Argentina

Founding and Early Years

The Argentina national football team is governed by the Argentine Football Association (AFA), founded on 21 February 1893 by Alexander Watson Hutton, making it the oldest football association in South America. Argentina reached the final of the very first World Cup in 1930, quickly establishing itself as one of the continent's great football powers.

Team Evolution

Nicknamed "La Albiceleste" after the sky-blue and white colours of its shirt, Argentina play the majority of their home matches at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, the home ground of River Plate and one of the largest stadiums in South America.

Great Managers

César Luis Menotti delivered Argentina's first World Cup triumph on home soil in 1978, before Carlos Bilardo repeated the feat in Mexico in 1986 with a dazzling Diego Maradona. Lionel Scaloni later wrote the golden chapter of Argentine football: the 2021 Copa América, the 2022 World Cup, and another continental title in 2024.

Iconic Players

Argentina has produced some of the greatest players in football history: Diego Maradona, scorer of the "Goal of the Century" and the "Hand of God" goal in 1986, and Lionel Messi, the team's all-time top scorer and most-capped player, finally crowned world champion in 2022. Gabriel Batistuta, Javier Zanetti and Juan Román Riquelme also rank among the great names of Albiceleste history.

Major Achievements

Argentina have won the World Cup three times (1978, 1986, 2022, the latter after a legendary final against France) and hold the record for continental titles with 16 Copa América crowns, most recently in 2024 against Colombia. They have also won the Finalissima in 1993 and 2022.

The Team Today

Still led by Lionel Scaloni, Argentina arrived at the 2026 World Cup as defending champions and reached the final again, eliminating Cape Verde (3-2 a.e.t.) in the Round of 32, Egypt (3-2) in the Round of 16, Switzerland (3-1 a.e.t.) in the quarter-final, and England (2-1) in the semi-final. They ultimately lost the final to Spain (0-1) on 19 July 2026, finishing as runners-up.