Argentine National Football Team

The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in men's international football and is administered by the Argentine Football Association, the governing body for football in Argentina.

Nicknamed ''La Albiceleste'' ('The White and Sky Blue'), they are the reigning world champions, having won the most recent World Cup in 2022. Overall, Argentina has appeared in a World Cup final six times; a record surpassed only by Brazil and Germany; Argentina played in the first ever final in 1930, which they lost 4–2 to their South American rival Uruguay. Argentina's next final appearance came 48 years later, in 1978, when the team captained by Daniel Passarella defeated the Netherlands 3–1 in extra time, being crowned world champions for the first time. Captained by Diego Maradona, Argentina won their second World Cup eight years later, in 1986, with a 3–2 final victory over West Germany. They reached the final once more under the guidance of Maradona, in 1990, but were ultimately beaten 1–0 by West Germany.

A few decades later, the team led by Lionel Messi, Argentina made their fifth final appearance in 2014, losing to Germany 1–0 after extra time. In 2022, again captained by Messi, they were crowned the World Champions for the third time, the fourth-most of any country, beating France 4–2 on penalties, following a 3–3 draw after extra time. The team's World Cupwinning managers are César Luis Menotti in 1978, Carlos Bilardo in 1986 and Lionel Scaloni in 2022. Since the Golden Ball for tournament's best player has been officially awarded by FIFA from 1982, Argentina players have won it thrice; Maradona in 1986 and Messi in 2014 and 2022. Argentines Guillermo Stábile and Mario Kempes both won the Golden Boot as the tournament's top scorer, in 1930 and 1978, respectively.

Argentina has also been very successful in the Copa América, winning it 15 times, a record it shares with Uruguay, most recently winning the 2021 edition. The team also won the inaugural FIFA Confederations Cup in 1992. Argentina is the most successful team in the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions, having won it twice, in 1993 and 2022. Argentina is known for having rivalries with Brazil, Uruguay, England, Germany and the Netherlands. As of 2022, Argentina holds the record for most official titles won by a men's national team with 22. Individually for Argentina, Lionel Messi is the all-time most-capped player with 172 games and the highest goalscorer with 98 goals.

History

The first match ever recorded for Argentina was against Uruguay, on 20 June 1902. The game (which was the first international for both sides) was held in Montevideo and Argentina won 6–0.Argentina-Uruguay: el clásico con más partidos del mundo
by Oscar Barnade on ''Clarín'', 18 November 2019 During the first years of its existence, the Argentina national team only played friendly matches against other South American teams. The reasons for this varied, including long travel times between countries and the interruption of World War I.

''La Selección'' (national team), also known as the ''Albicelestes'' (sky blue and whites), has appeared in six World Cup finals, including the first final in 1930, which they lost, 4–2, to Uruguay. Argentina won in their next final in 1978, beating the Netherlands, 3–1. Argentina, led by Diego Maradona won again in 1986, a 3–2 victory over West Germany.
Argentina last reached the World Cup final in 2014, where it lost 1–0 to Germany.
Previous to this their last World Cup final was in 1990, which is also lost, 1–0, to West Germany by a much-disputed penalty. In 2022, Argentina won the World Cup for the third time, beating France 4–2 on penalties following a 3–3 draw after extra time. The team's World Cup-winning managers are César Luis Menotti in 1978, Carlos Bilardo in 1986, and Lionel Scaloni in 2022.

Argentina has been very successful in the Copa América, winning it 15 times. The team also won the FIFA Confederations Cup and the Kirin Cup, both in 1992, the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions in 1993 and 2022, and the Nations' Cup in 1964. Argentina 'Olympic' team (with only three players of over 23 years of age included in the squad) won the Olympics football tournaments in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.

Argentina also won seven of the 18 football competitions at the Pan American Games, winning in 1951, 1955, 1959, 1971, 1995, 2003 and 2019.

In March 2007, Argentina reached the top of the FIFA World Rankings for the first time.

Home stadium

Argentina play most of their home matches at River Plate stadium, Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, although the team has also played in other venues such as Rosario Central, (during the 2010 World Cup qualification) Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero,En marzo la Selección Argentina será local en Santiago del Estero por Eliminatorias
on TyC Sports, 28 October 2020 Boca Juniors' stadium (La Bombonera) Those venues were used in some matches of the 2022 World Cup qualification, along with Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in Córdoba and Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario in the homonymous province.

