Argentina national football team

Argentina
Nickname(s)	La Albiceleste (The White and Sky Blue)
Association	Argentine Football Association (AFA)
Confederation	CONMEBOL (South America)
Head coach	Gerardo Martino
Most caps	Javier Zanetti (143)
Top scorer	Lionel Messi (55)
Home stadium	Antonio Vespucio Liberti (El Monumental)
FIFA code	ARG
First colours	Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	1 (2 June 2016)
Highest	1 (March 2007, October 2007 – June 2008, July–October 2015, April–May 2016)
Lowest	18 (August 1996)
Elo ranking
Current	1 (29 May 2016)
Highest	1 (July 2007, May 2016)
Lowest	18 (June 1990)
First international
	Uruguay 2–3 Argentina ; (Montevideo, Uruguay; 16 May 1901)
Biggest win
	Argentina 12–0 Ecuador ; (Montevideo, Uruguay; 22 January 1942)
Biggest defeat
	Czechoslovakia 6–1 Argentina; (Helsingborg, Sweden; 15 May 1958); Uruguay 5–0 Argentina; (Guayaquil, Ecuador; 6 December 1959); Argentina 0–5 Colombia; (Buenos Aires, Argentina; 5 September 1993); Bolivia 6–1 Argentina; (La Paz, Bolivia; 1 April 2009)
World Cup
Appearances	16 (First in 1930)
Best result	Champions, 1978 and 1986
Copa América
Appearances	41 (First in 1916)
Best result	Champions, 1921, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1937, 1941, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1991 and 1993
Confederations Cup
Appearances	3 (First in 1992)
Best result	Champions, 1992

The Argentina national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Argentina) represents Argentina in football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association (AFA), the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti in Buenos Aires.

La Selección (national team), also known as the Albicelestes (sky blue and whites), has appeared in five World Cup finals, including the first final in 1930, which they lost 4–2 to Uruguay. Argentina won in their next final appearance in 1978, beating the Netherlands at extra time, 3–1. Argentina, led by Diego Maradona won again in 1986, a 3–2 victory over West Germany. They again made the World Cup finals in 1990, and lost 1–0 to West Germany following a controversial penalty call in the 87th minute. Argentina made their fifth appearance in a World Cup final in 2014, again losing to Germany, 1–0 during extra-time. Argentina's World Cup winning managers are César Luis Menotti in 1978, and Carlos Bilardo in 1986.

Argentina has been very successful in the Copa América, winning it 14 times and also winning the 'extra' South American Championships in 1941, 1945 and 1946. The team also won the FIFA Confederations Cup and the Kirin Cup, both in 1992, and the Argentine olympic team won the Olympics football tournaments in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.^[4]

Argentina and France are the only two national teams that have won the three most important men's titles recognized by FIFA: the World Cup, the Confederations Cup, and the Olympic tournament. They have both also won their respective continental championship (Copa América for Argentina, and UEFA European Championship for France).^[5]^[6]

Argentina is known for having rivalries with Brazil, Uruguay, England and Germany due to historic occurrences with one another throughout football history.^[7]^[8]

Argentina also won six of the 14 football competitions at the Pan American Games, winning in 1951, 1955, 1959, 1971, 1995 and 2003.

History

The first match ever recorded by Argentina was against Uruguay.^[a] The game was held in Montevideo on 16 May 1901 and Argentina won, 3–2. 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 World War I.^[11]

La Selección (national team), also known as the Albicelestes (sky blue and whites), has appeared in five 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. Their most recent World Cup final was in 2014, which they lost 1–0 to Germany. Previous to this their last World Cup final was in 1990, which they lost, 1–0, to Germany by a much disputed penalty. Argentina's World Cup winning managers are César Luis Menotti in 1978, and Carlos Bilardo in 1986.

Argentina has been very successful in the Copa América, winning it fourteen times and also winning the 'extra' South American Championships in 1941, 1945 and 1946. The team also won the FIFA Confederations Cup and the Kirin Cup, both in 1992, and an Argentina 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.^[12]

Argentina also won six of the 14 football competitions at the Pan American Games, winning in 1951, 1955, 1959, 1971, 1995 and 2003.

In March 2007, Argentina reached the top of the FIFA World Rankings for the first time.^[13]

Kit history

Argentina has been wearing white and light blue in vertical stripes jersey, black shorts and white/black socks. The away kits usually are in dark blue tones, varying the colors of shorts and socks.

Nevertheless, Argentina wore other uniforms a few times. One of them was on 3 June 1919 in Rio de Janeiro playing the "Roberto Chery Cup" against Brazil. That time Argentina wore a light blue kit, similar to Uruguay.^[14] 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.^[15]

In the 1958 World Cup, Argentina wore the yellow IFK Malmo's jersey in the match against West Germany as the team didn't bring away uniforms to Sweden.^[16]

Home

1901	1911–1974	1930	1975	1978
1982	1986	1990	1994	1998
1999	2002	2004	2006	2008
2010	2011	2014	2015

Away

1919 ^[14]	1958 ^[16]	1978	1982
1986	1994	1998	2002	2004
2006	2008	2010	2011	2014

Managers

The first Argentina national team manager was Ángel Vázquez, appointed in 1924. Guillermo Stábile is the manager with the most matches coaching the team (127).^[17] The complete list of managers is:^[18]^[19]

