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Argentina

Nickname(s)	La Albiceleste (The White and Sky-Blues)
Association	Argentine Football Association (AFA)
Confederation	CONMEBOL (South America)
Head coach	Lionel Scaloni
Captain	Lionel Messi
Most caps	Javier Mascherano (147)
Top scorer	Lionel Messi (65)
Home stadium	Antonio Vespucio Liberti (El Monumental)
FIFA code	ARG
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	11 (7 February 2019)[1]
Highest	1 (March 2007, October 2007 – June 2008, July – October 2015, April 2016 – April 2017)
Lowest	24 (August 1996)
Elo ranking
Current	13 7 (3 March 2019)[2]
Highest	1 (29 x between 1902 and 2016)
Lowest	26 (June 1990)
First international
Uruguay 2–3 Argentina  (Montevideo, Uruguay; 16 May 1901)[note 1][3]
Biggest win
Argentina 12–0 Ecuador  (Montevideo, Uruguay; 22 January 1942)
Biggest defeat
Czechoslovakia 6–1 Argentina  (Helsingborg, Sweden; 15 June 1958)  Bolivia 6–1 Argentina  (La Paz, Bolivia; 1 April 2009)  Spain 6–1 Argentina  (Madrid, Spain; 27 March 2018)
World Cup
Appearances	17 (first in 1930)
Best result	Champions (1978, 1986)
Copa América
Appearances	41 (first in 1916)
Best result	Champions (1921, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1937, 1941, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1991, 1993)
Medal record Olympic medal record Men's football[4] 1928 Amsterdam Team 1996 Atlanta Team 2004 Athens Team 2008 Beijing Team

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, 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 won again in 1986, through a 3–2 victory over West Germany, and a tournament campaign led by Diego Maradona. They made the World Cup finals once more in 1990, and lost 1–0 to West Germany following a controversial penalty call in the 87th minute. Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, 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, being second only to Uruguay in Copa América victories. Argentina have also won the 'extra' South American Championships in 1941, 1945 and 1946. The team also won the 1992 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 1993 Artemio Franchi Trophy. The Argentine olympic team won the Olympics football tournaments in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.^[5]

Argentina, Brazil and France are the only 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.^{[note 2]} They have also won their respective continental championship (Copa América for Argentina and Brazil, and UEFA European Championship for France).^[6][7]

Argentina is known for having rivalries with Brazil, Uruguay, England, and Germany due to particular occurrences with one another throughout football history.^[8][9]

History

The first match ever recorded by Argentina was against Uruguay.^{[note 1]} 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.^[12]

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.
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 it also lost, 1–0, to West 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 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 1993 Artemio Franchi Trophy. 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.^[13]

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.^[14]

Team image

Kits and crest

The first jersey worn by Argentina was a white shirt, when the national side officially debuted against Uruguay in 1902.^[15] In August 1908, Argentina wore the white and light blue in vertical stripes jersey for the first time.^[16] That kit would become the official kit since then. The away kits usually have been 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.^[17] 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.^[18]

At the 1958 World Cup, Argentina wore Swedish club IFK Malmö's yellow jersey in the match against West Germany, as the team did not take away uniforms to Sweden.

At the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Argentina wore a black away kit for the first time in their history.^[19]

Kit suppliers

Kit supplier	Period	Notes
Gath & Chaves	1930–1934	[20]
Adidas	1973–1979	[20][21]
Le Coq Sportif	1980–1989	[20][22]
Adidas	1990–1998	[21][23]
Reebok	1999–2001	[24]
Adidas	2001–present	[21]

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).^[25] Here is the complete list of managers:^[26][27][28]

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 1939–58 Guillermo Stábile 1959 Victorio Spinetto 1960–61 Guillermo Stábile

Dates Name 1962–63 Juan Carlos Lorenzo 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

Dates Name 1983–90 Carlos Bilardo 1990–94 Alfio Basile 1994–98 Daniel Passarella 1998–2004 Marcelo Bielsa 2004–06 José Pékerman 2006–08 Alfio Basile 2008–10 Diego Maradona 2010–11 Sergio Batista 2011–14 Alejandro Sabella 2014–16 Gerardo Martino 2016–17 Edgardo Bauza

