Argentine players. Argentina national team at the world championships
Argentina
River Plate (Buenos Aires)
(The club was founded in 1901)
2-time Copa Libertadores winner, 1986 Intercontinental Cup winner, 1997 Libertadores Super Cup winner, Recopa winner South America 1997, 33-time champion of Argentina.
Astonishingly quickly conquering Europe after England, football was simultaneously advancing in many other directions. But he found especially fertile ground for himself in South America. On this continent with exotic plants and a warm climate that allows you to play all year round, a continent populated by passionate, passionate people, football has acquired a special stamp of artistry and improvisation. Here, in the New World, its own South American football school was born, noticeably different from the more rational European style.
The first football “island” in South America appeared almost immediately after the Football Association was organized in England in 1863. In Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, as in many major cities world of that time, there was a large English colony. One of the Englishmen, a football fanatic, organized the Buenos Aires FC football club in 1867.
The first players were also the British. It was exactly the same at first in other Argentine football clubs, which in the 70s and 80s XIX century appeared one after another. However, the game immediately made the hot South American seniors very strong impression, and they tried to keep up with the British. However, even the names football clubs Argentina remained English for a very long time, and only in the middle of the 20th century they began to be given a Spanish form.
The fates of the first Argentine football clubs developed differently. Some quickly disappeared, others lived for decades. For example, the Quilmes club from a town with the same name near Buenos Aires has survived to this day. It was founded in 1887 and is considered the oldest in Argentina, although it now plays in one of the lower leagues. Some clubs became the predecessors of others, much more famous. So, for example, in May 1901, as a result of the merger of two capital clubs “Rosales” and “Santa Rosa”, one of the strongest clubs not only in Argentina, but in the whole world was born - River Plate. Since Buenos Aires is located on the shores of La Plata Bay, and was created new club English, then it received its name in the English manner.
At the stadium - River Plate
River Plate is a club for which different eras played by footballers whose names are known throughout the world: Alfredo di Stefano, Omari Sivori, goalkeeper Amadeo Carrizo, Adolfo Pedernera, Gabriel Batistuta, Mario Kempes, Claudio Caniggia…. Some of River Plate's players were world champions with the Argentina national team, and many played in great European clubs. Alfredo di Stefano, for example, is an entire era in the history of Real Madrid in the 50s and 60s. And now River Plate students play in Europe, including Gonzalo Higuain, Javier Saviola, Javier Mascherano...
In their homeland, River Plate is the absolute record holder for the number of championship titles won, it has 33. The closest pursuer and main rival, Boca Juniors, lags behind by a whole dozen, and the third great Argentine club Independiente was the champion of the country “only » 14 times.
But Boca Juniors can be proud of the fact that they won the very first Argentine championship, held in 1931. But the very next year River Plate won the championship title. Since then, the rivalry between the two clubs from Buenos Aires has continued... for the second hundred seasons. The fact is that the Argentine championship has certain features that perhaps not everyone knows about.
For more than three decades, from 1931 to 1966, it played out exactly as in European countries- in two rounds (even earlier, amateur championships were held in Argentina). During this time, River Plate won 12 league titles, but after 1957 a streak of bad luck set in: the club finished second more than once, but for a long time it was not possible to win the championship.
From 1967 to 1985, Argentina had two championships every year, with different names - Metropolitan and Nacional. Meanwhile, they themselves were completely equivalent, however, official Argentine statistics indicate not only the year when a particular club became a champion, but also the name of the championship. In 1975, River Plate finally became champions again, winning both the Metropolitan and Nacional. River Plate achieved the same “double” in 1979, and in total during this period it won 7 championship titles.
In 1986, further changes followed in Argentine football: the championships, like in Europe, became seasonal, and the first was held in 1986–1987. They differed from European ones only in that by the end of the year in Argentina it was not autumn, but spring. Each season determined one champion, but this system lasted only until 1990. In these 5 seasons, River Plate became the first team in Argentina twice more.
Since the second half of 1990, championships began to be held differently, and this continues to this day. Now there are again two of them per year, but each in one round, and there are also two champions. The championship, taking place in the second half of the year, is called Apertura - Opening. After the New Year, the Clausura begins - Closing. This is how the 2001 Clausura became the hundredth football championship Argentina, and after that the score went to the second hundred.