Dates	Name
1924–25	Ángel Vázquez
1927–28	José Lago Millán
1928–29	Francisco Olazar
1929–30	Francisco Olazar & Juan J. Tramutola
1934	Felipe Pascucci
1934–37	Manuel Seoane
1937–39	Ángel Fernández Roca
1939–60	Guillermo Stábile
1960–61	Victorio Spinetto
1962–63	Juan Carlos Lorenzo

Dates	Name
1963	Alejandro Galán
1963–64	Horacio Torres
1964–68	José María Minella
1968	Renato Cesarini
1968–69	Humberto Maschio
1969	Adolfo Pedernera
1969–72	Juan José Pizzuti
1972–74	Omar Sívori
1974	Vladislao Cap
1974–83	César Luis Menotti
1983–90	Carlos Bilardo

Dates	Name
1990–94	Alfio Basile
1994–98	Daniel Passarella
1998–04	Marcelo Bielsa
2004–06	José Pékerman
2006–08	Alfio Basile
2008–10	Diego Maradona
2010–11	Sergio Batista
2011–14	Alejandro Sabella
2014–	Gerardo Martino

^[20]

Results and fixtures

Win Draw Loss

2016

24 March 2016 2018 FIFA WCQ	Chile	1–2	Argentina	Santiago, Chile
20:30 UTC−3	Gutiérrez 10'	Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL)	Di María 19' Mercado 24'	Stadium: Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos Referee: Héber Lopes (Brazil)

29 March 2016 2018 FIFA WCQ	Argentina	2–0	Bolivia	Córdoba, Argentina
20:30 UTC−3	Mercado 21' Messi 29' (pen.)	Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL)		Stadium: Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes Referee: Jesús Valenzuela (Venezuela)

27 May 2016 Friendly	Argentina	1–0	Honduras	San Juan, Argentina
	Higuaín 31'	Report Report (AFA)		Stadium: Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Jorge Osorio (Chile)

6 June 2016 Copa América	Argentina	2–1	Chile	Santa Clara, United States
22:00 EDT (UTC−4)	Di María 51' Banega 59'	Report (CONMEBOL) Report (CONCACAF) Report (FIFA)	Fuenzalida 90+3'	Stadium: Levi's Stadium Attendance: 69,451 Referee: Daniel Fedorczuk (Uruguay)

10 June 2016 Copa América	Argentina	5–0	Panama	Chicago, United States
22:00 EDT (UTC−4)	Otamendi 7' Messi 68', 78', 87' Agüero 90'	Report (CONMEBOL) Report (CONCACAF)		Stadium: Soldier Field Attendance: 53,885 Referee: Joel Aguilar (El Salvador)

14 June 2016 Copa América	Argentina	3–0	Bolivia	Seattle, United States
22:00	Lamela 13' Lavezzi 15' Cuesta 32'	Report (CONMEBOL) Report (CONCACAF)		Stadium: CenturyLink Field Attendance: 45,753^[21] Referee: Víctor Carrillo (Peru)

18 June 2016 Copa América	Argentina	4–1	Venezuela	Foxborough, United States
19:00	Higuaín 8', 28' Messi 60' Lamela 71'	Report (CONMEBOL) Report (CONCACAF)	Rondón 70'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 59,183^[22] Referee: Roberto García Orozco (Mexico)

21 June 2016 Copa América	United States	0–4	Argentina	Houston, United States
21:00		Report (CONMEBOL) Report (CONCACAF)	Lavezzi 3' Messi 32' Higuaín 50', 86'	Stadium: NRG Stadium Attendance: 70,858 Referee: Enrique Cáceres (Paraguay)

26 June 2016 Copa América	Argentina	0–0 (2–4 p)	Chile	East Rutherford, United States
20:00 EDT (UTC−4)		Report (CONMEBOL) Report (CONCACAF)		Stadium: MetLife Stadium Attendance: 82,026 Referee: Héber Lopes (Brazil)
		Penalties
	Messi Mascherano Agüero Biglia		Vidal Castillo Aránguiz Beausejour Silva

1 September 2016 2018 FIFA WCQ	Argentina	v	Uruguay	Mendoza, Argentina
				Stadium: Estadio Malvinas Argentinas

6 September 2016 2018 FIFA WCQ	Venezuela	v	Argentina	Venezuela

6 October 2016 2018 FIFA WCQ	Peru	v	Argentina	Peru

11 October 2016 2018 FIFA WCQ	Argentina	v	Paraguay	Argentina

10 November 2016 2018 FIFA WCQ	Brazil	v	Argentina	Brazil

15 November 2016 2018 FIFA WCQ	Argentina	v	Colombia	Argentina

2017

23 March 2017 2018 FIFA WCQ	Argentina	v	Chile	Argentina

28 March 2017 2018 FIFA WCQ	Bolivia	v	Argentina	Bolivia

31 August 2017 2018 FIFA WCQ	Uruguay	v	Argentina	Uruguay

5 September 2017 2018 FIFA WCQ	Argentina	v	Venezuela	Argentina

5 October 2017 2018 FIFA WCQ	Argentina	v	Peru	Argentina

10 October 2017 2018 FIFA WCQ	Ecuador	v	Argentina	Ecuador

Players

Current squad

The following 23 players were called up for the Copa América Centenario final:^[23]
Caps and goals updated as of 26 June 2016 after the match against Chile.

