Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez won the ‘Young Player’ award of the FIFA World Cup 2022 as his country beat France 4-2 on penalties in the final.
Enzo Fernandez : Young player award | Age | Stats
Enzo Jeremías Fernández is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Primeira Liga club Benfica and the Argentina national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Enzo Jeremías Fernández | ||
| Date of birth | 17 January 2001. | ||
| Place of birth | San Martín, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Central midfielder | ||
As an academy graduate of River Plate, Fernández made his first-team debut for the club in 2019 before spending two seasons with Defensa y Justicia on loan.
There, he enjoyed a successful campaign which culminated in him winning the Copa Sudamericana and Recopa Sudamericana, before returning to River Plate in 2021.
Following his return, Fernández established himself as an integral player for River Plate in the following years, and won the Argentine Primera División. In July 2022, he joined Portuguese Primeira Liga side Benfica.
Enzo Fernandez young player award
The 21-year-old midfielder has won the Best Young Player of the Tournament award at World Cup 2022.
The Benfica starlet played in all seven of Argentina’s games in Qatar as La Albiceleste won the World Cup for a third time.
Fernandez beat off competition from players such as Jude Bellingham, Goncalo Ramos and Aurelien Tchouameni to scoop the award after an impressive tournament.
The youngster only made his international debut in September but forced his way into the starting XI in Qatar after coming off the bench and scoring an outrageous goal in the win over Mexico in the group stages.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi was full of praise for Fernandez after the Mexico win. “I know Enzo very well, here from the national team and I also played against him in the Champions League,” he told reporters afterwards. “He deserves it, because he’s a spectacular kid and a very important player for us.”
Fernandez led all players for touches (118), successful passes (77) and tackles (10) in the final. His 10 tackles were the most of any player in a World Cup final since Gennaro Gattuso in 2006 (15).
Enzo Fernandez age
Born in San Martín, Buenos Aires Province, Fernández was one of five brothers and started playing football at the age of six for local side Club La Recova for most of his nascent years, before joining River Plate in 2006.
- Age : 21 years old.
After thirteen years spent progressing through the ranks, Fernández was promoted into the club’s first-team by manager Marcelo Gallardo in January 27, 2019, in a 3–1 home loss to Patronato in the Primera División, despite remaining on the bench.
He made his first-team debut on 4 March 2020, replacing Santiago Sosa in the 75th minute of a 3–0 loss to L.D.U. Quito in the Copa Libertadores.
In the weeks prior, he scored once, in the 6–1 thrashing of Libertad, in four games at the 2020 U-20 Copa Libertadores in Paraguay.
Stats
On 11 November, he was named in Argentina’s 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
| Senior career as of writing | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2022 | River Plate | 40 | (10) |
| 2020–2021 | → Defensa y Justicia (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2022– | Benfica | 13 | (1) |
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.
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.
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.
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. He was named best young player of the tournament.