And by this time River Plate had already won all their international titles.
Back in 1966, he reached the final of the Copa Libertadores for the first time, but lost to the Uruguayan Peñarol in the third extra match. Exactly 10 years later, River Plate reached the final for the second time, but again lost in the third additional match - now to the Brazilian club Cruzeiro. Another 10 years passed, and the Argentine club's third attempt was finally successful. Having defeated the Colombian club America in two matches, River Plate finally won their first Libertadores Cup. In the same 1986, the Argentine club also won the Intercontinental Cup, defeating the Romanian club Steaua with a score of 1:0.
In 1996, exactly 10 years later (how can one not believe in the magic of numbers after that), River Plate reached the Copa Libertadores final for the fourth time. The opponent again turned out to be the same club "America" from Colombia, and again the winner was "River Plate" (lost one match - 0:1, won the other - 2:0), winning their second Libertadores Cup. Both winning goals were scored by Hernan Crespo, and at that time the team leaders were Ariel Ortega, Marcelo Gallardo and Uruguayan Enzo Francescoli.
However, River Plate lost the match for the Intercontinental Cup that year to Juventus with a score of 0:1. But the following year he won two more international trophies - the Recopa of South America and the Libertadores Super Cup.
It is perhaps worth recalling that Recopa is an analogue of the European UEFA Super Cup. This tournament has been played since 1989, and now it brings together the clubs that have won previous season Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana (in some reference books it is also called the Copa Sudamericana). The Copa Sudamericana, like the Europa League, involves clubs that are not included in the Copa Libertadores.
But the Copa Sudamericana was only played for the first time in 2003, and in 1989–1998 Recopa was contested by the winners of the Copa Libertadores and the Supercopa Libertadores. As for the Super Cup Libertadores, this trophy was played from 1988 to 1997, and clubs that previously owned the Copa Libertadores took part in it.
In 1997, River Plate became last winner Super Cup Libertadores and already in this capacity at next year challenged Recopa with the Brazilian club Cruzeiro, winners of the Libertadores Cup, but was defeated.
River Plate has not yet won any other international trophies since 1997. Furthermore, in 2011 the club shocked its fans: River was relegated from Examples for the first time in its history. In the last round match, the team could have won and avoided the play-offs, but lost. For the right to remain in the top division, River had to play play-offs with the Belgrano club. But here, too, the most titled club in Argentina lost on aggregate in two matches. After this, the police in Buenos Aires had to pacify crowds of angry River Plate fans.
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Balls: 34
Games: 91
Years: 1977-1994
Tournaments: KA-1979, 1982 World Cup, 1986 World Cup, KA-1987, KA-1989, 1990 World Cup, 1994 World Cup
The best football player of the 20th century according to FIFA (together with Pele) began playing for the national team in 1977, but he did not make it to Argentina’s victorious 1978 World Cup. Diego's first major tournament was the 1979 Copa America, where the Albiceleste only finished fifth. Maradona himself played two matches at that tournament and scored one goal.
At the 1982 World Cup, Diego already had the status of a full-fledged leader of the national team and played five matches at the tournament, scoring two of them against Hungary, but for his team that World Cup was unsuccessful and as a result, Argentina was unable to overcome the second group stage.
The 1986 World Cup was the most successful for Maradona. At the Mexican World Cup, Diego played all seven matches and scored five goals, one of which was recognized as the “Goal of the Century”, and the second went down in history as the “Hand of God”. The Argentine scored both goals in the quarter final game with England, which, due to the Falklands War, was especially important for Maradona’s team. At the end of the tournament, Diego received the Golden Ball as the best player at the World Cup, and also took second place in the scorer race after one of Gary Lineker. Largely thanks to the Mexican World Cup, most of the world's leading sports publications named the Argentinean the goal-scorer, but the Golden Ball, which was awarded only to Europeans at that time, went to the Soviet forward.
After the 1986 World Cup, the Argentine national team failed to win the Copa America twice in a row, finishing fourth and seventh in the 1987 and 1989 tournaments, respectively, but despite such results, the Albiceleste approached the 1990 World Cup as favorites. At the World Cup in Italy, Maradona enjoyed the support of not only Argentine, but also local fans, because at that time he was the reigning winner of Serie A with Napoli. At the tournament, Diego did not score a single goal, but scored several assists and helped Argentina reach the final, in which the Albiceleste lost to Germany.
