Argentina

Nickname(s)	Albicelestes (White and Sky blue)
Association	Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (Argentine Football Association)
Confederation	CONMEBOL (South America)
Head coach	Diego Maradona
Captain	Javier Mascherano
Most caps	Javier Zanetti (128)
Top scorer	Gabriel Batistuta (56)
Home stadium	El Monumental
FIFA code	ARG
FIFA ranking	6
Highest FIFA ranking	1 (March 2007, October 2007-June 2008)
Lowest FIFA ranking	24 (August 1996)
Elo ranking	T6
Highest Elo ranking	1 (most recently in July 2007, 34 times in total)
Lowest Elo ranking	28 (June 1990)
Home colours Away colours
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 June 1958)  Uruguay 5 - 0 Argentina  (Guayaquil, Ecuador; 16 December 1959)  Argentina 0 - 5  Colombia (Buenos Aires, Argentina; 5 September 1993)
World Cup
Appearances	14 (First in 1930)
Best result	Winners, 1978 and 1986
Copa América
Appearances	38 (First in 1916)
Best result	Winners, 1921, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1937, 1941, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1991, 1993

The Argentina national football team is the national football team of Argentina and is controlled by the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (AFA). Argentina has the world record for most international titles won by any national team.¹

Argentina is one of the most successful national football teams in the world, and is currently seventh in the FIFA world rankings.² The team has twice won the FIFA World Cup, in 1978 and 1986. Argentina has won the Copa América 14 times, a record shared with Uruguay, won the Confederations Cup in 1992 and the Olympic Football Tournament in 2004 and 2008.

Argentina and France are the only national teams which have won the three most important men's titles organized 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 Football Championship for France).³⁴. However, it must be added that Argentina has won the Youth World Cup a record 6 times while France has never won that trophy, making Argentina the only country to have won all tournaments organized by FIFA to which it is eligible.

History

La Selección, also known as the Albicelestes (Light blue and whites), has appeared in four 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 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 Argentine 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 2008.⁵

Argentina also won six of the fourteen 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.⁶

World Cup 2006

Argentina had been eliminated at the group stage at Korea/Japan 2002 FIFA World Cup, although they had been among the pre-tournament favourites. There was a high expectation of a better performance in the Germany 2006.

Argentina qualified for the knockout stages with wins over Ivory Coast (2-1) and Serbia and Montenegro (6-0), and a 0-0 draw with the Netherlands.

In the round of sixteen, Argentina defeated Mexico 2-1 in extra-time, the winning goal by Maxi Rodríguez winning an online poll organised by FIFA, as the best goal of the World Cup [1]. In the quarter final, they lost 4-2 in a penalty shootout against hosts Germany after a 1-1 draw. A brawl erupted between the Argentines and Germans after the game ended. Unused substitute Leandro Cufré was sent off for kicking Per Mertesacker, while Maxi Rodríguez hit Bastian Schweinsteiger from behind. Following an investigation of video evidence, FIFA doled out 4-game and 2-game suspensions for Cufre and Rodriguez, respectively. Germany's Torsten Frings was suspended for the semifinal match for punching Julio Ricardo Cruz.

Shortly after the elimination, coach José Pekerman resigned from his position. AFA appointed Alfio Basile, who had previously managed the national side during the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

Copa América 2007

Argentina won all three games in the group stage, beating United States, Colombia and Paraguay. After convincing victories over Peru and Mexico in the quarter final and semi final respectively, they were favourites to beat Brazil in the final, but were defeated 0-3.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup Record Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA 1930 Second Place 2 5 4 0 1 18 9 1934 Round 1 9 1 0 0 1 2 3 1938 Withdrew - - - - - - - 1950 Withdrew - - - - - - - 1954 Withdrew - - - - - - - 1958 Round 1 13 3 1 0 2 5 10 1962 Round 1 10 3 1 1 1 2 3 1966 Quarter-finals 5 3 2 1 1 4 2 1970 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1974 Round 2 8 6 1 2 3 9 12 1978 Champions 1 7 5 1 1 15 4 1982 Round 2 12 5 2 0 3 8 7 1986 Champions 1 7 6 1 0 14 5 1990 Second Place 2 7 2 3 2 5 4 1994 Round 2 9 4 2 0 2 8 6 1998 Quarter-finals 6 5 3 1 1 10 4 2002 Round 1 18 3 1 1 1 2 2 2006 Quarter-finals 6 5 3 2 0 11 3 Total 14/18 2 Titles 65 33 13 19 113 74

FIFA Confederations Cup Year Round GP W D* L GS GA 1992 Champions 2 2 0 0 7 1 1995 Second Place 3 1 1 1 5 3 1997 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - 1999 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - 2001 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - 2003 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - 2005 Second Place 5 2 2 1 10 10 2009 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - Total 1 Title 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. Olympic medal record Men's football7 Silver 1928 Amsterdam Team Silver 1996 Atlanta Team Gold 2004 Athens Team Gold 2008 Beijing Team