Dates Name 2017–18 Jorge Sampaoli 2018– Lionel Scaloni

Results and fixtures

  Win
  Draw
  Loss

2018

2019

Coaching staff

Position	Name
Head Coach	Lionel Scaloni
Assistant Coach	Pablo Aimar
Assistant Coach	Walter Samuel
Assistant Coach	Roberto Ayala
Goalkeeping Coach	Martín Tocalli
Fitness Coach	Vacant

Players

Current squad

The following 27 players were called up for two friendly matches against Mexico on 16 and 20 November 2018.^[29][30]
Caps and goals correct as of: 20 November 2018, after the match against Mexico.

.mw-parser-output .nat-fs-player thbackground-color:inherit;border:0.mw-parser-output .nat-fs-player tdtext-align:center;border:0

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Sergio Romero (captain)	(1987-02-22) 22 February 1987 (age 32)	96	0	Manchester United
12	1GK	Agustín Marchesín	(1988-03-16) 16 March 1988 (age 30)	4	0	América
23	1GK	Gerónimo Rulli	(1992-05-20) 20 May 1992 (age 26)	2	0	Real Sociedad
32	1GK	Paulo Gazzaniga	(1992-01-02) 2 January 1992 (age 27)	1	0	Tottenham Hotspur
2	2DF	Gabriel Mercado	(1987-03-18) 18 March 1987 (age 31)	24	4	Sevilla
13	2DF	Ramiro Funes Mori	(1991-03-05) 5 March 1991 (age 27)	24	2	Villarreal
8	2DF	Marcos Acuña	(1991-10-28) 28 October 1991 (age 27)	16	0	Sporting CP
3	2DF	Nicolás Tagliafico	(1992-08-31) 31 August 1992 (age 26)	12	0	Ajax
4	2DF	Walter Kannemann	(1991-03-14) 14 March 1991 (age 27)	3	0	Grêmio
28	2DF	Emanuel Mammana	(1996-02-10) 10 February 1996 (age 23)	3	0	Zenit Saint Petersburg
26	2DF	Renzo Saravia	(1993-06-16) 16 June 1993 (age 25)	3	0	Racing
29	2DF	Juan Foyth	(1998-01-12) 12 January 1998 (age 21)	1	0	Tottenham Hotspur
22	3MF	Erik Lamela	(1992-03-04) 4 March 1992 (age 27)	25	3	Tottenham Hotspur
7	3MF	Roberto Pereyra	(1991-01-07) 7 January 1991 (age 28)	13	1	Watford
20	3MF	Giovani Lo Celso	(1996-04-09) 9 April 1996 (age 22)	10	1	Betis
14	3MF	Maximiliano Meza	(1992-01-15) 15 January 1992 (age 27)	10	0	Monterrey
5	3MF	Leandro Paredes	(1994-06-29) 29 June 1994 (age 24)	9	1	Paris Saint-Germain
24	3MF	Franco Cervi	(1994-05-26) 26 May 1994 (age 24)	4	1	Benfica
15	3MF	Santiago Ascacíbar	(1997-02-25) 25 February 1997 (age 22)	3	0	VfB Stuttgart
16	3MF	Rodrigo De Paul	(1994-05-24) 24 May 1994 (age 24)	3	0	Udinese
25	3MF	Franco Vázquez	(1989-02-22) 22 February 1989 (age 30)	3	0	Sevilla
27	3MF	Gastón Giménez	(1991-07-27) 27 July 1991 (age 27)	1	0	Vélez Sarsfield
21	4FW	Paulo Dybala	(1993-11-15) 15 November 1993 (age 25)	18	1	Juventus
11	4FW	Ángel Correa	(1995-03-09) 9 March 1995 (age 23)	10	1	Atlético Madrid
9	4FW	Mauro Icardi	(1993-02-19) 19 February 1993 (age 26)	8	1	Internazionale
19	4FW	Giovanni Simeone	(1995-07-05) 5 July 1995 (age 23)	5	1	Fiorentina
18	4FW	Lautaro Martínez	(1997-08-22) 22 August 1997 (age 21)	4	1	Internazionale