The last tournament in Maradona's international career was the 1994 World Cup. By that time, he had served a long suspension for illegal drugs and Diego’s addiction to drugs and performance-enhancing drugs was no longer a secret. At the World Cup in the USA, the Argentine managed to play only two games, after which he failed a doping test, having been caught using five substances illegal for athletes. Diego was disqualified for 15 months, and in his absence Argentina became only third in the group, and having reached the 1/8 final stage, they were eliminated from the tournament. After this, Maradona no longer played for the national team, participating in Argentina matches only as a coach.
Balls: 36
Games: 64
Years: 1995-2007
Tournaments: 1998 World Cup, 2002 World Cup, 2006 World Cup, KA-2007
Crespo scored one more goal in the national team than Maradona, but Hernan played 27 fewer games. For the first time, the forward was included in Argentina's squad at the 1995 Confederations Cup, when the tournament was still called the King Fahd Cup. At that time, CC Crespo did not play a single match and Hernan’s first goal for the national team was scored only in July 1997 as part of the qualification for the 1998 World Cup. In the final part of the World Cup in France, Crespo played one game, playing 52 minutes in the 1/8 final match with England, but he failed to score.
At the 2002 World Cup, Crespo's team played three matches and scored one goal, but Argentina was unable to overcome the group stage and left the World Cup. In qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, Hernan scored four goals in seven matches, adding a double against the German national team in a friendly game, and at the tournament itself the forward scored three goals and one assist.
The last tournament in Crespo's career was the 2007 Copa America, where Hernán scored three goals and contributed to Argentina reaching the final, where the Albiceleste lost to Brazil. These goals were Crespo's last for the national team.
Balls: 36
Games: 84
Years: 2006-present
Tournaments: World Cup 2010, KA-2011, World Cup 2014, KA-2015, KA-2016
Aguero played for the national team for the first time since the end of the 2006 World Cup. To some extent, he was seen by the coaching staff as a replacement for the aging Crespo, who by that time was gradually beginning to lose his place in the Albiceleste. “Kun” scored his first goal in the 2010 World Cup qualifying match with Bolivia, and in two subsequent friendly games the forward hit the goals of Egypt and Mexico in turn. In qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, Aguero scored four goals, but he was unable to score at the tournament itself, and Argentina reached the quarterfinals, losing there to Germany with a crushing score of 4:0.
At the 2011 Copa America, Argentina also reached the quarterfinal stage, and Sergio scored three goals in the tournament. In qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, Kun scored five goals in eight matches, but in the final stage of the World Cup the forward again failed to score. Argentina finished Copa America 2015 with silver medals, and Aguero scored three goals. At the next continental championship, the Kun team again lost in the final, and Kun scored one goal. Latest on this moment Sergio scored goals for the national team against Russia and Nigeria, scoring at the Luzhniki and Krasnodar stadiums.
Balls: 54
Games: 78
Years: 1991-2002
Tournaments: KA-1991, KA-1993, KA-1995, World Cup 1994, World Cup 1998, World Cup 2002
Among all the participants in this rating, Batistuta has the highest rate of fire. On average, Gabriel scored 0.69 goals per game for the national team, while he is best sniper"Albiceleste" did not win the world championships with a result of 10 goals.
Batistuta's first tournament with the national team was the 1991 Copa America, where Gabriel scored six goals. At the next continental tournament, which was held with the participation of the USA and Mexico, which are not part of the CONMEBOL zone, Batigol scored three goals, scoring a double in the final game and winning gold medals. At the 1994 World Cup, Gabriel started with a hat-trick against Greece, after which he scored in the 1/8 finals with Romania, but this did not help Argentina, weakened by the loss of Maradona, reach the quarter-finals.
At the Copa America 1995, “Batigol” became the winner of the sniper race with four goals (along with L. Garcia), but his team only reached the quarterfinals, losing at this stage to Brazil in a penalty shootout. Batistuta’s next tournament as part of the national team, the 1998 World Cup, was successful for the striker himself in terms of performance (5 goals) and at the end of the World Cup he received the “silver boot,” but Argentina lost to Holland in the quarterfinals and left the tournament.