GEBA Stadium was the venue where Argentina played their first international matches as local team. The match held on 13 September 1908, for the Copa Newton v. Uruguay has a historic relevance for being the first time Argentine wore the light blue and white striped jersey, which would be the definitive uniform up to present days. GEBA was also venue for the Copa Centenario Revolución de Mayo, the first international South American competition organised in 1910. The Argentina national team played its last game at GEBA on 19 October 1919, when the squad won the Copa Premier Honor Argentino after thrashing Uruguay by 6–1,

Other memorable venue for Argentina was Estadio Sportivo Barracas, which holds an important anecdotal fact in its history on 2 October 1924, when Argentina beat Uruguay 2–1 with a goal converted directly from a corner kick by forward Cesáreo Onzari. Since then, a goal like Onzari's is referred as a ''Gol olímpico'' or ''Olympic goal''. Sportivo Barracas was the usual venue for Argentina from 1920 to 1932. The stadium would be later demolished in 1937.

Team image

Kit

The kit first worn by Argentina in their official debut v Uruguay in 1902 was a light blue shirt. On 2 July 1908, Argentina debuted the light blue vertical stripe on white jersey, when the squad played vs a team formed by Liga Paulista players at Velódromo Paulistano. That striped jersey has remained as the official kit since then. The away kits usually have been in dark blue shades, varying the colours of shorts and socks.

Argentina has sported other kits until the blue strip on white kit was made official. On 3 June 1919 in Rio de Janeiro playing the "Roberto Chery Cup" against Brazil, Argentina wore a light blue kit, similar to Uruguay. The trophy was established by Brazilian Football Confederation, for the benefit of Roberto Chery's relatives. Chery was Uruguay's substitute goalkeeper and died during the 1919 South American Championship after collapsing in a game against Chile.

At the 1958 World Cup, Argentina wore the yellow jersey of Swedish club IFK Malmö in the match against West Germany, as the team arrived in Sweden without an away kit.

A last moment jersey changed at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico is memorable. Then manager, Carlos Bilardo, asked the team kit supplier Le Coq Sportif for a lighter blue shirt for the quarter-final in three days against England, that could not be provided. A member of coaching staff scoured the shops of Mexico City for 38 shirt plain shirts. They were transformed with an improvised version of the AFA emblem embroidered on to the shirts, and silvery American football numbers ironed to the backs. Argentina beat England with Diego Maradona's "Hand of God goal". The shirt style became an emblem of the occasion and a collector's item.

At the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Argentina debuted a black away kit, a first in their history, while for the 2022 FIFA World Cup they used a purple away one.

Kit suppliers

Crest

The Argentine Football Association ("AFA") logo has been always used as the team emblem. It debuted in the 1958 World Cup held in Sweden, when Argentina added the AFA logo to their jackets, but not to the shirts.

Nevertheless, the AFA emblem was not used on jerseys until 16 November 1976, when Argentina played the Soviet Union at Estadio Monumental. The first emblem was a simplified version of the crest (without the laurel wreath,El escudo de la camiseta de la Selección argentina cumple 41 años
by Daniela Aguinsky, ''Clarín'', 16 November 2017 that was added for the 1982 World Cup).

In 2004, two stars were added above the crest, symbolising the national team's world championships in 1978 and 1986. A third star was added after Argentina won their third world championship in 2022.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results from the previous 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2022

Coaching staff

Manager history

* Sources:

