Argentina World Cup hero Julian Alvarez compared to Juninho with Man City star hailed as ‘perfect’ partner for Lionel Messi

Tony Cascarino has compared Argentine forward Julian Alvarez to former Middlesbrough favourite Juninho and says he is the 'perfect' partner for Lionel Messi.

The talkSPORT host praised the Manchester City forward for his performances at the World Cup since coming into the team in the group stages.

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The 22-year-old was not initially part of Argentina's first-team plans in Qatar.

Alvarez came into the team in the third group match, replacing Lautaro Martinez, and he has kept his place since, scoring four goals in the tournament.

Cascarino said on the Weekend Sports Breakfast: “Manchester City openly admitted they spent a lot of time chasing him. They allowed him to stay on loan at River Plate. They were obviously signing Erling Haaland.

“When they got the deal done, it’s been interesting watching him from the sidelines and the appearances he makes for Manchester City.

“We saw him against Nottingham Forest where he got a brace and was brilliant on the day. He reminds me a bit of Juninho – the Middlesbrough one.

“He’s got great feet, trickery – you can see the Juninho in him. You can see his goals, the way he plays the game, his enthusiasm and desire.

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"He’s the perfect foil for Lionel Messi because Messi is quite static for long periods while Alvarez runs everywhere."

Meanwhile, South American football expert Tim Vickery has identified the introduction of Alvarez into the team as a crucial part of Argentina’s World Cup run to the final, as they take on France on Sunday - with LIVE commentary on talkSPORT.

He said: “Alvarez has been a change they made. The military people say: no plan ever survives first contact with the enemy.

“Scaloni had a thought: ‘It’s going to be more difficult than we imagined. We’re not going to be able to bring Messi into the game as often as we want because we won’t always have control of the game'.

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“Messi spends a lot of time wandering around, biding his moment, waiting for his opportunity – if Messi is going to be more sporadic, they need someone to do the running.

“And so Martinez, the out-and-out centre-forward is gone and in comes Alvarez, who is quick, mobile, intelligent and has the soul of the midfielder.

“He takes some of the pressure off Messi by doing the running for him. That adaptation they have had to make under the conditions of the World Cup.”