Argentina

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.

La Selección (lit. ’The Selection’), also nicknamed La Albiceleste (‘The White and Sky Blue’), 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. 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 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 Cup–winning 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. Furthermore, 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.