Argentina at the FIFA World Cup

For the women's team, see Argentina at the FIFA Women's World Cup.

This is a record of Argentina's results at the FIFA World Cup. Argentina is one of the most successful teams in the tournament's history, having won three World Cups: in 1978, 1986, and 2022. Argentina has also been runner-up three times: in 1930, 1990 and 2014. In 18 World Cup tournaments, Argentina has 47 victories in 88 matches. The team was present in all but four of the World Cups, being behind only Brazil and Germany in number of appearances.

Argentina's captain Daniel Passarella with the World Cup Trophy after beating FNetherlands in the 1978 FIFA World Cup final

Argentina celebrating their victory in the 1986 FIFA World Cup final in Mexico

Lionel Messi raising the World Cup in 2022 after the final match v France

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup finals record										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		Invited
1934	Round of 16	9th	1	0	0	1	2	3		Qualified by opponent's withdrawal[1]
1938	Withdrew									Withdrew due to hosting disagreement[2]
1950
1954										Withdrew due to political decision[2]
1958	Group stage	13th	3	1	0	2	5	10		4	3	0	1	10	2
1962		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	Quarter-finals[a]	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	Second group stage	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		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	Champions	1st	7	4	2	1	15	8		17	11	6	0	27	8
2026	Qualified									To be determined
2030	Qualified as centenary co-hosts									Qualified as centenary co-hosts
2034	To be determined									To be determined
Total	3 titles	18/22	88	47	17	24	152	101		153	86	42	25	262	135

Argentina's World Cup record
First match	Argentina 1–0 France  (15 July 1930; Montevideo, Uruguay)
Biggest win	Argentina 6–0 Peru  (21 June 1978; Rosario, Argentina)  Argentina 6–0 Serbia and Montenegro  (16 June 2006; Gelsenkirchen, Germany)
Biggest defeat	Czechoslovakia 6–1 Argentina  (15 June 1958; Helsingborg, Sweden)
Best result	Champions in 1978, 1986 and 2022
Worst result	Group stage in 1958, 1962 and 2002

**Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

World Cup Finals

Year	Manager(s)	Captain	Goal Scorer(s)
1930	Francisco Olazar / Juan José Tramutola	Manuel Ferreira	Carlos Peucelle, Guillermo Stábile
1978	César Luis Menotti	Daniel Passarella	Mario Kempes (2), Daniel Bertoni
1986	Carlos Bilardo	Diego Maradona	José Luis Brown, Jorge Valdano, Jorge Burruchaga
1990	Carlos Bilardo	Diego Maradona	—
2014	Alejandro Sabella	Lionel Messi	—
2022	Lionel Scaloni	Lionel Messi	Lionel Messi (2), Ángel Di María

