Our man was introduced shortly after Lionel Scaloni’s much-fancied side had fallen behind and although he helped to create a number of chances, an equaliser never materialised.
A 10th minute Lionel Messi penalty had put Argentina ahead before La Albiceleste missed a host of chances that could have put them out of sight before half-time.
World Cup 2022 | City players’ fixtures
Saudi Arabia attacked immediately from the restart and were rewarded with strikes in the 49th and 53rd minute through Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari.
Argentina attacked in numbers for the remainder of the match but couldn’t find a way past goalkeeper Mohammad Al Owais.
Alvarez himself had one clear cut chance of his own in the 91st minute when he saw a goalbound effort headed off the line by covering defender Abdulelah Al Amri.
WATCH: Messi ‘one of a kind’, says Alvarez
Argentina’s clash with Mexico on Saturday evening now becomes even more important before they complete their group stage against Poland next Wednesday.
This result is in contrast to a positive Monday for City’s players. John Stones started for England before Phil Foden and Jack Grealish came off the bench in a 6-2 win a few hours ahead of Nathan Ake’s 90 minutes in Netherlands’ 2-0 victory over Senegal.
We’ll have reports of every single City player’s involvement at this tournament here on mancity.com and our official app.