The 2002 World Cup for Batigol was the last tournament for the national teams. In qualifying for the Asian World Cup, Gabriel scored five goals in five matches, but at the World Cup itself he only scored once before leaving the tournament at the end of the group stage.
Balls: 61
Games: 123
Years: 2005-present
Tournaments: World Cup 2006, KA-2007, World Cup 2010, KA-2011, World Cup 2014, KA-2015, KA-2016
The best sniper in the long-term managed to break the scoring record in the national team. He started scoring for the Albiceleste in qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, scoring against Peru, and at the World Cup itself, Leo scored a goal and an assist in the game against Serbia. At the 2007 Copa America, the forward, who has played his entire career for Barcelona, scores two goals and makes three assists, and Argentina loses to Brazil in the final.
Leo started the 2010 World Cup as the winner of the Ballon d'Or, but at the tournament itself the Argentine failed to score goals, although he became the youngest captain in the history of Argentina. Despite the unsuccessful performance in the national team, the Barca forward received the second Golden Ball in a row, after which he will win the honorary prize twice more in a row.
In the 2014 World Cup qualifying, Leo scored ten goals, losing only to L. Suarez in the regional sniper race for the World Cup qualification. In the final stage of the Brazilian World Cup, he scored four goals and led Argentina to the final of the competition, and at the end of the tournament, Messi received the prize as the best football player.
The next two South American continental tournaments were equally successful for Messi. At KA-2015, Leo scored one goal and won silver, and at KA-2016 the forward scored five goals, but again fell short of the title, missing his penalty in the post-match series with Chile in the final game. At the moment, Messi continues to play in the national team and with a high degree of probability he will be able to improve his performance in matches for Argentina.
Note: The statistics of goals of Argentine players for the national team are indicated for 11.04. 2018. Data on goals scored was obtained from the official website of the Argentina national team Afa.com.ar.
MOSCOW, June 22 - RIA Novosti. Argentina national team players demanded the resignation of national team head coach Jorge Sampaoli before the final match of the group stage of the World Cup. The portal mundoalbiceleste.com reports this.
Last night, the Albiceleste suffered a crushing defeat from the Croatian team, conceding three unanswered goals in the second half.
A message on the website said the players held a meeting and voted unanimously for Sampaoli to resign. According to the portal, there is a high probability that in the match with Nigeria he will no longer direct the actions of the players. The site also reports that Sampaoli will be replaced by Jorge Burruchaga, world champion and scorer of the winning goal in the 1986 final.
After a draw with the Icelanders (1:1) and a defeat from the Croats (0:3), the Argentina national team takes third place in Group D, with one point to its credit. In the final round of the group stage, the Argentines will face Nigeria. The match will take place on June 26 in St. Petersburg.
If the contract is terminated, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) will have to pay Jorge Sampaoli 20 million euros, according to AS. It is worth noting that the AFA currently continues to pay penalties to two former national team helmsmen - Gerardo Martino, who led the team from 2014-2016, and Edgardo Bausa, who left the national team in 2017.
The Argentina national team experienced great difficulties during the qualifying stage of the World Cup. The team lost to Paraguay, Ecuador and suffered a devastating loss to Brazil; until the last rounds, there was a possibility that Argentina would not make it to the World Cup at all.
Sampaoli took responsibility for the defeat in the match against Croatia. As the coach said, this match was supposed to be Starting point, but in the end the meeting ended in defeat. He also admitted that his players failed to deliver the ball to Argentina leader Lionel Messi. Jorge told reporters that he could not find the best use for the players on the field.
"I would like to apologize to the fans, especially to those who did such a thing long haul. “It’s entirely my fault,” Sampaoli told reporters. - We wanted to become the first in the group, it is clear that now we will not succeed. It hurts".
1988 FIFA World Cup champion with the Argentina national team, Mario Kempes, called the defeat of the Argentines in the 2018 tournament match against the Croats “a shameful spectacle.” “Sad! In the second match we were waiting for a reaction (to the draw in the first game with the Icelanders), but we got a big surprise: the match was even worse,” Kempes wrote on his microblog on Twitter.
