Argentina national football team

The Argentina national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Argentina), nicknamed La Albiceleste (lit. 'the White and Sky Blue'),^[1] represents Argentina in men's international football and is administered by the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (lit. 'Argentine Football Association'), the governing body of football in Argentina. It has been a member of FIFA since 1912 and a founding member of CONMEBOL since 1916. It was also a member of PFC, the unified confederation of the Americas from 1946 to 1961.

They are the reigning world champions, having won the most recent FIFA World Cup in 2022, earning their third star shown by the team's crest. Overall, Argentina has appeared in a FIFA World Cup final six times, a record equaled by Italy and surpassed only by Brazil and Germany. Argentina played in the inaugural World Cup final in 1930, which they lost 4–2 to Uruguay. The following final appearance came 48 years later, in 1978, when the team captained by Daniel Passarella defeated the Netherlands 3–1 in extra time, becoming 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, Argentina, captained by Lionel Messi made their fifth final appearance in 2014, losing to Germany 1–0 after extra time. In 2022, again captained by Messi, they were crowned 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 Cup–winning managers are César Luis Menotti in 1978, Carlos Bilardo in 1986 and Lionel Scaloni in 2022. In addition, Argentina has also been very successful in the Copa América, with a record 16 titles, most recently winning the 2024 edition. They are also the only nation to have won the Copa América three consecutive times: they did it in 1945, 1946 and 1947. Furthermore, Argentina won the inaugural FIFA Confederations Cup in 1992 and is the most successful team in the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions, having won it twice, in 1993 and 2022. The national team also won the Panamerican Championship in 1960. In total, with 23 official titles won as of 2025, Argentina holds the record in senior official titles won.^[12][13][14]

Argentines Guillermo Stábile in 1930 and Mario Kempes in 1978 were the top-scoring players at their respective World Cups. Since the Golden Ball for the tournament's best player was officially awarded by FIFA in 1982, Argentina players have won it three times: Maradona in 1986 and Messi in 2014 and 2022. Individually for Argentina, Lionel Messi is the all-time most-capped player with 194 matches and the highest goalscorer with 114 goals. As of September 2025, Argentina ranks 3rd in the FIFA Men's World Ranking.^[15]

Argentina is known for having rivalries with Brazil,^[16] England, Germany,^[17] the Netherlands, Uruguay,^[18] and France.^[19][20]

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