0#0	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Sergio Romero	(1987-02-22) 22 February 1987 (age 29)	79	0	Manchester United
12	1GK	Nahuel Guzmán	(1986-02-10) 10 February 1986 (age 30)	6	0	UANL
23	1GK	Mariano Andújar	(1983-07-30) 30 July 1983 (age 32)	11	0	Estudiantes

2	2DF	Jonathan Maidana	(1985-07-29) 29 July 1985 (age 30)	4	0	River Plate
3	2DF	Facundo Roncaglia	(1987-02-10) 10 February 1987 (age 29)	12	0	Fiorentina
4	2DF	Gabriel Mercado	(1987-03-18) 18 March 1987 (age 29)	10	2	Monterrey
13	2DF	Ramiro Funes Mori	(1991-03-05) 5 March 1991 (age 25)	13	0	Everton
15	2DF	Víctor Cuesta	(1988-11-19) 19 November 1988 (age 27)	3	1	Independiente
16	2DF	Marcos Rojo	(1990-03-20) 20 March 1990 (age 26)	49	2	Manchester United
17	2DF	Nicolás Otamendi	(1988-02-12) 12 February 1988 (age 28)	38	2	Manchester City

5	3MF	Matías Kranevitter	(1993-05-21) 21 May 1993 (age 23)	7	0	Atlético Madrid
6	3MF	Lucas Biglia	(1986-01-30) 30 January 1986 (age 30)	44	1	Lazio
7	3MF	Ángel Di María	(1988-02-14) 14 February 1988 (age 28)	76	17	Paris Saint-Germain
8	3MF	Augusto Fernández	(1986-04-10) 10 April 1986 (age 30)	15	1	Atlético Madrid
14	3MF	Javier Mascherano (vice-captain)	(1984-06-08) 8 June 1984 (age 32)	129	3	Barcelona
18	3MF	Érik Lamela	(1992-03-04) 4 March 1992 (age 24)	22	3	Tottenham Hotspur
19	3MF	Éver Banega	(1988-06-29) 29 June 1988 (age 28)	47	5	Internazionale
20	3MF	Nicolás Gaitán	(1988-02-23) 23 February 1988 (age 28)	16	2	Benfica
21	3MF	Javier Pastore	(1989-06-20) 20 June 1989 (age 27)	27	2	Paris Saint-Germain

9	4FW	Gonzalo Higuaín	(1987-12-10) 10 December 1987 (age 28)	63	30	Napoli
10	4FW	Lionel Messi (captain)	(1987-06-24) 24 June 1987 (age 29)	113	55	Barcelona
11	4FW	Sergio Agüero	(1988-06-02) 2 June 1988 (age 28)	77	33	Manchester City
22	4FW	Ezequiel Lavezzi	(1985-05-03) 3 May 1985 (age 31)	51	9	Hebei China Fortune

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Agustín Marchesín	(1988-03-16) 16 March 1988 (age 28)	2	0	Santos Laguna	Copa América Centenario preliminary squad
GK	Gerónimo Rulli	(1992-05-20) 20 May 1992 (age 24)	0	0	Real Sociedad	Copa América Centenario preliminary squad

DF	Pablo Zabaleta	(1985-01-16) 16 January 1985 (age 31)	54	0	Manchester City	Copa América Centenario preliminary squad ^INJ
DF	Martín Demichelis	(1980-12-20) 20 December 1980 (age 35)	50	2	Manchester City	Copa América Centenario preliminary squad
DF	Ezequiel Garay	(1986-10-10) 10 October 1986 (age 29)	32	0	Zenit Saint Petersburg	Copa América Centenario preliminary squad
DF	Gonzalo Rodríguez	(1984-10-04) 4 October 1984 (age 31)	7	1	Fiorentina	Copa América Centenario preliminary squad
DF	Emmanuel Más	(1989-01-15) 15 January 1989 (age 27)	4	0	San Lorenzo	Copa América Centenario preliminary squad
DF	Leonel Vangioni	(1987-05-05) 5 May 1987 (age 29)	4	0	Milan	Copa América Centenario preliminary squad ^INJ
DF	Mateo Musacchio	(1990-08-26) 26 August 1990 (age 25)	3	0	Villarreal	Copa América Centenario preliminary squad
DF	Milton Casco	(1988-04-11) 11 April 1988 (age 28)	2	0	River Plate	Copa América Centenario preliminary squad
DF	Javier Pinola	(1983-02-24) 24 February 1983 (age 33)	2	0	Rosario Central	Copa América Centenario preliminary squad ^INJ
DF	Gino Peruzzi	(1992-06-09) 9 June 1992 (age 24)	5	0	Boca Juniors	v. Brazil, 12 November 2015

MF	Enzo Pérez	(1986-02-22) 22 February 1986 (age 30)	16	1	Valencia	Copa América Centenario preliminary squad
MF	Roberto Pereyra	(1991-01-07) 7 January 1991 (age 25)	10	0	Juventus	Copa América Centenario preliminary squad
MF	Guido Pizarro	(1990-02-26) 26 February 1990 (age 26)	0	0	UANL	Copa América Centenario preliminary squad
MF	Fernando Gago	(1986-04-10) 10 April 1986 (age 30)	60	0	Boca Juniors	v. Mexico, 8 September 2015

