"Ever since my father bought me my first pair of shoes, I dreamed of scoring this goal," said Lautaro Martinez, striker for Argentina's national football team, after his decisive goal against England on Wednesday, which led Messi's teammates to the World Cup final for the second consecutive time. Born Lautaro Javier Martinez on August 22, 1997, in the Argentine city of Bahia Blanca, he is the son of Mario Martinez, who for many years played left-back for local clubs such as Liniers, Villa Mitre, San Francisco, Rosario Puerto Belgrano, and Racing de Olavarria. He grew up in a modest environment; his mother Carina Vanessa Gutierrez worked as a domestic worker, and he has two brothers, Jano and Alan. He began playing sports at an early age in the ranks of the local club Liniers in Bahia Blanca, where he stood out in the under-17 category, scoring 13 goals in one season, and scoring a goal in a national cup final despite his team losing on penalties. Initially, he played basketball and dreamed of becoming an NBA star, but he chose football when he turned 15. In January 2014, he moved to Racing Club de Avellaneda after catching the attention of interim coach Fabio Radaelli. He initially suffered from homesickness but stayed thanks to the persuasion of his teammate Brian Mansilla, and scored 53 goals in 64 matches for the reserve team. He made his official debut for the first team on November 1, 2015, coming on as a substitute for legend Diego Milito in a 3-0 win over Crucero del Norte. He scored his first goal in November 2016 against Huracan, and his first hat-trick in February 2018 also against Huracan in a 4-0 win. On February 27, 2018, he scored another hat-trick in his first Copa Libertadores match against Cruzeiro in a 4-2 win. He moved to Inter Milan in July 2018 for about 25 million euros plus bonuses. He made his Serie A debut on August 19, 2018, against Sassuolo, and scored his first goal on September 29 against Cagliari. He has been captain of the team since 2023, and is the top foreign scorer in the club's history. With Inter, he won three Serie A titles in the 2020-2021, 2023-2024, and 2025-2026 seasons, three Coppa Italia, three Supercoppa Italiana, reached the Europa League final in 2020, and the Champions League final twice. He has scored over 130 goals in Serie A, and is third on the club's all-time scoring list. He joined the Argentine national team in March 2018, participated in the Copa America in 2019, 2021, and 2024, winning in the latter two, scoring crucial goals, the latest in the 2024 final. He also won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and the 2022 Finalissima. He married Agustina Gandolfo in 2023, and they have a daughter named Nina and a son named Téo.