Lautaro Martínez, harshly criticized referee Wilmar Roldán for Ecuador vs. Argentina: "He was constantly threatening us about the World Cup."

The Argentine national team left Guayaquil's Monumental Stadium in a huff. This was partly due to their subpar performance in the final match of the South American Qualifiers and also due to Colombian referee Wilmar Roldán's refereeing. Beyond the controversial plays, forward Lautaro Martínez opened a new and dangerous front: he claimed the referee was "threatening" them with expulsion and, thus, missing matches in the 2026 World Cup.

"I don't usually talk much about referees, but today it was reflected. Nico González jumped to head the ball, he got elbowed and he didn't even get a yellow card. Afterwards he handed out yellows, he kept threatening about the World Cup (that with a red card he should have served it in that tournament) and all that is not good, it's not good. He's a great referee, because he's refereed me many times, but today he didn't behave well," he explained in statements to Clarín microphone, in the mixed zone.

Argentina received three yellow cards in the match: Nicolás Tagliafico, Leonardo Balerdi, and "Toro" Martínez himself. The player from Bahía Blanca was late to a ball in the first half, a result of Argentina's frustration with Ecuador's possession, and was shown a yellow card.

There wasn't much to discuss about Nicolás Otamendi's expulsion , as the former captain in Guayaquil didn't hesitate to bring down Enner Valencia when he was going one-on-one with Emiliano "Dibu" Martínez. Even his teammates from La Scaloneta praised the "Comandante"'s actions.

Knowing he was going to get a red card, he didn't hesitate to put his best foot forward in his final qualifying match. Otamendi will retire from the Argentine national team after the 2026 World Cup.

How can we turn this defeat into a learning experience? "That's what we've known from the moment this national team started winning, giving our all in every training session and match, trying to leave the team at the top of their game in every competition. And today we finished the qualifiers at the top, right there, and it's important for what's next," he explained.