CHAPTER 1 International career

On 24 July 2019, Fernández was selected by the Argentina U18s manager Esteban Solari to

represent his nation at the 2019 COTIF Tournament in Spain.[4][20] On 3 November 2021, he was called
up by Argentina national team manager Lionel Scaloni for two 2022 FIFA World Cup
qualifiers against Brazil and Uruguay.[6] He made his senior team debut on 24 September 2022, by
coming on as a 64th-minute substitute for Leandro Paredes in a 3–0 win against Honduras.[21]
On 11 November, he was named in Argentina's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[22] After
coming on for Guido Rodríguez in the 57th minute, on 26 November, Fernández scored his first
international goal, closing Argentina's 2–0 group stage win against Mexico.[23] In doing so, he became
the second youngest player ever (only behind Lionel Messi) to score a World Cup goal for Argentina at
21 years, ten months and thirteen days old.[24] On 3 December, he achieved a rather not so famous
record, becoming the youngest own goal scorer in the history of Argentina in the FIFA World Cup, in
the round of sixteen match against Australia, when his attempt to block Craig Goodwin's shot instead
deflected into his team's net as Argentina beat Australia 2–1. [25] After defeating Croatia 3–0 in the semi-
final, Fernández played in the final against France, where Argentina won the World Cup by a score of
4–2 on penalties.[26] He was named best young player of the tournament. [27]

CHAPTER 2 Style of play

During his career, Fernández has been deployed in a deep-seated playmaking role as a central
midfielder, responsible for breaking up play, dictating the tempo and recycling possession, although he
is also capable of playing in a more advanced role as an attacking midfielder. He usually makes quick
short passes, accurate long passes, and lobbed balls. He is very combative in his midfield duels,
protects the space and his backline efficiently, he possesses a good passing range, excellent vision
and high levels of accuracy, which is very purposeful in his midfield actions and can dribble into
dangerous territory or out of it to devastating effect. He thrives in receiving the ball in tight spaces and
is very press-resistant due to his wonderful low sense of gravity, balance and flexibility in his body
movements. He excels at quick short passes, passing to break lines or to play through attackers
running to space, but also passing in the means of keeping possession to move around and tire
opposition shapes. Fernández excels out of possession, always looking to get into the right positions
to stop of opposition attacks, disrupting moves, whilst also being in the right place at the right time to
intercept passes. In addition, he is a good dribbler and can move the ball forward either through his
passing. He prefers operating centrally but can sometimes be seen in the left half-space usually in a
partnership with Florentino Luís.[28][29][30][31][32][33]