All matches

World Cup	Round	Opponent	Score	Venue	Argentina scorers
1930	Group 1	France	1–0	Parque Central, Montevideo	Monti
		Mexico	6–3	Centenario, Montevideo	Stábile (3), Zumelzú (2), Varallo
		Chile	3–1	Centenario, Montevideo	Stábile (2), Evaristo
	Semi-finals	United States	6–1	Centenario, Montevideo	Monti, Scopelli, Stábile (2), Peucelle (2)
	Final	Uruguay	2–4	Centenario, Montevideo	Peucelle, Stábile
1934	Round of 16	Sweden	2–3	Stadio Littoriale, Bologna	Belis, Galateo
1958	Group A	West Germany	1–3	Malmö Stadion, Malmö	Corbatta
		Northern Ireland	3–1	Örjans Vall, Halmstad	Corbatta, Menéndez, Avio
		Czechoslovakia	1–6	Olympiastadion, Helsingborg	Corbatta
1962	Group D	Bulgaria	1–0	El Teniente, Rancagua	Facundo
		England	1–3	El Teniente, Rancagua	Sanfilippo
		Hungary	0–0	El Teniente, Rancagua
1966	Group B	Spain	2–1	Villa Park, Birmingham	Artime (2)
		West Germany	0–0	Villa Park, Birmingham
		Switzerland	2–0	Hillsborough, Sheffield	Artime, Onega
	Quarter-finals	England	0–1	Wembley, London
1974	Group 4	Poland	2–3	Neckarstadion, Stuttgart	Heredia, Babington
		Italy	1–1	Neckarstadion, Stuttgart	Houseman
		Haiti	4–1	Olympiastadion, Munich	Yazalde (2), Houseman, Ayala
	Group A	Netherlands	0–4	Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen
		Brazil	1–2	Niedersachsenstadion, Hanover	Brindisi
		East Germany	1–1	Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen	Houseman
1978	Group 1	Hungary	2–1	Monumental, Buenos Aires	Luque, Bertoni
		France	2–1	Monumental, Buenos Aires	Passarella, Luque
		Italy	0–1	Monumental, Buenos Aires
	Group A	Poland	2–0	Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario	Kempes (2)
		Brazil	0–0	Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario
		Peru	6–0	Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario	Kempes (2), Tarantini, Luque (2), Houseman
	Final	Netherlands	3–1 (a.e.t.)	Monumental, Buenos Aires	Kempes (2), Bertoni
1982	Group 3	Belgium	0–1	Camp Nou, Barcelona
		Hungary	4–1	José Rico Pérez, Alicante	Bertoni, Maradona (2), Ardiles
		El Salvador	2–0	José Rico Pérez, Alicante	Passarella, Bertoni
	Group C	Italy	1–2	Sarrià, Barcelona	Passarella
		Brazil	1–3	Sarrià, Barcelona	Díaz
1986	Group A	South Korea	3–1	Estadio Olímpico Universitario, Mexico City	Valdano (2), Ruggeri
		Italy	1–1	Cuauhtémoc, Puebla	Maradona
		Bulgaria	2–0	Estadio Olímpico Universitario, Mexico City	Valdano, Burruchaga
	Round of 16	Uruguay	1–0	Cuauhtémoc, Puebla	Pasculli
	Quarter-finals	England	2–1	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City	Maradona (2)
	Semi-finals	Belgium	2–0	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City	Maradona (2)
	Final	West Germany	3–2	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City	Brown, Valdano, Burruchaga
1990	Group B	Cameroon	0–1	San Siro, Milan
		Soviet Union	2–0	San Paolo, Naples	Troglio, Burruchaga
		Romania	1–1	San Paolo, Naples	Monzón
	Round of 16	Brazil	1–0	Stadio Delle Alpi, Turin	Caniggia
	Quarter-finals	Yugoslavia	0–0 (a.e.t.) (3–2 p)	Artemio Franchi, Florence
	Semi-finals	Italy	1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p)	San Paolo, Naples	Caniggia
	Final	West Germany	0–1	Olimpico, Rome
1994	Group D	Greece	4–0	Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough	Batistuta (3), Maradona
		Nigeria	2–1	Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough	Caniggia (2)
		Bulgaria	0–2	Cotton Bowl, Dallas
	Round of 16	Romania	2–3	Rose Bowl, Pasadena	Batistuta, Balbo
1998	Group H	Japan	1–0	Stadium Municipal, Toulouse	Batistuta
		Jamaica	5–0	Parc des Princes, Paris	Ortega (2), Batistuta (3)
		Croatia	1–0	Parc Lescure, Bordeaux	Pineda
	Round of 16	England	2–2 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p)	Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne	Batistuta, Zanetti
	Quarter-finals	Netherlands	1–2	Vélodrome, Marseille	López[b]
2002	Group F	Nigeria	1–0	Kashima, Ibaraki prefecture	Batistuta
		England	0–1	Sapporo Dome, Sapporo
		Sweden	1–1	Miyagi, Rifu	Crespo
2006	Group C	Ivory Coast	2–1	Volksparkstadion, Hamburg	Crespo, Saviola
		Serbia and Montenegro	6–0	Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen	Rodríguez (2), Cambiasso, Crespo, Tevez, Messi
		Netherlands	0–0	Waldstadion, Frankfurt
	Round of 16	Mexico	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Zentralstadion, Leipzig	Crespo, Rodríguez
	Quarter-finals	Germany	1–1 (a.e.t.) (2–4 p)	Olympiastadion, Berlin	Ayala
2010	Group B	Nigeria	1–0	Ellis Park, Johannesburg	Heinze
		South Korea	4–1	Soccer City, Johannesburg	Park (o.g.), Higuaín (3)
		Greece	2–0	Peter Mokaba, Polokwane	Demichelis, Palermo
	Round of 16	Mexico	3–1	Soccer City, Johannesburg	Tevez (2), Higuaín
	Quarter-finals	Germany	0–4	Green Point, Cape Town
2014	Group F	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2–1	Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro	Kolašinac (o.g.), Messi
		Iran	1–0	Mineirão, Belo Horizonte	Messi
		Nigeria	3–2	Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre	Messi (2), Rojo
	Round of 16	Switzerland	1–0 (a.e.t.)	Arena Corinthians, São Paulo	Di María
	Quarter-finals	Belgium	1–0	Estádio Nacional, Brasília	Higuaín
	Semi-finals	Netherlands	0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p)	Arena Corinthians, São Paulo
	Final	Germany	0–1 (a.e.t.)	Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro
2018	Group D	Iceland	1–1	Spartak Stadium, Moscow	Agüero
		Croatia	0–3	Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
		Nigeria	2–1	Zenit Arena, Saint Petersburg	Messi, Rojo
	Round of 16	France	3–4	Kazan Arena, Kazan	Di María, Mercado, Agüero
2022	Group C	Saudi Arabia	1–2	Lusail Stadium, Lusail	Messi
		Mexico	2–0	Lusail Stadium, Lusail	Messi, Fernández
		Poland	2–0	Stadium 974, Doha	Mac Allister, Álvarez
	Round of 16	Australia	2–1	Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan	Messi, Álvarez
	Quarter-finals	Netherlands	2–2 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p)	Lusail Stadium, Lusail	Molina, Messi
	Semi-finals	Croatia	3–0	Lusail Stadium, Lusail	Messi, Álvarez (2)
	Final	France	3–3 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p)	Lusail Stadium, Lusail	Messi (2), Di María

