World Cup Qatar 2022: Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to take his place in Argentina v France final

The 2022 World Cup final will take place on Sunday, (December 18) at 3pm GMT in Lusail, Qatar. Among those expected to start include an Aston Villa player - the Villans’ man between the sticks, Emiliano Martinez.

Martinez has been a mainstay of Aston Villa’s team since 2020, moving to Villa Park from Arsenal for a fee totalling around £20 million. He was an instant hit, earning the Supporters’ Player of the Season award in his first campaign.

He has played for a number of other teams during his career. They include Oxford United, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United, Wolves, Getafe and Reading.

So far at the World Cup, Martinez has been a constant presence in the net for Argentina. He has played every minute of every game for them so far in the tournament, keeping three clean sheets along the way.

Perhaps his best moment came in the penalty shoot out against The Netherlands. There, he saved two spot kicks from Virgil Van Djik and Steven Berghuis to send Argentina into the semi finals, despite a late comeback from the Dutch.

Martinez isn’t the only player in the Premier League who is expected to play in the World Cup final. For Argentina, Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton), Julian Alvarez (Manchester City) and Cristian Romero (Tottenham) could all feature in the finale of the tournament.

France also have several Premier League players among the ranks who could play a part in the final. They are Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Ibrahima Konaté (Liverpool) and Raphael Varane (Manchester United).