* Ángel Vázquez (1924–1925)
* José Lago Millán (1927–1928)
* Francisco Olazar (1928–1929)
* Francisco Olazar & Juan J. Tramutola (1929–1930)
* Felipe Pascucci (1934)
* Manuel Seoane (1934–1937)
* Ángel Fernández Roca (1937–1939)
* Guillermo Stábile (1939–1958)
* Victorio Spinetto (1959)
* Guillermo Stábile (1960–1961)
* Juan Carlos Lorenzo (1962–1963)
* Alejandro Galán (1963)
* Horacio Torres (1963–1964)
* José María Minella (1964–1968)
* Renato Cesarini (1968)
* Humberto Maschio (1968–1969)
* Adolfo Pedernera (1969)
* Juan José Pizzuti (1969–1972)
* Omar Sívori (1972–1974)
* Vladislao Cap (1974)
* César Luis Menotti (1974–1983)
* Carlos Bilardo (1983–1990)
* Alfio Basile (1990–1994)
* Daniel Passarella (1994–1998)
* Marcelo Bielsa (1998–2004)
* José Pékerman (2004–2006)
* Alfio Basile (2006–2008)
* Diego Maradona (2008–2010)
* Sergio Batista (2010–2011)
* Alejandro Sabella (2011–2014)
* Gerardo Martino (2014–2016)
* Edgardo Bauza (2016–2017)
* Jorge Sampaoli (2017–2018)
* Lionel Scaloni (2018–present)

Players

Current squad

The following 26 players were named in the squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. On 17 November, Nicolás González withdrew injured and was replaced by Ángel Correa. On the same day Joaquín Correa withdrew injured and was replaced by Thiago Almada.

''Caps and goals are correct as of 18 December 2022, after the match against France.''

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team in the last twelve months.

^COV Withdrew from the squad due to quarantine or infection by COVID-19

^INJ Withdrew due to injury

^PRE Preliminary squad

^RET Retired from the national team

^SUS Suspended

Individual records

:''Players in bold are still active with Argentina.''

Most capped players

Top goalscorers

World Cup winning captains

Caps

* Most capped player: 172, Lionel Messi, 2005–
* Youngest player: Diego Maradona, 16 years, 3 months and 28 days old against Hungary in 1977
* Youngest player to appear in a FIFA World Cup match: Lionel Messi, 18 years, 11 months and 23 days old against Serbia and Montenegro in 2006
* Oldest player: Ángel Labruna, 39 years, 8 months and 18 days old against Czechoslovakia in the 1958 FIFA World Cup

Goals

* Most goals scored: 98, Lionel Messi, 2005–
* Oldest goalscorer: Martín Palermo, 36 years and 7 months old in 2010 against Greece
* Youngest goalscorer: Diego Maradona, 18 years, 7 months and 4 days old in 1979 against Scotland
* Youngest player to score in a FIFA World Cup match: Lionel Messi, 18 years and 357 days, against Serbia and Montenegro in 2006
* Most goals scored in a single match: 5 – Manuel Seoane in 1925, Juan Marvezzi in 1941, Lionel Messi in 2022
* Most goals scored in a calendar year: 18 – Lionel Messi, (2022)

Manager records

; Most appearances
: Guillermo Stábile: 127 Guillermo coached Argentina in 123 matches which made him among the few coaches who were in charge of more than 100 international matches. While still with the national team, he led them to victories in the South American Championship in 1941, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1955, and 1957.

Competitive record

Champions   Runners-up   Third place   Tournament played fully or partially on home soil  

FIFA World Cup

:''*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.''

Copa América

FIFA Confederations Cup

CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions

:''*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.''

Olympic Games

Head-to-head record

Below is a result summary of all matches Argentina have played against FIFA recognised teams.

Rivalries

Brazil

Argentina have a long and fierce rivalry with their South American neighbour Brazil.

England

With a rivalry stemming from the 1966 World Cup and intensified by the Falklands War of 1982, Argentina and England have had numerous confrontations in World Cup tournaments. Among them was the quarter-final match in 1986, where Diego Maradona scored two goals against England. The first was a handball, but was ruled legal by the referee. The second, scored minutes later, saw Maradona passing five England outfield players before scoring, and is often described as one of the greatest goals in football history.

The nations were paired together in the Round of 16 at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, won by Argentina on penalties, and again at the group stage in 2002, England winning 1–0 through a penalty by David Beckham who had been sent off in the tie four years earlier.

Germany

Argentina have played Germany in seven FIFA World Cup matches including three FIFA World Cup finals: In 1986 Argentina won 3–2, but in 1990 it was the Germans who were the victors by a 1–0 scoreline.

In 1958 they met for the first time in the group stage, where Argentina suffered a 1–3 loss to defending champions West Germany. In 1966 both again faced each other in the group stage which ended in a scoreless draw. In 2006, they met in the quarter-finals; Argentina lost on penalties after a 1–1 draw, which was followed by a brawl on the pitch involving several players. They met again at the same stage in 2010, this time ending with a 4–0 victory for Germany. They played each other for the third consecutive World Cup in the Brazil 2014 event's final, where Argentina was defeated in extra time by a score of 1–0.

