Julian Alvarez was named on the bench for Argentina’s first two World Cup group games, being overlooked for Lautaro Martinez by Lionel Scaloni and struggling. But he’s impressed since nailing down a starting place and has become an important player for the national team.
The 22-year-old has made five appearances in the World Cup, scoring two goals which came in his last three outings, but Ciaran McLoughlin of the Guardian noted that Alvarez’s work off the ball deserved a mention. He’s provided more industry while being more of a goal threat than Martinez.
Only Lionel Messi has registered more shots on target (2.4) per game than Alvarez (1) and the latter has been dispossessed fewer times (0.8) than regular starters Messi (2.2), Angel Di Maria (2) and Rodrigo De Paul (1). Only Messi (4) has more goals than Alvarez (2) too and the latter hasn’t been caught offside.
The 22-year-old hasn’t missed a tackle, gives away fewer fouls than seven of his teammates and has been adept at pulling defences apart with his selfless running. Alvarez is a centre-forward by heart, but he’s shone as a makeshift wide-man for Argentina and could be starting in their semi-final clash with Croatia on Tuesday.
In other news, Man City ‘submit proposal’ for Josko Gvardiol who shone at the World Cup
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