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	Guido Herrera	(1992-02-29) 29 February 1992 (age 27)	0	0	Talleres	v.  Brazil, 16 October 2018
GK	Franco Armani	(1986-10-16) 16 October 1986 (age 32)	3	0	River Plate	v.  Iraq, 11 October 2018 INJ
GK	Nahuel Guzmán	(1986-02-10) 10 February 1986 (age 33)	6	0	UANL	2018 FIFA World Cup
GK	Willy Caballero	(1981-09-28) 28 September 1981 (age 37)	5	0	Chelsea	2018 FIFA World Cup
DF	Nicolás Otamendi	(1988-02-12) 12 February 1988 (age 31)	59	4	Manchester City	v.  Mexico, 16 November 2018 INJ
DF	Germán Pezzella	(1991-06-27) 27 June 1991 (age 27)	6	1	Fiorentina	v.  Mexico, 16 November 2018 INJ
DF	Fabricio Bustos	(1996-04-28) 28 April 1996 (age 22)	4	0	Independiente	v.  Brazil, 16 October 2018
DF	Alan Franco	(1996-10-06) 6 October 1996 (age 22)	1	0	Independiente	v.  Iraq, 11 October 2018 INJ
DF	Leonel Di Plácido	(1994-01-28) 28 January 1994 (age 25)	0	0	Lanús	v.  Colombia, 11 September 2018
DF	Marcos Rojo	(1990-03-20) 20 March 1990 (age 28)	59	3	Manchester United	2018 FIFA World Cup
DF	Federico Fazio	(1987-03-17) 17 March 1987 (age 31)	10	1	Roma	2018 FIFA World Cup
DF	Cristian Ansaldi	(1986-09-20) 20 September 1986 (age 32)	5	1	Torino	2018 FIFA World Cup
MF	Eduardo Salvio	(1990-07-13) 13 July 1990 (age 28)	13	0	Benfica	v.  Mexico, 16 November 2018 INJ
MF	Rodrigo Battaglia	(1991-07-12) 12 July 1991 (age 27)	2	0	Sporting CP	v.  Mexico, 16 November 2018 INJ
MF	Federico Zaracho	(1998-03-10) 10 March 1998 (age 20)	0	0	Racing	v.  Mexico, 16 November 2018 INJ
MF	Gonzalo Martínez	(1993-06-13) 13 June 1993 (age 25)	2	1	Atlanta United	v.  Iraq, 11 October 2018 INJ
MF	Exequiel Palacios	(1998-10-05) 5 October 1998 (age 20)	2	0	River Plate	v.  Iraq, 11 October 2018 INJ
MF	Matías Vargas	(1997-05-08) 8 May 1997 (age 21)	1	0	Vélez Sarsfield	v.  Colombia, 11 September 2018
MF	Ángel Di María	(1988-02-14) 14 February 1988 (age 31)	97	20	Paris Saint-Germain	2018 FIFA World Cup
MF	Éver Banega	(1988-06-29) 29 June 1988 (age 30)	65	6	Sevilla	2018 FIFA World Cup
MF	Enzo Pérez	(1986-02-22) 22 February 1986 (age 33)	26	1	River Plate	2018 FIFA World Cup
MF	Manuel Lanzini	(1993-02-15) 15 February 1993 (age 26)	4	1	West Ham United	2018 FIFA World Cup INJ
MF	Guido Pizarro	(1990-02-26) 26 February 1990 (age 29)	3	0	UANL	2018 FIFA World Cup PRE
MF	Pablo Pérez	(1985-10-08) 8 October 1985 (age 33)	1	0	Independiente	2018 FIFA World Cup PRE
MF	Ricardo Centurión	(1993-01-19) 19 January 1993 (age 26)	0	0	Racing	2018 FIFA World Cup PRE
FW	Cristian Pavón	(1996-01-21) 21 January 1996 (age 23)	11	0	Boca Juniors	v.  Iraq, 11 October 2018 INJ
FW	Lionel Messi	(1987-06-24) 24 June 1987 (age 31)	128	65	Barcelona	2018 FIFA World Cup
FW	Sergio Agüero	(1988-06-02) 2 June 1988 (age 30)	89	39	Manchester City	2018 FIFA World Cup
FW	Gonzalo Higuaín	(1987-12-10) 10 December 1987 (age 31)	75	31	Chelsea	2018 FIFA World Cup
FW	Diego Perotti	(1988-07-26) 26 July 1988 (age 30)	5	0	Roma	2018 FIFA World Cup PRE
INJ Withdrew due to injury PRE Preliminary squad RET Retired from the national team SUS Suspended