FW	Carlos Tevez	(1984-02-05) 5 February 1984 (age 32)	76	13	Boca Juniors	Copa América Centenario preliminary squad
FW	Ángel Correa	(1995-03-09) 9 March 1995 (age 21)	4	1	Atlético Madrid	Copa América Centenario preliminary squad
FW	Paulo Dybala	(1993-11-15) 15 November 1993 (age 22)	3	0	Juventus	Copa América Centenario preliminary squad
FW	Lautaro Acosta	(1988-03-14) 14 March 1988 (age 28)	0	0	Lanús	Copa América Centenario preliminary squad

^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
^RET Retired from international football
^SUS Suspended in official matches.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

Gold Silver Bronze

FIFA World Cup record									FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D *	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Runners-up	2nd	5	4	0	1	18	9	–	–	–	–	–	–
1934	Round 1	9th	1	0	0	1	2	3	–	–	–	–	–	–
1938	Withdrew
1950
1954
1958	Group Stage	13th	3	1	0	2	5	10	4	3	0	1	10	2
1962	Group Stage	10th	3	1	1	1	2	3	2	2	0	0	11	3
1966	Quarter-Finals	5th	4	2	1	1	4	2	4	3	1	0	9	2
1970	Did Not Qualify								4	1	1	2	4	6
1974	Round 2	8th	6	1	2	3	9	12	4	3	1	0	9	2
1978	Champions	1st	7	5	1	1	15	4	Qualified as hosts
1982	Round 2	11th	5	2	0	3	8	7	Qualified as defending champions
1986	Champions	1st	7	6	1	0	14	5	6	4	1	1	12	6
1990	Runners-up	2nd	7	2	*3(2)**	2	5	4	Qualified as defending champions
1994	Round of 16	10th	4	2	0	2	8	6	8	4	2	2	9	10
1998	Quarter-Finals	6th	5	3	1*	1	10	4	16	8	6	2	23	13
2002	Group Stage	18th	3	1	1	1	2	2	18	13	4	1	42	15
2006	Quarter-Finals	6th	5	3	2(1*)	0	11	3	18	10	4	4	29	17
2010	Quarter-Finals	5th	5	4	0	1	10	6	18	8	4	6	23	20
2014	Runners-Up	2nd	7	5	1*	1	8	4	16	9	5	2	35	15
2018	To Be Determined
2022	To Be Determined
Total	2 Titles	16/22	77	42	14	21	131	84	118	68	29	21	216	111

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks. Darker color indicates win, normal color indicates lost.

**Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

FIFA Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D *	L	GF	GA	Squad
1992	Champions	1st	2	2	0	0	7	1	Squad
1995	Runners-up	2nd	3	1	1	1	5	3	Squad
1997	Did Not Qualify
1999
2001
2003
2005	Runners-up	2nd	5	2	2	1	10	10	Squad
2009	Did Not Qualify
2013
2017
2021	TBD
Total	1 Title	3/11	10	5	3	2	22	14	-

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

**Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

South American Championship

South American Championship
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1916	Runners-up	2nd	3	1	2	0	7	2
1917	Runners-up	2nd	3	2	0	1	5	3
1919	Third Place	3rd	3	1	0	2	7	7
1920	Runners-up	2nd	3	1	2	0	4	2
1921	Champions	1st	3	3	0	0	5	0
1922	Fourth Place	4th	4	2	0	2	6	3
1923	Runners-up	2nd	3	2	0	1	6	6
1924	Runners-up	2nd	3	1	2	0	2	0
1925	Champions	1st	4	3	1	0	11	4
1926	Runners-up	2nd	4	2	1	1	14	3
1927	Champions	1st	3	3	0	0	15	4
1929	Champions	1st	3	3	0	0	9	1
1935	Runners-up	2nd	3	2	0	1	8	5
1937	Champions	1st	6	5	0	1	14	5
1939	Withdrew
1941	Champions	1st	4	4	0	0	10	2
1942	Runners-up	2nd	6	4	1	1	21	6
1945	Champions	1st	6	5	1	0	22	5
1946	Champions	1st	5	5	0	0	17	3
1947	Champions	1st	7	6	1	0	28	4
1949	Withdrew
1953	Withdrew
1955	Champions	1st	5	4	1	0	18	6
1956	Third Place	3rd	5	3	0	2	5	3
1957	Champions	1st	6	5	0	1	25	6
1959	Champions	1st	6	5	1	0	19	5
1959	Runners-up	2nd	4	2	1	1	9	9
1963	Third Place	3rd	6	3	1	2	15	10
1967	Runners-up	2nd	5	4	0	1	12	3
Total	12 Titles	26/29	113	81	15	17	314	107

Copa América

Copa América
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1975	Group Stage	5th	4	2	0	2	17	4
1979	Group Stage	8th	4	1	1	2	7	6
1983	Group Stage	6th	4	1	3	0	5	4
1987	Fourth Place	4th	4	1	1	2	5	4
1989	Third Place	3rd	7	2	3	2	2	4
1991	Champions	1st	7	6	1	0	16	6
1993	Champions	1st	6	2	4	0	6	4
1995	Quarter-Finals	5th	4	2	1	1	8	6
1997	Quarter-Finals	6th	4	1	2	1	4	3
1999	Quarter-Finals	8th	4	2	0	2	6	6
2001	Withdrew
2004	Runners-up	2nd	6	4	1	1	16	6
2007	Runners-up	2nd	6	5	0	1	16	6
2011	Quarter-Finals	7th	4	1	3	0	5	2
2015	Runners-up	2nd	6	3	3	0	10	3
2016	Runners-up	2nd	6	5	1	0	18	2
2019	Qualified
Total	2 Titles	15/16	76	38	24	14	141	66