World Cup Finals

1930 v Uruguay

The inaugural FIFA World Cup tournament culminated with Argentina facing hosts and current Olympic champions Uruguay. The match was turned twice: Argentina went into half-time with a 2–1 lead in spite of an early goal for Uruguay, but the hosts ultimately won 4–2. Guillermo Stábile, one of Argentina's scorers, became the tournament's top striker with 8 goals total.

30 July 1930 (1930-07-30)

14:15 UYT (UTC-03:30)

Uruguay	4–2	Argentina
Dorado 12' Cea 57'[3] Iriarte 68' Castro 89'	Report	Peucelle 20' Stábile 37'[3]

Estadio Centenario, Montevideo

Attendance: 68,346

Referee: John Langenus (Belgium)

Uruguay

Argentina

GK Enrique Ballestrero RB José Nasazzi (c) LB Ernesto Mascheroni RH José Andrade CH Lorenzo Fernández LH Álvaro Gestido OR Pablo Dorado IR Héctor Scarone CF Héctor Castro IL Pedro Cea OL Santos Iriarte Manager: Alberto Suppici

GK Juan Botasso RB José Della Torre LB Fernando Paternoster RH Juan Evaristo CH Luis Monti LH Pedro Suárez OR Carlos Peucelle IR Francisco Varallo CF Guillermo Stábile IL Manuel Ferreira (c) OL Mario Evaristo Managers: Francisco Olazar Juan José Tramutola

1978 v the Netherlands

Argentina hosted the 1978 edition of the World Cup and reached the final. The Netherlands had already played the previous final in West Germany 1974 - and also lost to the hosts.

Diego Maradona was 17 years old at this point and already a star in his home country, but did not make the squad as coach César Luis Menotti felt he was too inexperienced to handle the pressure of this major tournament. The playmaker position was instead filled by Mario Kempes, who ended up becoming the first Argentinian to win the Golden Ball in addition to being the tournament's top scorer with 6 goals.

The Dutch side was missing a superstar of their own: Johan Cruyff did not join the 1978 World Cup squads due to the aftermath of a kidnapping attempt which occurred in 1977. He only disclosed this information 30 years later.

The closely contested match was influenced by a hostile atmosphere and ended with the Dutch players refusing to attend the award ceremony after Argentina grabbed the title in extra time.

25 June 1978

15:00 UTC−3

Argentina	3–1 (a.e.t.)	Netherlands
Kempes 38', 105' Bertoni 115'	Report	Nanninga 82'

Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires

Attendance: 71,483

Referee: Sergio Gonella (Italy)

Argentina

Netherlands

GK 5 Ubaldo Fillol RB 15 Jorge Olguín CB 7 Luis Galván CB 19 Daniel Passarella (c) LB 20 Alberto Tarantini DM 6 Américo Gallego CM 2 Osvaldo Ardiles  40'  66' AM 10 Mario Kempes RW 4 Daniel Bertoni LW 16 Oscar Alberto Ortiz  75' CF 14 Leopoldo Luque Substitutes: MF 1 Norberto Alonso GK 3 Héctor Baley MF 8 Rubén Galván MF 9 René Houseman  75' MF 12 Omar Larrosa  93'  66' Manager: César Luis Menotti

GK 8 Jan Jongbloed SW 5 Ruud Krol (c)  15' RB 6 Wim Jansen  75' CB 22 Ernie Brandts LB 2 Jan Poortvliet  96' RM 13 Johan Neeskens CM 9 Arie Haan LM 11 Willy van de Kerkhof RF 10 René van de Kerkhof CF 16 Johnny Rep  58' LF 12 Rob Rensenbrink Substitutes: DF 4 Adrie van Kraay DF 17 Wim Rijsbergen FW 18 Dick Nanninga  58' GK 19 Pim Doesburg DF 20 Wim Suurbier  94'  75' Manager: Ernst Happel

1986 v West Germany

Eight years after the victory on home soil, Argentina won the World Cup title for the second time. Diego Maradona was voted Best Player of the tournament after scoring five goals and assisting the decisive 3-2 by Jorge Burruchaga in the 84th minute of the final. The match was played in front of a record attendance of 114,600 people.