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

     Champions       Runners-up       Third place

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	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	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	Round of 16	16th	4	1	1	2	6	9		18	7	7	4	19	16
2022	To be determined
Total	2 Titles	17/21	81	43	15	23	137	93		136	75	36	25	235	127

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
Total	1 Title	3/10	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 Football Championship

South American Football 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
2024	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
1896	No Football Tournament
1900	Did Not Participate
1904
1906
1908
1912
1920
1924
1928	Silver Medal	2nd	5	3	1	1	25	7
1932	No Football Tournament
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	Group Stage	11th	3	1	1	1	3	4
2020	TBD
Total	2 Gold Medals 2 Silver Medal	8/19	35	22	6	7	81	32

Football at the Summer Olympics has been an amateur tournament from 1908 to 1988.

Football at the Summer Olympics has been an under-23 tournament since 1992 (with three players of over 23 years of age allowed in the squad).

Pan American Games

Argentina has won 6 of the 14 football competitions at the Pan American Games, winning in 1951, 1955, 1959, 1971, 1995 and 2003.

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	Qualified
Total	6 Titles	14/16	60	46	10	6	134	43

Records and statistics

Most capped players

As of 16 October 2018, the ten players with the most appearances for Argentina are:^[31][32]

Rank.	Name	Career	Caps	Goals
1	Javier Mascherano	2003–2018	147	3
2	Javier Zanetti	1994–2011	143	4
3	Lionel Messi	2005–	128	65
4	Roberto Ayala	1994–2007	114	7
5	Diego Simeone	1988–2002	104	9
6	Ángel Di María	2008–	97	20
	Oscar Ruggeri	1983–1994	97	7
8	Sergio Romero	2009–	96	0
9	Diego Maradona	1977–1994	91	34
10	Sergio Agüero	2006–	89	39

Top goalscorers

As of 30 June 2018, the ten players with the most goals for Argentina are:^[33]

Rank.	Player	Career	Goals	Caps	Avg/Game	Official Match Goals
1	Lionel Messi (list)	2005–	65	128	0.51	47
2	Gabriel Batistuta (list)[note 3]	1991–2002	54	77	0.7	38
3	Sergio Agüero (list)	2006–	39	89	0.44	34
4	Hernán Crespo (list)	1995–2007	35	64	0.55	26
5	Diego Maradona (list)	1977–1994	34	91	0.37	26
6	Gonzalo Higuaín (list)	2009–	31	75	0.41	23
7	Luis Artime	1961–1967	24	25	0.96	?
8	Daniel Passarella	1976–1986	23	70	0.33	6
9	Leopoldo Luque (list)	1975–1981	21	45	0.49	8
	José Sanfilippo	1956–1962	21	29	0.76	?

World Cup winning captains

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

Individual records

• Most goals scored in all international competitions, including friendlies: 65 – Lionel Messi, 2005–^[35]


• Most goals scored in official international competitions, including FIFA World Cup qualification and FIFA Confederations Cup: 38 – Gabriel Batistuta, 1991–2002


• Most goals scored in all major international tournaments, not including FIFA World Cup qualification and FIFA Confederations Cup: 23 – Gabriel Batistuta, 1991–2002


• Most goals scored in international friendlies: 30 – Lionel Messi, 2005–


• Most goals scored in one calendar year, including friendlies: 12 – Lionel Messi, 2012; Gabriel Batistuta, 1998