Olympics record

Olympics record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1908	Did Not Enter
1912
1920
1924
1928	Silver Medal	2nd	5	3	1	1	25	7
1936	Did Not Participate
1948
1952
1956
1960	Quarter-Finals	7th	3	2	0	1	6	4
1964	Group Stage	10th	2	0	1	1	3	4
1968	Did Not Qualify
1972
1976
1980	Qualified and Withdrew
1984	Did Not Qualify
1988	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	1	2	4	5
1992	Did Not Qualify
1996	Silver Medal	2nd	6	3	2	1	13	6
2000	Did Not Qualify
2004	Gold Medal	1st	6	6	0	0	17	0
2008	Gold Medal	1st	6	6	0	0	11	2
2012	Did Not Qualify
2016	Qualified
2020	TBD
Total	2 Gold Medals 2 Silver Medal	8/19	32	21	5	6	78	28

Football at the Summer Olympics has been an under-23 tournament since 1992. See Argentina Olympic football team.

Pan American Games

Pan American Games record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1951	Champions	1st	4	4	0	0	16	2
1955	Champions	1st	6	5	1	0	23	7
1959	Champions	1st	6	5	1	0	20	4
1963	Runners-up	2nd	7	3	1	0	18	3
1967	Round 1	5th	3	1	1	1	7	3
1971	Champions	1st	5	4	1	0	7	2
1975	Third Place	3rd	3	2	1	0	9	1
1979	Third Place	3rd	4	2	2	0	3	0
1983	Round 1	5th	2	0	0	2	0	4
1987	Third Place	3rd	4	3	0	1	11	3
1991	Did not Qualify
1995	Champions	1st	6	5	1	0	10	4
1999	Did not Qualify
2003	Champions	1st	5	5	0	0	10	5
2007	Round 1	9th	3	0	2	1	1	3
2011	Runners-up	2nd	5	3	1	1	6	2
2015	Did not Enter
2019	TBD
Total	6 Titles	14/16	60	46	10	6	134	43

Records and statistics

Most capped players

Javier Zanetti is the most capped player in the history of Argentina with 143 caps.

As of 26 June 2016^[1]

Rank.	Name	Career	Caps	Goals
1	Javier Zanetti	1994–2011	143	5
2	Javier Mascherano	2003–	129	3
3	Roberto Ayala	1994–2007	115	7
4	Lionel Messi	2005–2016	113	55
5	Diego Simeone	1988–2002	106	11
6	Oscar Ruggeri	1983–1994	97	7
7	Diego Maradona	1977–1994	91	34
8	Ariel Ortega	1993–2010	87	17
9	Sergio Romero	2009–	79	0
10	Gabriel Batistuta	1991–2002	78	54

Top goalscorers

Lionel Messi (left) is the highest goalscorer in the history of Argentina with 55 goals.

As of 26 June 2016, the ten players with the most goals for Argentina are:

Rank.	Player	Career	Goals	Caps	Avg/Game
1	Lionel Messi (list)	2005–2016	55	113	0.491
2	Gabriel Batistuta (list)	1991–2002	54	78	0.692
3	Hernán Crespo	1995–2007	35	64	0.555
4	Diego Maradona	1977–1994	34	91	0.374
5	Sergio Agüero	2006–	33	77	0.445
6	Gonzalo Higuaín	2009–	30	63	0.484
7	Luis Artime	1961–1967	24	25	0.960
8	Daniel Passarella	1976–1986	23	70	0.328
9	Leopoldo Luque	1975–1981	22	45	0.488
9	José Sanfilippo	1956–1962	22	29	0.759