Copa América
Total: 14 Titles
Year	Position		Year	Position		Year	Position
1916	Second place		1939	Withdrew		1967	Second place
1917	Second place		1941	Champions		1975	Round 1
1919	Third place		1942	Second place		1979	Round 1
1920	Second place		1945	Champions		1983	Round 1
1921	Champions		1946	Champions		1987	Fourth place
1922	Fourth place		1947	Champions		1989	Third place
1923	Second place		1949	Withdrew		1991	Champions
1924	Second place		1953	Withdrew		1993	Champions
1925	Champions		1955	Champions		1995	Quarter-finals
1926	Second place		1956	Third place		1997	Quarter-finals
1927	Champions		1957	Champions		1999	Quarter-finals
1929	Champions		1959	Champions		2001	Withdrew
1935	Second place		1959	Second place		2004	Second place
1937	Champions		1963	Third place		2007	Second place

Pan American Games record

• 1951 - Champions
• 1955 - Champions
• 1959 - Champions
• 1963 - Second place
• 1967 - Round 1
• 1971 - Champions
• 1975 - Third place
• 1979 - Third place
• 1983 - Round 1
• 1987 - Third place
• 1991 - Did not enter
• 1995 - Champions
• 1999 - Did not enter
• 2003 - Champions
• 2007 - Round 1

Olympics record

Olympics Record Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA 1896 No football tournament - - - - - - - 1900 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1904 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1908 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1912 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1920 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1924 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1928 Runners-up 2 5 3 1 1 24 7 1932 No football tournament - - - - - - - 1936 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1948 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1952 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1956 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1960 Round 1 - 3 2 0 1 6 4 1964 Round 1 - 2 0 1 1 3 4 1968 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1972 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1976 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1980 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1984 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1988 Quarter-finals - 4 1 1 2 4 5 1992 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1996 Runners-up 2 6 3 2 1 13 6 2000 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 2004 Champions 1 6 6 0 0 17 0 2008 Champions 1 6 6 0 0 11 2 Total 7/24 2 Titles 32 21 5 6 78 28 Honours Senior team FIFA World Cup Winner (2): 1978, 1986 Runner-up (2): 1930, 1990 FIFA Confederations Cup Winner (1): 1992 Runner-up (2): 1995, 2005 Copa America Winner (14): 1921, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1937, 1941, 1945, 1946 (extra edition), 1947, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1991, 1993. Runner-up (12): 1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1935, 1942, 1959 (extra edition), 1967, 2004, 2007. Artemio Franchi Trophy Winner (1): 1993 Olympic team See also: Argentina Olympic Team A selection with limited team selection (only 3 players over 23 years could be included in the squad), won the following honours. The matches in these tournaments are generally not included in the statistics of the national team. Gold medal (2): 2004, 2008 Silver medal (2): 1928, 1996 Kit Evolution 1901-1910 1911-present World Cup 1978 World Cup 1994 World Cup 1998 Pre World Cup 2002 World Cup 2002 Olympics 2004 World Cup 2006 Managers 1. 1924-1925 Angel Vázquez 2. 1927-1928 José Lago Millán 3. 1928-1929 Francisco Olazar 4. 1929-1930 Olazar-Tramutola 5. 1934-1934 Felipe Pascucci 6. 1934-1937 Manuel Seoane 7. 1937-1939 Ángel Fernández Roca 8. 1939-1960 Guillermo Stábile 9. 1960-1961 Victorio Spinetto 10. 1961-1961 José D'Amico 11. 1962-1963 Juan Carlos Lorenzo 12. 1963-1963 Alejandro Galán 13. 1963-1964 Horacio Amable Torres 14. 1964-1968 José María Minella 15. 1968-1968 Renato Cesarini 16. 1968-1969 Humberto Dionisio Maschio 17. 1969-1969 Adolfo Pedernera 18. 1969-1972 Juan José Pizzuti 19. 1972-1974 Enrique Omar Sívori 20. 1974-1974 Vladislao Cap 21. 1974-1983 César Luis Menotti 22. 1983-1990 Carlos Bilardo 23. 1990-1994 Alfio Basile 24. 1994-1998 Daniel Passarella 25. 1998-2004 Marcelo Bielsa 26. 2004-2006 José Pekerman 27. 2006-2008 Alfio Basile 28. 2008 - Diego Maradona Current team status Argentina is currently participating in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification Standings Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Paraguay 10 7 2 1 18 6 +12 23  Brazil 10 4 5 1 15 4 +11 17  Argentina 10 4 4 2 13 7 +6 16  Chile 10 5 1 4 14 13 +1 16  Uruguay 10 3 4 3 19 10 +9 13  Ecuador 10 3 3 4 12 17 −5 12  Colombia 10 2 5 3 4 8 −4 11  Venezuela 10 3 1 6 12 18 −6 10  Bolivia 10 2 3 5 13 22 −9 9  Peru 10 1 4 5 5 20 −15 7   Argentina  – 3–0 R15 2–0 R13 1–1 1–1 R17 2–1 R11 Bolivia  R12 – R17 0–2 0–0 R16 4–2 3–0 2–2 R13 Brazil  0–0 0–0 – R16 0–0 5–0 R14 R12 2–1 R18 Chile  1–0 R14 0–3 – 4–0 R18 0–3 2–0 R12 R15 Colombia  2–1 R11 0–0 R17 – R15 0–1 R14 0–1 1–0 Ecuador  R14 3–1 R11 1–0 0–0 – R12 5–1 R17 0–1 Paraguay  R16 R15 2–0 R13 R18 5–1 – 1–0 1–0 2–0 Peru  1–1 R18 1–1 R11 1–1 R13 0–0 – R15 1–0 Uruguay