'Good for him' - Manager hints at Argentina plan for Manchester United ace Alejandro Garnacho

Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni refused to be critical of Alejandro Garnacho's performance after the Manchester United winger appeared in the World Cup holders' shock 2-1 defeat away to Paraguay on Thursday night.

Garnacho was a second half substitute for the South American heavyweights as they suffered a third defeat of their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.

The United ace replaced Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister with 64 minutes on the clock, at which point Argentina already trailed 2-1.

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After falling behind to Lautaro Martinez's 13th-minute opener, Paraguay flipped the game on its head either side of half-time, scoring through Antonio Sanabria and Omar Alderete.

Garnacho's cameo appearance saw him struggle to impact proceedings, so much so he failed to complete a single dribble or produce a key pass. Nevertheless, Scaloni, who has hinted that Garnacho is still finding his feet on the international stage, refused to be critical of the 20-year-old, who is still yet to establish himself as a stater for his country.

"We seek to have depth with the entry of Garnacho," Scaloni told TNT Sports. "It is good for him to play in these kinds of games.

"I'm not here to criticise my players, I'm here to support them. We knew it was going to be a tough game. We're here to keep going and give confidence to many of the new players."

Garnacho, who scored via the substitutes bench in United's 3-0 win over Leicester City last Sunday, now has eight senior caps to his name his country. He made his debut in June 2023 and his since made four competitive appearances for the three-time World Cup winners.

Argentina are scheduled to play again on Tuesday, hosting Peru.