Former footballer of the Russian clubs “Moscow”, “Terek” (now “Akhmat”) and “Rostov” Hector Bracamonte expressed disappointment with the game. "The Argentina national team played very poorly. Not only Messi played poorly, all the players acted poorly. Nobody helped Messi, it’s difficult to explain the team’s performance like this. I believe that Argentina can get out of the group, we need to beat Nigeria and wait for Croatia to beat Iceland," - said Bracamonte.
Earlier, Diego Maradona criticized the head coach of the Albiceleste for failing to prepare the team for the World Cup. "With a performance like this, Sampaoli may not return home. It's a shame not to have a prepared game," said the legendary striker. Maradona noted that the team continued to play through throws into the penalty area, despite the fact that all the opposing players were larger than the Argentines.
The former football player emphasized that he does not blame the players and sees the problem in the lack of preparation. He added that the game against Nigeria will be difficult because they are an experienced team that knows how to counter-attack.
Argentina has given the world countless outstanding football players, and its national team is one of the strongest on the planet.
History of the Argentina national football team
- Participation in the final stage of the world championships: 15 times.
- Participation in the final stage of the America's Cup: 37 times.
Achievements of the Argentina national team
- 2-time world champion.
- Silver medalist – 3 times.
- 14-time South American champion.
- Silver medalist – 14 times.
- Bronze medalist – 4 times.
The Argentine national team played its first match in 1901 or 1902; exact information has not been preserved. It is reliably known that the opponent was the Uruguay team, and that the Argentines won. As for the account, here football statistics called various options– from 3:2 to 6:0.
Argentina national team at the world championships
At the first World Cup, held in Uruguay, the Argentines immediately reached the final, where they lost to the host team 2:4.
That match was remembered for the fact that the teams played with two goals - the first half with the Argentinean, the second with the Uruguayan. FIFA made this decision because both teams presented their ball and could not reach an agreement - everyone wanted to play with their own ball.
Interestingly, the teams argued for good reason. The first half went to Argentina 2:1, the second half was won outright by Uruguay 3:0.
At the next World Cup, held according to the Olympic system, the Argentina team lost to Sweden 2:3 in the first round. This match was like the beginning of the “albiceleste’s” long-term failures at the world championships.
Argentina refused to participate in the 1938, 1950 and 1984 tournaments; at the 1958 and 1962 championships it could not even leave the group.
Only in 1966, the Argentine team, having beaten Spain and Switzerland and drawn with the West German team, was finally able to overcome the group round. In the quarter-finals, the home team, the England team, awaited them. That match was remembered for the scandalous refereeing of West German referee Rudolf Kreitlein, who sent off Argentine captain Antonio Rattin for some unknown reason in the first half.
Insulted in best feelings Rattin wiped his hands on the corner flag, which had a British flag on it. The Argentines lost the match, but they still call it “the robbery of the century” and it was this meeting that served as the beginning of the Anglo-Argentine conflict.
Argentina missed the 1970 World Cup, sensationally losing in the qualifying group to the national teams of Bolivia and Peru. Looking ahead, I will say that this was the last World Cup held without an “albiceleste”.
The next tournament also did not bring glory to the Argentine team. With difficulty, only due to a better goal difference, they were ahead of the Italian team in the group, and in the second group round they managed to score only one point.
Argentina national team - 1978 world champion
As you can see, the Argentina national team approached its first home World Cup with a far from enviable history of performances at world championships.
And yet, the country was only waiting for victory. How could it be otherwise, because football in Argentina has long been a religion.
At the first stage, the Argentines barely defeated the national teams of Hungary and France with the same score of 2:1, after which they lost 0:1 to the Italian team. And at the second stage, Mario Kempes had his say.
He was the only foreign player in the Argentina national team (he played in Spain for Valencia) and was initially entrusted with big hopes. But Kempes failed to score a single goal in three matches.
Despite this, the head coach of the national team, Cesar Luis Menotti, continued to place the forward in the squad and was right. Kempes scored two goals each against the national teams of Poland (2:0) and Peru (6:0). Between these matches there was a goalless draw with the Brazilian team, but Argentina reached the final on goal difference.
That victory over Peru raised a lot of questions. The match began after Brazil had played their match, with Argentinean Ramon Quiroga at the goal of the Peruvian national team. And the performance of the Peruvians, who had previously conceded six goals in five matches, raised questions.