• Most goals scored in one FIFA World Cup qualification: 10 – Lionel Messi, 2014
  


• Most goals scored in all FIFA World Cup qualifications: 21 – Lionel Messi, 2005–


• Most goals scored in one FIFA World Cup tournament: 8 – Guillermo Stábile, 1930
  


• Most goals scored in all FIFA World Cup tournaments: 10 – Gabriel Batistuta, 1991–2001


• Most goals scored in one FIFA Confederations Cup: 4 – Luciano Figueroa, 2005
  


• Most goals scored in all FIFA Confederations Cup: 4 – Gabriel Batistuta, 1991–2002, Luciano Figueroa, 2004–2005


• Most goals scored in one Copa América: 6 – Gabriel Batistuta, 1991
  


• Most goals scored in all Copas América: 13 – Gabriel Batistuta, 1991–2002


• Most goals scored in one South American Championship: 9 – Humberto Maschio, 1957
  


• Most goals scored in all South American Championships: 17 – Norberto Méndez, 1945–1956


• Most goals scored in one Football Summer Olympics: 9 – Domingo Tarasconi, 1928
  


• Most goals scored in all Football Summer Olympics: 9 – Domingo Tarasconi, 1922–1929


• Most goals scored in all U-20 international competitions, including friendlies: 18 – Lionel Messi, 2005^[36]


• Most goals scored in official U-20 international competitions: 11 – Lionel Messi, 2005; Javier Saviola, 2001


• Most goals scored in one FIFA U-20 World Cup tournament: 11 – Javier Saviola, 2001
  


• Most goals scored in all FIFA U-20 World Cup tournaments: 11 – Javier Saviola, 2001


• Most goals scored in one South American Youth Football Championship: 9 – Luciano Galletti, 1999; Giovanni Simeone, 2015^[37]


• Most goals scored from the penalty kick: 13 – Lionel Messi, 2005–^[35]


• Most direct free kick goals scored in all international competitions, including friendlies: 6 – Lionel Messi, against Paraguay, Uruguay, Nigeria, Panama, USA, Colombia^{[citation needed]}


• Most hat-tricks scored in all international competitions, including friendlies: 6 – Lionel Messi, against Switzerland, Brazil, Guatemala, Panama, Ecuador, Haiti
  


• Most assists provided in all international competitions, including friendlies: 38 – Lionel Messi, 2005–^{[citation needed]}


• Most assists provided in Copa América matches: 11 – Lionel Messi, 2005–^[38]


• Most Man of the Match awards won in one FIFA World Cup: 4 – Lionel Messi, 2014^[39]


• Most Man of the Match awards won in FIFA World Cup matches: 5 – Lionel Messi, 2005–^[39][40]


• Most Man of the Match awards won in one Copa América: 4 – Lionel Messi, 2015^[41]


• Most Man of the Match awards won in Copa América matches: 9 – Lionel Messi, 2005–^[41][42]


• Oldest player that have ever scored a goal: Martín Palermo, 36 years and 7 months old in 2010 against Greece
  


• Oldest player that have scored a goal at FIFA World Cup tournament: Martín Palermo, 36 years and 7 months old in 2010 against Greece


• Youngest player that have ever scored a goal: Diego Maradona, 18 years, 7 months and 4 days old in 1979 against Scotland^[43]


• Youngest player that have ever scored a goal at FIFA World Cup tournament: Lionel Messi, 18 years and 357 days old in 2006 against Serbia and Montenegro
  


• Youngest player that have ever captained the team at FIFA World Cup tournament: Lionel Messi, 22 years and 363 days old in 2010 against Greece^[44]


• Youngest player to ever reach 100 caps: Lionel Messi, 27 years and 362 days old in 2015 against Jamaica^[44]


• Youngest player that have scored a goal at South American Championship/Copa America: Diego Maradona 18 years and 10 months old in 1979 against Brazil


• Only player that have scored against all 9 South American Nations: Lionel Messi, against Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela^[45]


• Players that have scored the most goals in a match at any competition: 5 – Manuel Seoane, in 1925; Juan Marvezzi, in 1941


