Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho was in action as Argentina played Peru in the Copa America 2024.
In a game where Argentina did not have Lionel Messi, it was Alejandro Garnacho who featured from the off for his international side.
Argentina ran out comfortable 2-0 winners, with two goals from Lautaro Martinez of Inter Milan the difference on the night.
The Manchester United academy graduate was gifted his first-ever start in a major tournament in a side led by Walter Samuel, while current Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni was suspended on the sideline.
Lisandro Martinez was given a well-deserved rest, with La Albiceleste already confirmed to be advancing to the knockout stages, but Garnacho was given the green light to shine on the international stage.
But did he take his chance? Here’s how the Argentian press reacted to his performance.
Argentinian press react to Alejandro Garnacho vs Peru
There were mixed reviews from the Argentinian press as Garnacho featured in a 2-0 win for his country.
Ole thought that he offered something different for the current World Cup champions, they wrote: ‘Precisely, the Manchester United kid showed that he can be a different card and adds one more variant to a very rich squad.’
‘He started plugged in, in tune with his teammates, understanding the game and also with a lot of vocation to help the setback. He was only missing the end of the play – like the rest of the team – but it is important that he took an hour of flight.’
TN were not as thrilled by the teenagers showing. They said: ‘On the contrary, Alejandro Garnacho had a weak performance and was indebted to the great expectations placed on him.’
They decided he would be rewarded with a 4/10, and further wrote: ‘He started to be the star and ended up being the weakest player on the team. No connection to the rest. We will have to continue waiting because you can see that he has quality.’
This may have been a little harsh, with publications like Lavoz giving the wonderkid a 7.4 rating.
Did Alejandro Garnacho actually play badly?
It may have been a little harsh from the Argentinian publication, but it appears Garnacho did not have a hideous game at all. FOTMOB had him at a 7.1 rating, and his stats didn’t look too bad at all.
- 66 minutes played
- 0 goals
- 0 assists
- 16/21 accurate passes (76%)
- 36 touches
- 1/4 successful dribbles (25%)
- 5 duels won
- 5 duels lost
To even be starting for a side like Argentina when you haven’t even hit your 20th birthday yet is nothing short of ludicrous. Keep your head up Alejandro, there’ll be plenty more starts for Argentina in your long, illustrious career.