29 June 1986

12:00 CST

Argentina	3–2	West Germany
Brown 23' Valdano 56' Burruchaga 84'	Report	Rummenigge 74' Völler 81'

Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

Attendance: 114,600

Referee: Romualdo Arppi Filho (Brazil)

Argentina

West Germany

GK 18 Nery Pumpido  85' SW 5 José Luis Brown CB 9 José Luis Cuciuffo CB 19 Oscar Ruggeri RWB 14 Ricardo Giusti LWB 16 Julio Olarticoechea  77' DM 2 Sergio Batista CM 7 Jorge Burruchaga  90' CM 12 Héctor Enrique  81' SS 10 Diego Maradona (c)  17' CF 11 Jorge Valdano Substitutions: MF 21 Marcelo Trobbiani  90' Manager: Carlos Bilardo

GK 1 Harald Schumacher SW 17 Ditmar Jakobs CB 4 Karlheinz Förster CB 2 Hans-Peter Briegel  62' RWB 14 Thomas Berthold LWB 3 Andreas Brehme CM 6 Norbert Eder CM 8 Lothar Matthäus  21' AM 10 Felix Magath  62' CF 11 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (c) CF 19 Klaus Allofs  46' Substitutions: FW 9 Rudi Völler  46' FW 20 Dieter Hoeneß  62' Manager: Franz Beckenbauer

1990 v West Germany

In 1990, Argentina faced West Germany in a repeat of the 1986 edition. Pedro Monzón became the first player ever to be sent off in a World Cup final, but was later joined by teammate Gustavo Dezotti. The match was decided by a penalty kick in favour of Germany.

8 July 1990

20:00 UTC+2

West Germany	1–0	Argentina
Brehme 85' (pen.)	Report

Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Attendance: 73,603

Referee: Edgardo Codesal (Mexico)

West Germany

Argentina

GK 1 Bodo Illgner SW 5 Klaus Augenthaler CB 6 Guido Buchwald CB 4 Jürgen Kohler RWB 14 Thomas Berthold  73' LWB 3 Andreas Brehme CM 8 Thomas Häßler CM 10 Lothar Matthäus (c) CM 7 Pierre Littbarski CF 9 Rudi Völler  52' CF 18 Jürgen Klinsmann Substitutes: GK 12 Raimond Aumann DF 2 Stefan Reuter  73' MF 15 Uwe Bein MF 20 Olaf Thon FW 13 Karl-Heinz Riedle Manager: Franz Beckenbauer

GK 12 Sergio Goycochea SW 20 Juan Simón CB 18 José Serrizuela CB 19 Oscar Ruggeri  46' RWB 4 José Basualdo LWB 17 Roberto Sensini DM 13 Néstor Lorenzo CM 7 Jorge Burruchaga  53' CM 21 Pedro Troglio  84' SS 10 Diego Maradona (c)  87' CF 9 Gustavo Dezotti  5'  87' Substitutes: GK 22 Fabián Cancelarich DF 5 Edgardo Bauza DF 15 Pedro Monzón  65'  46' MF 6 Gabriel Calderón  53' FW 3 Abel Balbo Manager: Carlos Bilardo

2014 v Germany

In 2014, Argentina reached the final for the fifth time and for a third time had to face the German team, making it the most recurrent meeting for a final. In spite of a number of chances on both sides, regular time finished goalless. In the second half of extra time, substitute striker Mario Götze scored the decisive goal for Germany.

13 July 2014

16:00 UTC−3

Germany	1–0 (a.e.t.)	Argentina
Götze 113'	Report

Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro

Attendance: 74,738

Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (Italy)

Germany

Argentina

GK 1 Manuel Neuer RB 16 Philipp Lahm (c) CB 20 Jérôme Boateng CB 5 Mats Hummels LB 4 Benedikt Höwedes  34' CM 23 Christoph Kramer  31' CM 7 Bastian Schweinsteiger  29' RW 13 Thomas Müller AM 18 Toni Kroos LW 8 Mesut Özil  120' CF 11 Miroslav Klose  88' Substitutions: FW 9 André Schürrle  31' MF 19 Mario Götze  88' DF 17 Per Mertesacker  120' Manager: Joachim Löw

GK 1 Sergio Romero RB 4 Pablo Zabaleta CB 15 Martín Demichelis CB 2 Ezequiel Garay LB 16 Marcos Rojo CM 14 Javier Mascherano  64' CM 6 Lucas Biglia RW 8 Enzo Pérez  86' LW 22 Ezequiel Lavezzi  46' SS 10 Lionel Messi (c) CF 9 Gonzalo Higuaín  78' Substitutions: FW 20 Sergio Agüero  65'  46' FW 18 Rodrigo Palacio  78' MF 5 Fernando Gago  86' Manager: Alejandro Sabella

