Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni was happy with Alejandro Garnacho’s performance against Costa Rica.
The world champions won the friendly 3-1, but it was a game to remember for Garnacho after being handed his first start for Argentina on his fifth appearance for the country.
Garnacho came off the bench on Saturday as Argentina beat El Salvador 3-0 in Philadelphia, but the winger played 71 minutes against Costa Rica this morning before being replaced by Inter Milan star Lautaro Martinez.
The United starlet was tightly marked throughout the game, but Scaloni was impressed with Garnacho’s overall display as Costa Rica made life difficult for his side. He also stated how difficult it can be for players to make that jump into senior football, on top of becoming a regular in Argentina’s team.
Speaking to TYC Sports, Scaloni said: “We are satisfied with the tour, with how the games went.
“In the end, it was seen that there is no easy opponent and that everyone makes things difficult.
“In the second game, it helped us a lot, I saw a very mature team because we found ourselves in difficulty, with the game down, and the team played a very good 25 minutes in the second half.
“I am happy about that, we are going to find many games like that and it helps us.
“I’m happy for Walter (Benitez). He played a good game, the truth is that the game was not easy and we are happy.
“The same as Garnacho and Carboni. They are guys who can contribute to us and we will see in the future if they will be with us.
“But I’m happy, it’s not easy to play with this shirt on with these rivals who make it difficult for you. We’re ok.”
This comes as another milestone for Garnacho and his next objective, on the international stage at least, will be to make the Argentina squad for the Copa America.
Subscribe to the Stretty News podcast Strettycast for weekly episodes on Manchester United. You can also sign up to the ad-free Stretty Newsletter. Get the Stretty News verdict on all matters Manchester United.
More must-reads: