El Toro emerged as the second scorer of the Scaloni era and held an undisputed place in every qualifying match, yet in the World Cup his spot shifted to Julián Álvarez.
When Lionel Scaloni began his stewardship of the Argentina national team, a deep renewal followed, and Lautaro Martínez quickly became the leading figure, earning unquestioned ownership of the attack.
Although he soon established himself as the focal point of the attack during the Pujatense DT era, Martínez shone most brightly in a friendly against Mexico, the immediate post-Brazil clash, where in 39 minutes he delivered a hat-trick to puncture the Mexican defense with maximum intensity.
During the 2020 European break, he pursued a move to Barcelona, but ultimately stayed with Inter Milan. There he tasted championship glory a year later, taking on a different role from his national team position: beside Romelu Lukaku at Inter, he exploited the Belgian’s space, while at the Albiceleste he led the line without a heavy partner beside him.
Before the qualifying campaign, he endured a four-game goal drought, beginning with a tentative start against Ecuador. He later converted La Paz’s equalizer into a fortuitous strike born of sheer will, then assisted the winner to seal a 2-1 victory. He also scored the 2-0 on the fourth matchday in Peru by beating Gallese. Yet a notable drought followed: two qualifiers and two Copa América matches without a goal, until a rebound in Bolivia in the second half finally ended the dry spell. In the quarterfinal against Ecuador, he received Messi’s pass to beat Galíndez, and the same sequence repeated against Colombia in the semi-final. Back in the qualifiers, he opened the scoring against Venezuela, added a 3-0 result versus Uruguay, and struck the opener against Peru, reaching 17 for his career at that moment.
After a September 9 start against Bolivia at the Monumental, El Toro hoped to begin on October 7 against Paraguay, but a lingering muscle complaint forced him out of his first national-team game in more than two years. The last absence had been the 2019 Copa América third-place match against Chile due to suspension. Once his fitness returned, Martínez started the classic Río de la Plata clash with Uruguay and struck again, mirroring his early form four days later.
On the November double date with Uruguay and Brazil, the Bull did not feature on the scoresheet. His playing time also shortened; he began both games but was substituted after 55 minutes against Uruguay and after 46 against Brazil.
Determined to exact revenge in Calama against Chile, he barely touched the ball in the first half but seized a rebound from Claudio Bravo to set up De Paul’s fierce shot. Four days later, he rediscovered his rhythm; an Acuña cross found him, and with a quick stop, control, and finish with his left foot, he sealed another important moment in a short span.
In the Finalissima versus Italy, Martínez needed only 28 minutes and a Messi assist to return the ball to the net. In the September friendly with Honduras, aided by Papu Gómez, he netted his 21st goal of the year.
The World Cup presented Martínez as a candidate to spearhead the attack, yet an ankle issue requiring injections limited his effectiveness and eventually cost him a starting spot. In the opener against Saudi Arabia, two goals were ruled out for a forward-positioning error by a margin of a single millimeter. In the follow-up match with Mexico, no clear chances materialized, and against Poland he ceded his starting role to Julián Álvarez, who showed more energy once brought on.
From that point, the Bull did not start again in Qatar, though he had a moment of glory when he converted the decisive penalty against the Netherlands to secure a place in the semi-finals. He did not participate in the encounter with Croatia and only entered as a substitute near the end of extra time in the final, playing a pivotal role in the late stages: Martínez initiated the move that led to the third goal, which culminated in a rebound from Lloris that set Messi up for a goal, with his header narrowly missing the target after a dramatic save by Dibu Martínez’s counterpart.
After the World Cup, Martínez regained his best form with Inter and entered the FIFA March 2023 window as the world champion with the most goals since Qatar, totaling nine. In the first friendly with Panama, he came on as a substitute again and, although he entered at halftime, failed to convert. That left him with eight consecutive matches without a goal for the national team, his longest drought since his debut. The final goal occurred in a September 23, 2022 friendly against Honduras, a 3-0 win, with Martínez starting against Curaçao and forcing an opportunity to snap the streak.
In total, the Bahian-born forward started 37 matches for his country and came off the bench in eight, totaling 2,892 minutes on the field, averaging a goal every 136 minutes—roughly a goal and a half per game, a touch shy of the one-per-game pace he often carried.
ALL MATCHES OF LAUTARO MARTÍNEZ
Source: Goal