2022 v France

Argentina opened up the scoring when Messi scored a penalty kick, and doubled their lead with a Di Maria goal in the 36th minute.^[4] France made two substitutions in the first half, but went into half-time trailing 0–2.^[5] Despite not having a shot until after the 80th minute, France were awarded a penalty as Randal Kolo Muani was brought down in the penalty area. Mbappé scored the penalty, and added a second goal less than two minutes later to equalise the scores.^[5] With the scores tied, the match went to extra time. Messi scored again for Argentina in the second extra time half. Mbappé was awarded a second penalty in the 118th minute after his initial shot hit the arm of Gonzalo Montiel. Mbappé scored his third goal, becoming the second player to score a hat-trick in the final of a men's World Cup.^[5] With the scores tied at 3–3, the match was completed by a penalty shootout. Argentina won the final after scoring all of their penalties, winning 4–2.^[5]

18 December 2022 (2022-12-18)

18:00 AST

Argentina	3–3 (a.e.t.)	France
Messi 23' (pen.), 108' Di María 36'	Report	Mbappé 80' (pen.), 81', 118' (pen.)
Penalties
Messi Dybala Paredes Montiel	4–2	Mbappé Coman Tchouaméni Kolo Muani

Lusail Stadium, Lusail

Attendance: 88,966

Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)

Argentina

France

GK 23 Emiliano Martínez  120+5' RB 26 Nahuel Molina  91' CB 13 Cristian Romero CB 19 Nicolás Otamendi LB 3 Nicolás Tagliafico  120+1' DM 24 Enzo Fernández  45+7' CM 7 Rodrigo De Paul  102' CM 20 Alexis Mac Allister  116' RF 10 Lionel Messi (c) CF 9 Julián Álvarez  102' LF 11 Ángel Di María  64' Substitutions: MF 8 Marcos Acuña  90+8'  64' DF 4 Gonzalo Montiel  116'  91' MF 5 Leandro Paredes  114'  102' FW 22 Lautaro Martínez  102' DF 6 Germán Pezzella  116' FW 21 Paulo Dybala  120+1' Manager: Lionel Scaloni

GK 1 Hugo Lloris (c) RB 5 Jules Koundé  120+1' CB 4 Raphaël Varane  113' CB 18 Dayot Upamecano LB 22 Théo Hernandez  71' CM 8 Aurélien Tchouaméni CM 14 Adrien Rabiot  55'  96' RW 11 Ousmane Dembélé  41' AM 7 Antoine Griezmann  71' LW 10 Kylian Mbappé CF 9 Olivier Giroud  90+5'  41' Substitutions: FW 12 Randal Kolo Muani  41' FW 26 Marcus Thuram  87'  41' FW 20 Kingsley Coman  71' MF 25 Eduardo Camavinga  71' MF 13 Youssouf Fofana  96' DF 24 Ibrahima Konaté  113' DF 3 Axel Disasi  120+1' Manager: Didier Deschamps

Record by opponent

Argentina have played a total of 88 FIFA World Cup games through 18 tournaments, facing 39 rivals.

FIFA World Cup matches (by team)
Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Confederation
France	4	2	1	1	9	8	1	UEFA
Mexico	4	4	0	0	13	5	8	CONCACAF
Chile	1	1	0	0	3	1	2	CONMEBOL
United States	1	1	0	0	6	1	5	CONCACAF
Uruguay	2	1	0	1	3	4	−1	CONMEBOL
Sweden	2	0	1	1	3	4	−1	UEFA
Germany	7	1	2	4	5	12	−7	UEFA
Northern Ireland	1	1	0	0	3	1	2	UEFA
Czechoslovakia	1	0	0	1	1	6	-5	UEFA
Bulgaria	3	2	0	1	3	2	1	UEFA
England	5	1	1	3	5	8	−3	UEFA
Hungary	3	2	1	0	6	2	4	UEFA
Spain	1	1	0	0	2	1	1	UEFA
Switzerland	2	2	0	0	3	0	3	UEFA
Poland	3	2	0	1	6	3	3	UEFA
Italy	5	0	3	2	4	6	−2	UEFA
Haiti	1	1	0	0	4	1	3	CONCACAF
Netherlands	6	2	3	2	6	9	−3	UEFA
Brazil	4	1	1	2	3	5	−2	CONMEBOL
East Germany*	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	UEFA
Peru	1	1	0	0	6	0	6	CONMEBOL
Belgium	3	2	0	1	3	1	2	UEFA
El Salvador	1	1	0	0	2	0	2	CONCACAF
South Korea	2	2	0	0	7	2	5	AFC
Cameroon	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	CAF
Soviet Union*	1	1	0	0	2	0	2	UEFA
Romania	2	0	1	1	3	4	−1	UEFA
Serbia+	2	1	1	0	6	0	6	UEFA
Greece	2	2	0	0	6	0	6	UEFA
Nigeria	5	5	0	0	9	4	5	CAF
Japan	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	AFC
Jamaica	1	1	0	0	5	0	5	CONCACAF
Croatia	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1	UEFA
Ivory Coast	1	1	0	0	2	1	1	CAF
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1	1	0	0	2	1	1	UEFA
Iran	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	AFC
Iceland	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	UEFA
Saudi Arabia	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	AFC
Australia	1	1	0	0	2	1	1	AFC