This is all true. But the fact is that Argentina is not the first and not the last team that has enjoyed and will enjoy certain privileges as the host of the World Cup. So it was and so, unfortunately, it will be. Why go far, just remember the match of the last World Cup Brazil - Croatia and the penalty awarded in favor of the hosts of the tournament.
And in the final, Argentina, without any questions, beat the Dutch team 3:1 after extra time. Kempes scored a double again, scoring his team's first and second goals. It was he who became the top scorer and player of the championship.
The era of Diego Maradona
The Argentines went to the 1982 World Cup with their new star -. Four years ago Menotti did not include him in the squad, but now the 21-year-old footballer was the leader of the national team.
Starting with an unexpected defeat from Belgium 0:1, the Argentines defeated Hungary 4:1 and confidently beat El Salvador 2:0. But in the second group round they lost both matches – to Italy and Brazil.
But the next championship was the Maradona championship. The Argentines, led by Carlos Bilardo, confidently won their group, defeated their eternal rivals Uruguayans 1:0 in the 1/8 finals, and then beat the teams of England (2:1) and Belgium (2:0). In two last matches Only Maradona scored against Argentina.
The match with the British turned out to be scandalous. Until recently, the countries were at war over the Falkland Islands, and this topic was discussed before the match. And in the game itself, the refereeing team missed Maradona’s hand, with which he scored the first goal.
True, four minutes later Diego created his famous masterpiece, raiding from their own half of the field and beating six Englishmen.
In the final, Maradona did not score, but his partners - Brown, Valdano, Burruchaga - scored. 3:2 victory over the German team.
These teams met again in the final of the Italian World Cup. But how inarticulate Argentina looked then! Having made it out of the group in third place, the Argentines immediately met the Brazilian team. Fighting back the entire match, the team counted on the genius of their leader. And he did not disappoint - in the 81st minute, Maradona made his signature pass and brought Caniggia one on one with the goalkeeper. The forward did not make a mistake.
The next opponents, Yugoslavia and Italy, were defeated only on penalties. How can one not remember the proverb “If there was no happiness, but misfortune would help.” Goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea saved four penalties in these series.
But he came to the championship as number two, taking his place in goal only after Neri Pumpido was injured in the second round match against the USSR national team.
In the final against the Germans, Argentina had one chance - to reach a penalty shootout. But five minutes before the end of the match, Andreas Brehme, converting a penalty, brought victory to the West German team.
Regarding that penalty, there was a lot of controversy about the validity of the award. Yes, the penalty was quite dubious. But the fact is that a little earlier Goycochea had knocked down Augenthaler in the penalty area, but the referee remained silent. Apparently, Mexican Edgardo Mendez realized his mistake and decided to correct it in such a unique way.
Albiceleste was a completely different team. It featured forwards such as Gabriel Batistuta and Abel Balbo. In the ranks were the hero of the last tournament, Claudio Caniggia, and, of course, Diego Maradona.
After the first two rounds (4:0 with Greece and 2:1 with Nigeria), Argentina became the most productive and vibrant team, instantly becoming the main contender for the title.
Everyone knows what happened next – Maradona’s positive doping test and subsequent disqualification. Left without their leader, the Argentines lost to Bulgaria and Romania and went home.
Subsequently, Argentina was constantly among the favorites of the world championship and was constantly lacking something.
In 1998 they were eliminated in the quarter-finals when Denis Bergkamp last minute scored a completely crazy goal. By the way, in the 1/8 finals, Argentina again clashed with England, and that match was remembered for the provocation of Diego Simeone, which ended with the removal of David Beckham.
Yes, even at that championship, Argentina defeated Jamaica 5:0, inspiring the Chaif group to create their musical masterpiece.
Argentina brought perhaps the best team in its history. At least the best one I've seen. Ayala, Pochettino, Samuel, Sannetti, Sorin, Almeida, Veron, Simeone, Aimar, Claudio Lopez, Batistuta, Ortega, Crespo, Caniggia.
This is not a team, this is a dream. Not a single weak point, the presence of at least two world-class stars in each line, an obscenely long bench. Along with France, Argentina were the main favorites for the championship.