Uruguay

Argentina have a long-standing rivalry with their neighbours, that came into existence from the early South American Championships, the 1928 Summer Olympics and the first World Cup final, held in 1930.

Argentina and Uruguay hold the record for most international matches played between two countries. The two teams have faced each other 197 times since 1902. The first match between Argentina and Uruguay was also the first official international match to be played outside the United Kingdom.Although Canada and the United States played two internationals in 1885 and 1886, neither match is considered official; Canada did not play an official international until 1904 and the United States did not play one until 1916.

Nigeria

A minor rivalry developed from the 1990s between Argentina and Nigeria, based not on geographical proximity, long-term battles for honours or factors outside football, but due to the frequency of significant matches between them. This has included five World Cup group games, all won by Argentina by a single goal margin: 2–1 in 1994, 1–0 in 2002, 1–0 in 2010, 3–2 in 2014 and 2–1 in 2018. The fixture is the most common in the competition's history involving an African nation, and has occurred in five of the six tournaments for which Nigeria has qualified. The sides also met in the 1995 King Fahd Cup (the predecessor to the Confederations Cup) as champions of their respective continents, drawing 0–0.

Below full international level, their Olympic teams also faced off in the gold medal match in 1996 (3–2 to Nigeria), and 2008 (1–0 to Argentina). The final of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship was also played between them; both Argentina goals in their 2–1 win were scored by Lionel Messi, who would go on to find the net for the senior team in the 2014 and 2018 World Cup fixtures.

The sense of rivalry is more keenly felt on the Nigerian side, as Argentina have won almost all of their encounters and have much bigger rivalries with Brazil, England, Germany and Uruguay in contrast to the West Africans who remain keen to finally overcome a more illustrious foe.

Honours

Official

* FIFA World Cup
** Champions (3): 1978, 1986, 2022
** Runners-up (3): 1930, 1990, 2014
* South American Championship / Copa América
** Champions (15): 1921, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1937, 1941, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1991, 1993, 2021
** Runners-up (14): 1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1935, 1942, 1959, 1967, 2004, 2007, 2015, 2016
** Third place (5): 1919, 1956, 1963, 1989, 2019
** Fourth place (2): 1922, 1987
* Panamerican Championship
** Champions (1): 1960
** Runners-up (1): 1956
* FIFA Confederations Cup
** Champions (1): 1992
** Runners-up (2): 1995, 2005
* CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions
** Champions (2): 1993, 2022

Olympic team

* Olympic Games
** Silver medal (1): 1928

Friendly

* Newton Cup (17): 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1916, 1918, 1924, 1927, 1928, 1937, 1942, 1945, 1957, 1973, 1975, 1976 (record)
* Lipton Cup (18): 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1913, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1928, 1937, 1942, 1945, 1957, 1962, 1968, 1976, 1992 (record)
* Copa Premier Honor Argentino (7): 1909, 1911, 1913, 1914,1918, 1919, 1980 (record)
* Copa Centenario Revolución de Mayo (1): 1910
* Copa Premier Honor Uruguayo (5): 1915, 1916, 1917, 1923, 1924
* Copa Juan Mignaburu (5): 1935, 1936, 1938, 1940, 1943 (record)
* Copa Héctor Rivadavia Gómez (3): 1935, 1936, 1943 (record)
* Roca Cup (4): 1923, 1939, 1940, 1971 (shared)
* Superclásico de las Américas (2): 2017, 2019
* Nations' Cup (1): 1964
* Kirin Cup (2): 1992, 2003
* Copa Times of India (1): 2011
* San Juan Cup (1): 2019

Chronology of titles

Summary

;Notes

See also

* List of Argentina international footballers
* Argentina national under-23 football team
* Argentina national under-20 football team
* Argentina national under-17 football team
* '' Vamos, vamos, Argentina''

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

*

Argentina FIFA profile

{{Portal bar, Association football, Argentina

FIFA Confederations Cup-winning countries
FIFA World Cup-winning countries
South American national association football teams
Football teams in Argentina