World Cup winning captains

Year	Name	Caps	Goals
1978	Daniel Passarella	70	23
1986	Diego Maradona	91	34

Individual stats

Most goals scored in all International competitions, including friendlies: 55 – Lionel Messi, 2005–2016
Most goals scored from penalties: 11 – Lionel Messi, 2005–2016^[24]
Most goals scored in all International competitions (including 11 goals FIFA WC qualification and 4 goals in FIFA Confederations Cup): 38 – Gabriel Batistuta, 1991–2001
Most goals scored in all International competitions (not including FIFA WC qualification and FIFA Confederations Cup goals): 23 – Gabriel Batistuta, 1991–2001
Most goals scored in International friendlies: 27 – Lionel Messi, 2005–2016
Most goals scored in one calendar year: 12 – Lionel Messi, 2012, Gabriel Batistuta, 1998
Most goals scored in one FIFA World Cup qualification: 10 – Lionel Messi, 2005–2016
Most goals scored in all FIFA World Cup qualifications: 19 – Hernán Crespo, 1995–2007
Most goals scored in one FIFA World Cup Finals: 8 – Guillermo Stábile, 1930
Most goals scored in all FIFA World Cup Finals: 10 – Gabriel Batistuta, 1991–2001
Most goals scored in one FIFA Confederations Cup: 4 – Luciano Figueroa, 2004–2005
Most goals scored in all FIFA Confederations Cup: 4 – Gabriel Batistuta, 1991–2001, Luciano Figueroa, 2004–2005
Most goals scored in one Copa America era: 6 – Gabriel Batistuta, 1991–2001
Most goals scored in all Copa America era: 13 – Gabriel Batistuta, 1991–2001
Most goals scored in one South American Championship: 9 – Humberto Maschio, 1956–1957
Most goals scored in all South American Championship: 17 – Norberto Méndez, 1945–1956
Most goals scored in one Football Summer Olympics: 9 – Domingo Tarasconi, 1922–1929
Most goals scored in all Football Summer Olympics: 9 – Domingo Tarasconi, 1922–1929
Most goals scored in all U-20 International competitions, including friendlies: 14 – Lionel Messi, 2005
Most goals scored in all U-20 International competitions: 11 – Lionel Messi, 2005 and Javier Saviola, 2001
Most goals scored in one FIFA U-20 World Cup Finals: 11 – Javier Saviola, 2001
Most goals scored in all FIFA U-20 World Cup Finals: 11 – Javier Saviola, 2001
Most goals scored in one South American Youth Football Championship: 9 – Luciano Galletti, 1999
Most direct free-kick goals scored overall: 5, Lionel Messi, against Paraguay, Uruguay, Nigeria, Panama, USA
Most hat-tricks scored overall: 4 – Lionel Messi, against Switzerland, Brazil, Guatemala, Panama
Most assists provided overall: 35, Lionel Messi, 2005–2016
Most Man of the Match awards won in one FIFA World Cup: 4 – Lionel Messi^[25]
Most Man of the Match awards won in FIFA World Cup matches: 5 – Lionel Messi^[25]^[26]
Most Man of the Match awards won in one Copa America: 4 – Lionel Messi^[27]
Most Man of the Match awards won in Copa America matches: 7 – Lionel Messi^[27]
Oldest player that have ever scored a goal: 36 years and 7 months old in 2010 against Greece – Martín Palermo
Oldest player that have scored a goal at FIFA World Cup Finals: 36 years and 7 months old in 2010 against Greece – Martín Palermo
Oldest player that have scored a goal at South American Championship/Copa America:
Youngest player that have ever scored a goal: 18 years, 7 months and 4 days old in 1979 against Scotland – Diego Maradona ^[28]
Youngest player that have ever scored a goal at FIFA World Cup Finals: 18 years and 357 days old in 2006 against Serbia and Montenegro – Lionel Messi
Youngest player that have ever captained the team at FIFA World Cup Finals: 22 years and 363 days old in 2010 against Greece – Lionel Messi^[29]
Youngest player to ever reach 100 caps: 27 years and 362 days old in 2015 against Jamaica – Lionel Messi^[29]
Youngest player that have scored a goal at South American Championship/Copa America: 18 years and 10 months old in 1979 against Brazil – Diego Maradona
Only player that have scored against all 9 South American nations: Lionel Messi - against Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela
Players that have scored the most in a match at any competition: 5 – 1925 Manuel Seoane, 1941 Juan Marvezzi
Players that have scored the most in a match at International friendlies:
Players that have scored in all 3 matches in the group stage in one FIFA World Cup: Omar Orestes Corbatta in 1958 and Lionel Messi in 2014^[30]
Players that have scored the most in a match at FIFA World Cup: 3 – 1930 Guillermo Stábile, 1994 & 1998 Gabriel Batistuta, 2010 Gonzalo Higuaín
Players that have scored the most in a match at South American Championship/Copa America: 5 – 1925 Manuel Seoane, 1941 Juan Marvezzi
Players that have won the FIFA World Cup Golden Shoe: 8 – goals in 1930– Guillermo Stábile, 6 goals in 1978– Mario Kempes
Players that have won the Copa America era Golden Shoe: 4 goals in 1975– Leopoldo Luque, 3 goals in 1983– Jorge Burruchaga, 6 goals in 1991– Gabriel Batistuta, 4 goals in 1995– Gabriel Batistuta
Players that have won the South American Championship Golden Shoe: 3 goals in 1921– Julio Libonatti, 4 goals in 1922– Julio Francia, 3 goals in 1923– Valdino Aguirre, 6 goals in 1925– Manuel Seoane, 7 goals in 1927– Alfredo Carricaberry & Segundo Luna, 4 goals in 1935– Herminio Masantonio, 5 goals in 1941– Juan Marvezzi, 7 goals in 1942– Herminio Masantonio & José Manuel Moreno, 6 goals in 1945– Norberto Méndez, 8 goals in 1955– Rodolfo Micheli, 9 goals in 1957– Humberto Maschio, 5 goals in 1959– José Sanfilippo, 5 goals in 1967– Luis Artime
Players that have won the Football Summer Olympics Golden Shoe: 9 goals in 1928– Domingo Tarasconi, 6 goals in 1996– Hernán Crespo, 8 goals in 2004– Carlos Tevez

