The 24-year-old’s medal haul is the envy of many world class players who have come and gone before him.
His successes at City since arriving in Manchester in 2022 are well known to all followers of Pep Guardiola’s team, while Alvarez was already a national and continental champion with River Plate before moving to Europe.
However, our No.19 has also carried that winning mentality onto the international stage, with a World Cup and now two Copa America medals already part of his collection.
In his 36 games for Argentina, he has won 31 matches and scored nine goals. He still looks set to be a huge figure in La Albiceleste’s attack for years to come.
Having played for the U20 and U23 sides on his rise through the ranks, Alvarez’s form for River Plate as the outstanding player in Argentinian domestic football earned him his senior international debut in June 2021.
That was the last 28 minutes in a World Cup qualifier with Chile, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
Later that month the Copa America began, with Alvarez not used in the first three group games.
He got his introduction to major tournament football in the fourth and final group match, playing 34 minutes as a second half substitute.
21 at the time, Alvarez didn’t play again at that Copa America as Lautaro Martinez partnered Messi up top on the way to an historic achievement for the nation.
He would continue to feature as a substitute through the following winter before his first start brought his first goal in the March 2022 draw with Ecuador.
The goal was typical of Alvarez – a penalty box finish through a crowd of bodies and inside the post after his first effort was blocked.
His next international appearance was a cameo at the end of the June 2022 Finalissima against Italy at Wembley.
He then played the full game in a 5-0 win over Estonia a few days before joining up with his City team-mates.
Goals against Jamaica and the United Arab Emirates followed in warm up matches before the 2022 World Cup, where it appeared Alvarez would be an impact player off the bench.
That was his role in the first two games in Qatar, but boss Lionel Scaloni felt something needed switching up and Alvarez was handed the start in a decisive final group game with Poland.
He made the most of his opportunity, scoring a stunning goal to seal the 2-0 win.
Receiving the ball on the half turn on the edge of the box, Alvarez nudged it inside before curling into the top corner and sealing his nation’s safe passage to the next round.
A poacher’s finish in the Round of 16 tie with Australia followed and he never looked back in that tournament.
For the last three matches, Alvarez worked incredibly hard. He covered the spaces that Messi’s legs could no longer take him into, while his composure and finishing ability meant he could never be ignored.
That was most apparent with a Man of the Match performance in the 3-0 semi-final defeat of Croatia. Racing through early on, Alvarez was brought down for the penalty that Messi converted before going on to score two of his own.
The first of those was a feat of sheer determination, running directly at the heart of Croatia’s defence and forcing his way through until he eventually poked the ball home.
He backed that up with a more conventional striker’s finish, waiting in the box for Messi to pick him out after a slaloming run down the right.
103 minutes in the nail-biting final followed and Alvarez was a world champion.
An almighty party took place in Buenos Aires but our man was soon back to Manchester and welcomed home by a proud Etihad Stadium.
2023 was not our striker’s best year in terms of goal return in international, although he did play his part in another eight victories for Argentina.
That brought us to this summer’s Copa America, newly expanded to include the best sides from Central and North America too.
It was one of those fresh invitees, Canada, who have seen the best of Alvarez, with our man scoring against them in the group stage and in the semi-final meeting.
97 minutes of hard graft without much joy followed in the final, but it was undoubtedly his hard work that tired out the Colombia defence for Lautaro Martinez to take advantage of deep into extra time.
That made Argentina the first team ever to win successive Copa America titles either side of a World Cup triumph.
There’s no doubt our man will be eyeing even more trophies in the years to come.