Teams in bold denote world cup winners, teams in italics show teams which played its first match ever in a World Cup against Argentina.
Teams with a * mark no longer exist. East Germany was annexed to Germany. Soviet Union now plays as Russia.
+ Played as Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro.

Head coaches

Through Argentinian team history, several coaches had trained it with different football styles from offensive to defensive tactics. There are two predominant 'football schools' about world champions coaches César Menotti who propagates possession and well-look play and Carlos Bilardo who prioritize results and tactical order. These head coaches divides Argentine fans kindly.^[6] Other managers such as Marcelo Bielsa has got his own football style. In another way this list shows records in World Cups and in qualifying stages excluding friendlies.

By tournament		At FIFA World Cup						In qualification						Total
Coach	Years	Pld	W	D	L	W %	Pts %	Pld	W	D	L	W %	Pts %	Pld	W	D	L	W %	Pts %
Olazar and Tramutola	1930	5	4	0	1	80%	80%	Not played						5	4	0	1	80%	80%
Felipe Pascucci	1934	1	0	0	1	0%	0%	Not played						1	0	0	1	0%	0%
Guillermo Stábile	1958	3	1	0	2	33.3%	33.3%	4	3	0	1	75%	75%	9	6	0	3	66.6%	66.6%
	1962	He did not manage this Cup						2	2	0	0	100%	100%
Juan Carlos Lorenzo	1962	3	1	1	1	33.3%	50%	He did not manage these qualifiers						7	3	2	2	42.9%	57.1%
	1966	4	2	1	1	50%	62.5%
José María Minella	1966	He did not manage this Cup						4	3	1	0	75%	87.5%	4	3	1	0	75%	87.5%
Adolfo Pedernera	1970	did not qualify						4	1	1	2	25%	37.5%	4	1	1	2	25%	37.5%
Omar Sívori	1974	He did not manage this Cup						4	3	1	0	75%	87.5%	4	3	1	0	75%	87.5%
Vladislao Cap	1974	6	1	2	3	16.7%	33.3%	He did not manage these qualifiers						6	1	2	3	16.7%	33.3%
César Menotti	1978	7	5	1	1	71.4%	78.6%	Qualified as hosts						12	7	1	4	58.3%	62.5%
	1982	5	2	0	3	40%	40%	Qualified as defending champions
Carlos Bilardo	1986	7	6	1	0	85.7%	92.9%	6	4	1	1	66.7%	75%	20	14	3	3	70%	75%
	1990	7	4	1	2	57.1%	61.9%	Qualified as defending champions
Alfio Basile	1994	4	2	0	2	50%	50%	8	4	2	2	50%	62.5%	12	6	2	4	42.9%	52.4%
	2010	He did not manage this Cup						10	4	4	2	40%	53.3%
Daniel Passarella	1998	5	3	1	1	80%	80%	16	8	6	2	50%	62.5%	21	12	6	3	57.1%	66.6%
Marcelo Bielsa	2002	3	1	1	1	33.3%	44.4%	18	13	4	1	72.2%	79.6%	18	13	4	1	66.7%	74.6%
José Pekerman	2006	5	3	2	0	60%	73.3%	18	10	4	4	55.5%	62.9%	23	13	5	5	56.5%	63.7%
Diego Maradona	2010	5	4	0	1	80%	80%	8	4	0	4	50%	50%	13	8	0	5	61.5%	61.2%
Alejandro Sabella	2014	7	6	0	1	85.7%	85.7%	16	10	4	2	62.5%	70.8%	23	16	4	3	69.5%	75.3%
Gerardo Martino	2018	He did not manage this Cup						6	3	2	1	50%	61.1%	6	3	2	1	50%	61.1%
Edgardo Bauza	2018	He did not manage this Cup						8	3	2	3	37.5%	45.8%	8	3	2	3	37.5%	45.8%
Jorge Sampaoli	2018	4	1	1	2	25%	33.3%	4	1	3	0	25%	50%	8	2	4	2	25%	41.7%
Lionel Scaloni	2022	7	4	2	1	57.1%	66.7%	17	11	6	0	64.7%	76.5%	24	15	8	1	62.5%	73.6%

From 1994 towards, three points are given for a win. Previously were two.

