Alejandro Garnacho made his debut as a starter for the national team: how did the 19-year-old from Europibe play and what chance does he have of reaching the Copa América?

The Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles was, almost six years ago, the beginning of the cycle of Lionel Scaloni which in turn began a profound renewal to look for new protagonists who, guided by the hand of Lionel Messi, Angelo Di Maria AND Nicola Otamendiwould end years after the title of drought of Argentina national team. That same phase is where the Albiceleste replacement continues to thrive. Because there, on Tuesday evening on the west coast and already on Wednesday in Argentina, he did it his presentation as starter Alejandro Garnachoperhaps the young face that raises greater expectations in a litter of europibes which invite us to prolong the illusion for several more years.

Garnacho, 19, was finally baptized right from the start. So far, the young man born in Madrid, whose mother, Patricia Ferreyra, is Argentine, had added less than one hundred minutes in total between his four participations in the Albiceleste Major. Garnacho made his debut as a substitute on the 2023 Asian tour, first against Australia and then before Indonesia. He came on in the fifth minute of the 3-0 win against Bolivia in La Paz for the South American qualifiers. And he had just played the second 45 minutes against El Salvador in Philadelphia in the first match of this tour of the United States.

‘Bichito’, who had a great season at Manchester United, was waiting for this opportunity. Embracing his companions, he closed his eyes and thus experienced the national anthem. His Spanish accent doesn’t stop him from connecting with his Argentine roots. After the opening whistle, Garnacho positioned himself as a left winger, a position where Scaloni has always used him until now.

In that sector he was participatory, even if he did not have an easy task. The lack of space due to the defensive scheme with five defenders and four midfielders implemented by Gustavo Alfaro’s Costa Rica was a real challenge. It was practically impossible for him to exploit his greatest virtue: speed and imbalance in one-on-one situations. The fact is that he never found himself face to face with a rival, as usually happens in Europe, because behind the winger Haxzel Quiros there was always Fernán Faerrón as cover.

Even so, they managed to have a couple of chances in the first half. A left-footed shot deactivated by Keylor Navas and a shot deflected from a corner by Di María. Then Garnacho tried, but in most cases he didn’t find the space or clarity to conclude his plays with good decisions.

Costa Rica was careful not to let him go free and achieved their goal. Every time Garnacho received the ball he had at least two men surrounding him. Sometimes he tried to touch, sometimes to dribble without much success, the boy with the ’17’ shirt, which he persevered until 20 minutes from the end Scaloni replaced him with Lautaro Martínez.

Besides failing to resolve favorably, it was a step forward by Garnacho in the world champion team. In the blue and white he is growing and gaining the trust that he already has at United.

For the English club he has scored 7 goals and 4 assists in the 38 games played so far this season. He started as a substitute and has now played 22 consecutive league games. This gift makes him the center of attention of the Argentine technical staff, who observe him carefully in view of the Copa América.

Garnacho knows that it will not be easy for him to find his place in the final list of 23 names. But he also knows that it is not impossible and that it depends on him and his level to win the prize of being one of Scaloni’s chosen for the big event in June in North America.

Two more firsts in the Major League

The night in Los Angeles was also special for two other players who made their debut in the Senior National Team. One is Walter Benitezthe starting goalkeeper against Costa Rica. The other is Valentino Carbonientered in the second half for his Major League debut.

Benítez, 31, is aiming to secure the third goalkeeping spot on the Copa América roster. Quilmes’ Chaco was put to the test by Lionel Scaloni who wanted to see it from the start, exceptionally relegating Emiliano Martínez to the bench.

He had some confident first interventions, although in the Costa Rica goal he left the rebound short for Manfred Ugalde to take advantage of in the center. He did not hide and recovered by providing security with rapid interventions in other counterattack actions.

Carboni, the 19-year-old who currently plays for Monza in Italy, was due to come on with 9 minutes left in the match, replacing Di María. This southpaw with an elegant trot who reveals Javier Mascherano (DT of the Sub 20 and Sub 23) had little time but it was enough to show what he can offer. On the right he emerged and let go of his left foot with a shot that almost ended with the Argentine’s fourth goal.