World Cup final: Argentina's Emiliano Martínez breaks saves record in extra time loss to Spain

In a stunning performance in the World Cup final, Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez made history. But it wasn’t enough to prevent his team from losing. Late in regulation against Spain, Martínez broke the saves record in a World Cup final with his ninth stop of the match.

Beyond near-single-handedly sending the game to extra time, Martínez denied Spain 11 times throughout the match, which ended with La Roja getting a 1-0 win.

Argentina's offense has struggled significantly, failing to record a shot in the first 105-plus minutes of play even as Spain turned up the pressure. But Martínez was there to continue to stave off La Roja's long-awaited goal and hold the clean sheet at any cost.

Eventually, though, the dam broke. Martínez appeared to allow a goal in the first half of extra time, though it was later called back due to a foul in the box. He then allowed another at the start of the second extra time period, in the 106th minute, with Ferran Torres giving Spain a 1-0 lead.

The all-time World Cup saves record is 16, set by the United States men's national team keeper Tim Howard in 2014 during an extra time loss to Belgium. Curaçao goalkeeper Eloy Room nearly broke that record against Ecuador in the group stage, recording 15 saves in regulation.

Martínez was a key part of Argentina's 2022 World Cup championship, saving the decisive penalty that secured the trophy. And he has been solid throughout this summer's run to the final, allowing eight goals but saving 71.4% of shots across the tournament.

On Sunday, though, Martínez played outstanding, giving everything he had to keep Argentina alive. However, that one goal was all it took for Spain to become champions.