But, ironically, this team did not even make it out of the group. After defeating Nigeria 1:0, the British and David Beckham personally took revenge on the Argentines, scoring the only goal in the match from the penalty spot. A last meeting Albiceleste failed to get the necessary victory in the match with Sweden - 1:1.
The Argentines were not much weaker four years later against Germany, and they also included a then little-known 18-year-old prodigy named Lionel Messi. This time, the Argentines were unlucky in the penalty shootout against the championship hosts in the quarter-final match - Roberto Ayala and Esteban Cambiasso were unable to capitalize on their attempts.
True, everything could have ended much earlier, in extra time, but the referee's whistle remained silent. This brings me back to the question of some advantage that the hosts of the World Cup always enjoy.
Even at that championship, the Argentines were remembered for their goal against Serbia and Montenegro (6:0), which was preceded by a combination of 23 (!) accurate passes, the crown of which was Crespo’s heel pass to Cambiasso.
In 2010, in South Africa, the Argentina national team again lost in the quarterfinals to the German national team, this time with a humiliating score of 0:4. The head of the team, Diego Maradona, decided to play open football with the Germans, fielded five attacking players and was demonstratively beaten. However, Maradona could have done it differently; he could not have stepped on the throat of his own song.
Argentina team at the 2014 World Cup
Almost a quarter of a century later, Argentina again reached the final of the world championship. This time the team was not among the main favorites of the championship. The reason for this was the lack of a sufficient number of high-class defensive players.
But head coach Alejandro Sabella managed to mold the defense from what it had. In the playoff matches, Argentina conceded only one goal, and that was in extra time of the final match from the Germans (them again!). 
Trouble crept up from the other side - the excellent attack in the person of Di Maria, Higuain, Messi, Palacio, Lavezzi, Aguero scored two goals in the same four matches - against Switzerland and Belgium. The Dutch were defeated only in a penalty shootout, and the German national team lost again.
Once again, Lionel Messi failed to cope with the role of leader of the national team, having scored all his goals in the group stage against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran, and Nigeria.
Argentina national team at the South American Championships (Cups)
In terms of the number of continental titles (14), the Argentina national team is second only to Uruguay, which has one more gold. Everything would be fine if not for one big and fat BUT. The last victory of the Argentina national team at the Copa America dates back to 1993, when the Mexican national team was beaten in the final of the tournament.
But it all started so well. From 1916 to 1967, 26 tournaments were held and only once (!!!) Argentina did not get into the prize-winners (1922), having won 12 continental championships during this time.
Now compare this with another set of numbers - 15 tournaments (from 1975 to present), 2 wins and 5 prizes.
If anyone noticed the 8-year gap (1967-1975), I explain that this is not a mistake, the South American championship was simply not played during this period.
And in last years“Albiceleste” is haunted by some kind of evil fate - four times in five draws she reached the finals and lost all of them, three of them in the penalty shootout.
The last two defeats from the Chilean national team are still fresh in the memory, including in connection with Messi's sensational statement and the end of playing for the national team.
By the way, at the last Copa America, Lionel Messi, having scored a goal against the USA, overtook Gabriel Batistuta, and is now the top scorer of the Argentina national team.
The Argentine specialist gained the greatest fame from his work with the Chilean national team, with which he won the 2015 Copa America, beating his fellow countrymen in the final.
Argentina national team emblem
Present tense
As I already said, the current Argentina team has a shortage of qualified defensive players. The main goalkeeper of the Argentina national team, Sergio Romero, comes to the team from the Manchester United bench.
Of the defenders, only Pablo Zabaleta can, without any stretch of the imagination, be considered a world-class player. But he is a full-back and by the time of the Russian World Cup he will already be 33 years old. And the only truly great Argentine midfielder, Javier Mascherano, will be 34.
In attack, a lot depends on how serious Messi's announcement about retiring from the national team is. I think he will still return to the team, because the World Cup in Russia will be his last chance to go down in history as a truly great player. However, the Argentines will always have decent personnel in attack.
In general, the Argentine national team in Russia will not have an easy walk, especially considering the complexity of their group opponents. , concerning general prospects team, then for the above reasons I do not believe in the victory of the Argentines at the World Cup. The limit for this team will be the semifinals.