Gallery

Américo Tesoriere played for Argentina between 1919 and 1925.
Cesáreo Onzari scored the first "olympic goal" vs. Uruguay in 1924.
Guillermo Stábile played in the 1930 World Cup and managed the team from 1939 to 1960.
Norberto Méndez, all-time top scorer of the Copa América with 17 goals.
Silvio Marzolini played in the 1962 and 1966 World Cup.
Daniel Passarella played 12 years for the national team.
Mario Kempes was the top scorer in the 1978 World Cup.
Oscar Ruggeri played three World Cups in 11 years with the team.
Diego Maradona played four World Cups, winning the 1986 title and widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.
Claudio Caniggia competed in three World Cups.
Diego Simeone played 106 matches and took part in the 1994, 1998 and 2002 World Cups.
Roberto Ayala played in 10 tournaments from 1994 to 2007, also spent time as captain.
Gabriel Batistuta 2nd highest scorer for Argentina with 54 goals in 78 matches.
Lionel Messi is the highest goalscorer in the history of Argentina with 55 goals and widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.

Notable matches

Argentina and Uruguay hold the record for the most international matches played between two countries.^[3] The two teams have faced each other 198 times since 1901. The first match against Uruguay was the first official international match to be played outside the United Kingdom.^[31]
Marcelo Trobbiani was a member of the Argentina World Cup squad in 1986, but he only managed two minutes of play in the entire tournament, he came on in the 88th minute of the World Cup Final against West Germany. This two minutes of football equalled the world record for the shortest World Cup career set by Tunisia's Khemais Labidi in 1978.^{[citation needed]}
In the 2006 World Cup Leandro Cufré was given a red card and sent off after the end of the Quarter Final game with Germany for his part in the brawl after the match, even though he was a substitute and had not participated in the game itself. It is the only occasion of a player being sent off in a FIFA World Cup match after the final whistle. Four years earlier, in the 2002 World Cup, Claudio Caniggia was sent off for swearing at a match official from the substitute bench.^{[citation needed]}

Rivalries

Brazil

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

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. Perhaps the most notable was the quarter-final match in 1986, where Diego Maradona scored two goals against England.

Germany

Argentina have played Germany in three FIFA World Cup finals. In 1986 and 1990 the two teams played each other in two consecutive World Cup finals. After that, in 2006, Argentina lost on penalties after a 1–1 draw and lost again in 2010, this time with a 4–0 victory for Germany. They played each other for the third consecutive World Cup when they met at the 2014 World Cup final match, where they were defeated by 1–0.

Uruguay

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

Honours

Senior team

FIFA World Cup (2): 1978, 1986
FIFA Confederations Cup (1): 1992
South American Championship / Copa América (14): 1921, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1937, 1941, 1945, 1946,^[b] 1947, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1991, 1993
Summer Olympic Games (2): 2004, 2008

Minor Cups

Artemio Franchi Trophy (1): 1993
Panamerican Championship (1): 1960
Copa Newton (17) ^[c] 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1916, 1918, 1924, 1927, 1928, 1937, 1942, 1945, 1957, 1973, 1975, 1976
Copa Lipton (18): ^[c] 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1913, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1928, 1937, 1942, 1945, 1957, 1962, 1968, 1976, 1992
Copa Julio A. Roca (4): ^[d] 1923, 1939–40, 1940, 1971 ^[32]
Nations' Cup (1): 1964
Kirin Cup (1): 1992

Notes

^ Some versions stated that the team that faced Argentina was Albion FC based on the initial line-up had 9 players from that club. In fact, it was the first match disputed by an Uruguayan national team.^[9]^[10]
^ Extra edition
^ ^a ^b Played between Argentina and Uruguay.
^ Played between Argentina and Brazil.

References

^ ^a ^b FIFA Century Club
^ http://www.fifa.com/live-scores/teams/country=arg/men/matches/index.html#year1995
^ ^a ^b Pelayes, Héctor Darío (24 September 2010). "ARGENTINA-URUGUAY Matches 1902–2009". RSSSF. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
^ "Football gold for Argentina". BBC News. 28 August 2004. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
^ "– Argentina on". FIFA. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
^ "– Tournaments". FIFA. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
^ "Great Footballing Rivalries : Argentina vs. Uruguay « SportsKeeda". Sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
^ Wetzel, Dan (1 July 2010). "War of words renews Argentina-Germany rivalry – FBINTL – Yahoo! Sports". G.sports.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
^ ""Historia del Fútbol Uruguayo" at Deportes en Uruguay". Deportesenuruguay.eluruguayo.com. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
^ ""Reasons for excluding or including full "A" internationals (1901–1910) at IFFHS". Iffhs.de. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
^ "los comienzos (1901–1930)", AFA official site". "AFA. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
^ "Football gold for Argentina". BBC News. 28 August 2004. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
^ "– Argentina first for first time". Fifa.com. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
^ ^a ^b "Copa Roberto Chery, Brasil 3 – Argentina 3" at IFFHS
^ Publicado por Federico Mauccione Pérez (2004-02-26). ""El 3 de Julio de 1919, la Selección de Brasil vistió la camiseta de Peñarol", GloriosoMirasol.com". Gloriosomirasolfm.blogspot.com.ar. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
^ ^a ^b "En el placard: Argentina de amarillo 1958". Enunabaldosa.com. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
^ "Los 40 nombres que dirigieron la Selección Nacional" on AFA website (1924–2006 period listed)
^ "De Olazar a Batista: 43 técnicos de la Selección Argentina", MDZ online.com, 1 Nov 2010
^ "Los 42 técnicos que tuvo la Selección", La Nación
^ Argentina national team archive at RSSSF
^ "Argentina fue más que el 3-0 logrado ante Bolivia" [Argentina was better than the 3–0 score accomplished against Bolivia] (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
^ "Lionel Messi Dazzles as Argentina Advances to Face United States". New York Times. 2016-06-18.
^ "Los 23 para la Copa América". AFA.org.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 May 2016.
^ Messi & Batistuta react as record changes hands. FIFA.com
^ ^a ^b "Fourth MVP for Leo Messi at the World Cup Finals". FC Barcelona. 2014-07-02. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
^ "2010 FIFA World Cup - Matches: Greece vs. Argentina". FIFA. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
^ ^a ^b "Messi, cuatro 'MVP' en cinco partidos". Sport.ES (in Spanish). 2015-07-01. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
^ "Match Stats". 22 June 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Ten years with Argentina for Leo Messi". FC Barcelona. 2015-08-19. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
^ "Messi broke record of 56 years". Bubblews. 2014-06-25. Archived from the original on 2015-10-19. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
^ 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 USA did not play one until 1916.
^ "Copa Julio Roca at RSSSF". Rsssf.com. Retrieved 2014-06-23.