Against conferences

FIFA delegates regional qualification and other organization affairs to continental conferences, so it divides into six differents of them grouped by geographical location. Argentina plays in CONMEBOL conference in South America. Due to World Cup rules that two teams of same confederation can not play in the same group in first round except for UEFA, it commonly faces teams which plays outside its continent most recently from Africa and Asia. Argentine national has never played versus an Oceanian (OFC) squad.

FIFA World Cup matches (by conference)
Confederation	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	% of pts	% of wins
UEFA	55	26	8	21	74	68	6	52.12%	47.27%
CONMEBOL	8	4	1	3	15	10	5	54.16%	50%
CONCACAF	7	7	0	0	28	7	21	100%	100%
CAF	7	6	0	1	11	6	5	85.71%	85.71%
AFC	5	4	0	1	10	4	6	80%	80%

Against debutants

'Albiceleste' has played against first-world-cup teams more than other, doing so 17 times, 7 of them being the first World Cup match ever. This list shows records versus those selections including all-debutants 1930 edition. Curiously, Argentina's debut was versus France which previously had played before.

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Debutants	7	5	1	1	13	6	7
Teams in 1st their WC	17	13	2	2	45	18	27

Sweden, Bulgaria, Greece, Japan, Ivory Coast, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland played its first time against Argentina.
France, Mexico, Chile, United States, Uruguay, Northern Ireland, Haiti, East Germany, Jamaica and Croatia played in its first world cup but after first game.

Records and statistics

Most appearances

Lionel Messi has captained the team in 19 matches. Lionel Messi's total of 26 matches is a record for the side and the most for a player at the FIFA World Cup.

Rank	Player	Matches	World Cups
1	Lionel Messi	26	2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022
2	Diego Maradona	21	1982, 1986, 1990 and 1994
3	Javier Mascherano	20	2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018
4	Mario Kempes	18	1974, 1978 and 1982
5	Ángel Di María	17	2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022
6	Oscar Ruggeri	16	1986, 1990 and 1994
7
	Jorge Burruchaga	14	1986 and 1990
	Gonzalo Higuaín	14	2010, 2014 and 2018
9	Ubaldo Fillol	13	1974, 1978 and 1982

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Goals	World Cups
1	Lionel Messi	13	2006 (1), 2014 (4), 2018 (1) and 2022 (7)
2	Gabriel Batistuta	10	1994 (4), 1998 (5) and 2002 (1)
3	Guillermo Stábile	8	1930
	Diego Maradona	8	1982 (2), 1986 (5) and 1994 (1)
5	Mario Kempes	6	1978
6	Gonzalo Higuaín	5	2010 (4) and 2014 (1)
7	Seven players	4

Goalscoring by tournament

World Cup	Goalscorer(s)
1930	Guillermo Stábile (8), Carlos Peucelle (3), Luis Monti (2), Adolfo Zumelzú (2), Mario Evaristo, Alejandro Scopelli, Francisco Varallo
1934	Ernesto Belis, Alberto Galateo
1958	Omar Oreste Corbatta (3), Ludovico Avio, Norberto Menéndez
1962	Héctor Facundo, José Sanfilippo
1966	Luis Artime (3), Ermindo Onega
1974	René Houseman (3), Héctor Yazalde (2), Rubén Ayala, Carlos Babington, Miguel Ángel Brindisi, Ramón Heredia
1978	Mario Kempes (6), Leopoldo Luque (4), Daniel Bertoni (2), René Houseman, Daniel Passarella, Alberto Tarantini
1982	Daniel Bertoni (2), Diego Maradona (2), Daniel Passarella (2), Osvaldo Ardiles, Ramón Díaz
1986	Diego Maradona (5), Jorge Valdano (4), Jorge Burruchaga (2), José Luis Brown, Pedro Pasculli, Oscar Ruggeri
1990	Claudio Caniggia (2), Jorge Burruchaga, Pedro Monzón, Pedro Troglio
1994	Gabriel Batistuta (4), Claudio Caniggia (2), Abel Balbo, Diego Maradona
1998	Gabriel Batistuta (5), Ariel Ortega (2), Claudio López, Mauricio Pineda, Javier Zanetti
2002	Gabriel Batistuta, Hernán Crespo
2006	Hernán Crespo (3), Maxi Rodríguez (3), Roberto Ayala, Esteban Cambiasso, Lionel Messi, Javier Saviola, Carlos Tevez
2010	Gonzalo Higuaín (4), Carlos Tevez (2), Martin Demichelis, Gabriel Heinze, Martin Palermo, Own Goal
2014	Lionel Messi (4), Ángel Di María, Gonzalo Higuaín, Marcos Rojo, Own Goal
2018	Sergio Agüero (2), Lionel Messi, Marcos Rojo, Ángel Di María, Gabriel Mercado
2022	Lionel Messi (7), Julián Álvarez (4), Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister, Nahuel Molina, Ángel Di María