• Players that have scored in all 3 matches of the group stage in one FIFA World Cup: Oreste Corbatta, in 1958; Lionel Messi, in 2014^[46]


• Players that have scored the most goals in a match at FIFA World Cup: 3 – Guillermo Stábile, in 1930; Gabriel Batistuta, in 1994 & 1998; Gonzalo Higuaín, in 2010


• Players that have scored the most goals in a match at South American Championship/Copa América: 5 – Manuel Seoane, in 1925; Juan Marvezzi, in 1941


• Players that have won the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball: Diego Maradona, in 1986; Lionel Messi, in 2014


• Players that have won the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot: Guillermo Stábile, 8 goals in 1930; Mario Kempes, 6 goals in 1978
  


• Players that have won the Copa América era Golden Shoe: Leopoldo Luque, 4 goals in 1975; Jorge Burruchaga, 3 goals in 1983; Gabriel Batistuta, 6 goals in 1991, 4 goals in 1995
  


• Players that have won the South American Championship Golden Shoe: Julio Libonatti, 3 goals in 1921; Juan Francia, 4 goals in 1922; Vicente Aguirre, 3 goals in 1923; Manuel Seoane, 6 goals in 1925; Alfredo Carricaberry & Segundo Luna, 7 goals in 1927; Herminio Masantonio, 4 goals in 1935; Juan Marvezzi, 5 goals in 1941; Herminio Masantonio & José Manuel Moreno, 7 goals in 1942; Norberto Méndez, 6 goals in 1945; Rodolfo Micheli, 8 goals in 1955; Humberto Maschio, 9 goals in 1957; José Sanfilippo, 5 goals in 1959; Luis Artime, 5 goals in 1967
  


• Players that have won the Football Summer Olympics Golden Shoe: Domingo Tarasconi, 9 goals in 1928; Hernán Crespo, 6 goals in 1996; Carlos Tevez, 8 goals in 2004
  

Rivalries

Brazil

Argentina have a long and fierce rivalry with their South American neighbours.^[47]

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 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 2006 they met in the quarter-finals; Argentina lost on penalties after a 1–1 draw. 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 were defeated in extra time by a score of 1–0.

Uruguay

Argentina have 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.

Argentina and Uruguay hold the record for most international matches played between two countries.^[3] The two teams have faced each other 198 times since 1901. The first match between Argentina and Uruguay was also the first official international match to be played outside the United Kingdom.^{[note 4]}

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.^{[48][49][50][51][52][53]} 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,^[54] 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^[55] and 2018^[56] 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 more important traditional opponents to concentrate on, in contrast to the West Africans who remain keen to finally overcome a more illustrious foe.^[49]

Honours

Official

• 
  FIFA World Cup: 1978, 1986
  
  • 
    FIFA Fair Play Trophy: 1978


• 
  FIFA Confederations Cup: 1992
  


• 
  South American Championship / Copa América (14): 1921, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1937, 1941, 1945, 1946,^{[note 5]}1947, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1991, 1993
  


• 
  Artemio Franchi Trophy: 1993


• 
  Olympic Gold Medals: 2004, 2008
  


• 
  Panamerican Championship: 1960
  

Friendly

• 
  Copa Newton^{[note 6]} (17) 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1916, 1918, 1924, 1927, 1928, 1937, 1942, 1945, 1957, 1973, 1975, 1976


• 
  Copa Lipton^{[note 6]} (18): 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1913, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1928, 1937, 1942, 1945, 1957, 1962, 1968, 1976, 1992


• 
  Copa Julio A. Roca^{[note 7]} (4): 1923, 1939–40, 1940, 1971^[57]


• 
  Nations' Cup^{[note 8]}: 1964^{[note 5]}


• 
  Kirin Cup^{[note 9]}: 1992
  

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Argentina.

• Argentina national football team head to head


• Argentina women's national football team


• Argentina national under-23 football team


• Argentina national under-20 football team


• Argentina national under-17 football team


• Vamos, vamos, Argentina

Notes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Argentina national football team.

• Official website


• Argentina FIFA