intact in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifying. Lionel Messi substituted Julian Alvarez in the 53rd minute and hit the post twice but failed to double his side's lead.
The clean sheet helped Martinez break the record for the most consecutive minutes without conceding a goal. The Aston Villa goalkeeper has gone 622 minutes without conceding a goal for the Argentina National Team, breaking the previous record set by Sergio Goycochea in 1991. However, the international record for most minutes without conceding a goal was set by Italian legendary goalkeeper Dino Zoff with 1142 minutes from 1972 to 1974.
Notably, while playing for Argentina, Emiliano Martinez last conceded a goal against France star Kylian Mbappe in the 2022 Qatar World Cup final on December 18. With this victory, Argentina grabbed the top spot in the standings with three wins in three matches as Brazil dropped points against Venezuela following their 1-1 draw.
Argentina will next face Peru in the World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday, October 17 at the Estadio Nacional de Lima in the Lima District, Peru.