Awards

Team

• World Champions 1978
• World Champions 1986
• World Champions 2022
• 2nd Place 1930
• 2nd Place 1990
• 2nd Place 2014
• Fair Play Award 1978

Individual

• Golden Ball 1978: Mario Kempes
• Golden Ball 1986: Diego Maradona
• Golden Ball 2014: Lionel Messi
• Golden Ball 2022: Lionel Messi
• Silver Ball 1930: Guillermo Stábile
• Bronze Ball 1990: Diego Maradona

• Golden Boot 1930: Guillermo Stábile
• Golden Boot 1978: Mario Kempes
• Silver Boot 1986: Diego Maradona
• Silver Boot 1998: Gabriel Batistuta
• Silver Boot 2006: Hernán Crespo
• Silver Boot 2022: Lionel Messi

• Golden Glove 1978: Ubaldo Fillol
• Golden Glove 1990: Sergio Goycochea (shared with Luis Gabelo Conejo)
• Golden Glove 2022: Emiliano Martínez
• Best Young Player 2022: Enzo Fernández
• Most Player of the Match Awards 2014 (4) and 2022 (5): Lionel Messi
• Most Player of the Match Awards over various World Cups by a single player (11): Lionel Messi

• José Pékerman won the FIFA Fair Play Trophy as a coach with Colombia in 2014.

Standing alone

• Most played final against the same team: 3 times versus Germany in 1986, 1990 and 2014.
• Most played against the same team in same stage: 5 times versus Nigeria in 1994, 2002, 2010, 2014 and 2018 all in group stage. Last three of them make most times consecutive, too. All won by Argentina by one goal difference.
• Most played semifinals without losses: 6 times won in 1930, 1986 and 2022 while drawn in 1990 and 2014. Although in 1978 there weren't semifinals, Argentina won second round group ahead of Brazil which disputed 3rd place match against Italy. Even more, game against Brazil ended in a 0–0 draw.
• Most played penalty shoot-outs: 7 (twice in 1990, 1998, 2006, 2014 and twice in 2022).
• Fewest goals for a finalist: 1990 (5).
• Youngest coach: Juan José Tramutola aged 27 years and 267 days in 1930.^[7][8]
• Most hat-tricks scored in multiple editions: Gabriel Batistuta in 1994 against Greece and in 1998 against Jamaica.^[9]

Shared

• Most played against the same team: 7 times versus Germany in 1958, 1966, 1986, 1990, 2006, 2010 and 2014. Shared with Germany vs Yugoslavia/Serbia and Brazil vs Sweden.
• Most won penalty shoot-outs: 6 times (twice in 1990, 1998, 2014 and twice in 2022).
• Most coached finals: 2 times by Carlos Bilardo in 1986 and 1990.^[10] Shared with Italian Vittorio Pozzo (1934-1938), German Helmut Schön (1966-1974), Brazilian Mário Zagallo (1970-1998) German Franz Beckenbauer who faced Bilardo in both 1986 and 1990, and French Didier Deschamps (2018-2022).

Miscellaneous

Argentina's game versus West Germany in 1958 featured a yellow jersey instead of the traditional light blue and white colors or blue as alternate. This was because both teams wore white jerseys, creating confusion. As the South American side forgot to bring an alternate one, they decided to borrow jerseys from local team club Malmö. Germany won 3–1.^[11][12]

In the 1978 France - Hungary match something similar occurred. Both teams arrived to the match with white jerseys, so France was forced to borrow jerseys from Mar del Plata's local club Kimberley. France wore striped green and white keeping the traditional blue shorts and red socks. France won 3–1.^[13][14]

The stadium José María Minella is the southernmost World Cup venue located at 38°0′0″S 57°33′0″W. Including France vs. Hungary, several matches of the 1978 World Cup were played in this stadium. Mar del Plata is in the south of Buenos Aires Province.^[15]

Referees

As a major CONMEBOL member, Argentina has been represented by match officials in nearly every tournament. In 2006, Horacio Elizondo refereed the final between France and Italy, where he sent off Zinedine Zidane after a headbutt to an opponent. In 2018, Néstor Pitana did it when France played versus Croatia. They are also the only two who refereed the opening game in the same tournament.

See also

• Disaster of Sweden
• Argentina at the Copa América
• South American nations at the FIFA World Cup

External links

• Official website, at the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino's website
• FIFA world cup all-time table

Notes

1. Last 8 held as second group stage.
2. Argentina's 100th WC goal