Alejandro Garnacho has been rewarded for his improvement in recent months and key role at Manchester United.
If there was a low point in Alejandro Garnacho‘s season, it came back at the start of November.
At this point, Garnacho had only one Manchester United goal in 2023/24 to his name, which came in a Carabao Cup win over an under-strength Crystal Palace team.
This resulted in Garnacho being omitted from the Argentina international squad for their November World Cup qualifiers.
Alejandro Garnacho was given a rest
Alejandro Garnacho received the news he was out of Argentina’s squad for November – with manager Lionel Scaloni later explaining his reason why.
Scaloni bluntly said: “It’s a football issue,” when asked about Garnacho, before saying he was unlikely to get game time if he was called up, offering him some hope, “It would have been easy to bring him in, but in the last few call-ups he didn’t get minutes and there are times when you have to make decisions.
“But he’s a guy who’s on our radar and he’s going to continue to be there and he has a huge future.”
The sense was that Garnacho would benefit from not flying across the world and back to sit on the bench, at a time when he was trying to find his best form.
Garnacho back in the Argentina squad
Alejandro Garnacho received a seal of approval this week when he was recalled into the Argentina international squad.
The Argentine FA confirmed their selection, with Garnacho joining an attack which also features Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez, Lautaro Martinez, Angel di Maria and Nicolas Gonzalez.
Garnacho is one of the young players Argentina are looking to for the 2026 World Cup, with three caps so far, all as a substitute.
Being back in the squad is validation for Garnacho’s performances between November and now, and for the improvement he has put in at Manchester United.
How Alejandro Garnacho turned it around
The rest seemed to pay off for Alejandro Garnacho. He managed to enjoy the best moment of his club career so far just a couple of weeks later.
It was at the end of November he scored his spectacular overhead kick against Everton, a goal which created headline news back in Argentina.
This lifted Garnacho’s confidence, and he really kicked on in form late in December and in early January, which also coincided with a tactical shift which saw him move to the right wing.
Garnacho is now up to seven goals and three assists for the season, and will be looking forward to his international return, for their upcoming fixtures against El Salvador and Costa Rica, both friendly matches.
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