External links

[11] Some versions stated that the team that faced Argentina was Albion FC based on the initial line-up had 9 players from that club. In fact, it was the first match disputed by an Uruguayan national team.^[9]^[10]

[33] Extra edition

[afauaf-34] Played between Argentina and Uruguay.

[afacbf-35] Played between Argentina and Brazil.

[Century-1] FIFA Century Club

[2] ttp://www.fifa.com/live-scores/teams/country=arg/men/matches/index.html#year1995

[First_match-3] Pelayes, Héctor Darío (24 September 2010). "ARGENTINA-URUGUAY Matches 1902–2009". RSSSF. Retrieved 7 November 2010.

[4] "Football gold for Argentina". BBC News. 28 August 2004. Retrieved 25 April 2010.

[5] "– Argentina on". FIFA. Retrieved 7 June 2012.

[6] "– Tournaments". FIFA. Retrieved 7 June 2012.

[7] "Great Footballing Rivalries : Argentina vs. Uruguay « SportsKeeda". Sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 7 June 2012.

[8] Wetzel, Dan (1 July 2010). "War of words renews Argentina-Germany rivalry – FBINTL – Yahoo! Sports". G.sports.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2012.

[9] ""Historia del Fútbol Uruguayo" at Deportes en Uruguay". Deportesenuruguay.eluruguayo.com. Retrieved 2014-06-23.

[10] ""Reasons for excluding or including full "A" internationals (1901–1910) at IFFHS". Iffhs.de. Retrieved 2014-06-23.

[12] "los comienzos (1901–1930)", AFA official site". "AFA. Retrieved 2014-06-23.

[13] "Football gold for Argentina". BBC News. 28 August 2004. Retrieved 25 April 2010.

[14] "– Argentina first for first time". Fifa.com. Retrieved 2014-06-23.

[celeste-15] "Copa Roberto Chery, Brasil 3 – Argentina 3" at IFFHS

[16] Publicado por Federico Mauccione Pérez (2004-02-26). ""El 3 de Julio de 1919, la Selección de Brasil vistió la camiseta de Peñarol", GloriosoMirasol.com". Gloriosomirasolfm.blogspot.com.ar. Retrieved 2014-06-23.

[placard-17] "En el placard: Argentina de amarillo 1958". Enunabaldosa.com. Retrieved 2014-06-23.

[18] "Los 40 nombres que dirigieron la Selección Nacional" on AFA website (1924–2006 period listed)

[19] "De Olazar a Batista: 43 técnicos de la Selección Argentina", MDZ online.com, 1 Nov 2010

[20] "Los 42 técnicos que tuvo la Selección", La Nación

[21] Argentina national team archive at RSSSF

[22] "Argentina fue más que el 3-0 logrado ante Bolivia" [Argentina was better than the 3–0 score accomplished against Bolivia] (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.

[23] "Lionel Messi Dazzles as Argentina Advances to Face United States". New York Times. 2016-06-18.

[24] "Los 23 para la Copa América". AFA.org.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 May 2016.

[FIFA-25] Messi & Batistuta react as record changes hands. FIFA.com

[4MVP-26] "Fourth MVP for Leo Messi at the World Cup Finals". FC Barcelona. 2014-07-02. Retrieved 2016-04-04.

[27] "2010 FIFA World Cup - Matches: Greece vs. Argentina". FIFA. Retrieved 2016-04-04.

[SportES-28] "Messi, cuatro 'MVP' en cinco partidos". Sport.ES (in Spanish). 2015-07-01. Retrieved 2016-04-04.

[29] "Match Stats". 22 June 2016.

[10years-30] "Ten years with Argentina for Leo Messi". FC Barcelona. 2015-08-19. Retrieved 2016-04-04.

[31] "Messi broke record of 56 years". Bubblews. 2014-06-25. Archived from the original on 2015-10-19. Retrieved 2016-04-04.

[32] 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 USA did not play one until 1916.

[36] "Copa Julio Roca at RSSSF". Rsssf.com. Retrieved 2014-06-23.

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