Argentina at the FIFA World Cup
International football delegation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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. Argentina won its first title as a host country in 1978, defeating the Netherlands 3–1 in the final. In 1986, Argentina won their second World Cup title after defeating West Germany 3–2 in the final. In 2022, Argentina won their third World Cup, after winning a penalty shoot-out against France following a 3–3 draw in the final. Argentina has also been runner-up four times, in 1930, 1990, 2014, and 2026.
In nineteen World Cup tournaments, Argentina has 54 victories in 96 matches. The team has been present in all but four of the World Cups, ranking behind only Brazil and Germany in total number of appearances.
FIFA World Cup record
Overall record
Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place Tournament played fully or partially on home soil
| FIFA World Cup record | Qualification record | |||||||||||||||
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| 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 | Second group stage | 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 | 1 | 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 | Runners-up | 2nd | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 8 | 18 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 31 | 10 | ||
  2030 |
Qualified as centenary co-hosts | Qualified as centenary co-hosts | ||||||||||||||
 2034 |
To be determined | To be determined | ||||||||||||||
| Total: 19/23 | 3 Titles | 96 | 54 | 17 | 25 | 171 | 109 | 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 |
Finals
By match
By opponent
Argentina have played a total of 96 World Cup matches across 19 tournaments, facing 44 different opponents.
- Teams in bold denote previous World Cup winners, teams in italics denote sides that made their tournament debut against Argentina.
- Teams with a * mark no longer exist; East Germany was annexed to Germany, and the Soviet Union now plays as Russia.
By confederation
FIFA delegates regional qualification and other organizational affairs to continental conferences, with six different groups separated by geographical location. Argentina plays in CONMEBOL, the confederation for South American teams. Due to World Cup rules that state two teams from the same confederation cannot be in the same group for the first round (with the exception of European UEFA sides), Argentina commonly faces teams from outside their region, including Europe, Africa and Asia. However, the Argentine national team has never played against an Oceanian (OFC) side at the World Cup.
| FIFA World Cup matches (by confederation) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Confederation | Opponents | Total | Wins | Draws | Losses | GF | GA | GD |
| AFC |  Australia Iran Japan Jordan Saudi Arabia South Korea | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 6 | +9 |
| CAF |  Algeria Cameroon Cape Verde Egypt Ivory Coast Nigeria | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 10 | +10 |
| CONCACAF |  El Salvador Haiti Jamaica Mexico United States | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 7 | +23 |
| CONMEBOL | Brazil Chile Peru Uruguay | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 10 | +5 |
| OFC | / | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UEFA |  Austria Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czechoslovakia East Germany England France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Italy Netherlands Northern Ireland Poland Romania Serbia Soviet Union Spain Sweden Switzerland | 63 | 27 | 16 | 20 | 91 | 77 | +14 |
World Cup Finals
1930 v Uruguay
The inaugural FIFA World Cup tournament culminated with Argentina facing hosts and reigning 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, who recorded Argentina's second goal in the match, finished as the tournament's top scorer with eight goals in total.
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1978 v Netherlands
Argentina hosted the 1978 edition of the World Cup and reached the final for a second time. Their opponents the Netherlands had already played the previous 1974 final in West Germany, 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 a major tournament. The playmaker position was instead filled by Mario Kempes, who became the first Argentinian to win the Golden Ball in addition to being the tournament's top scorer with six goals. The Dutch side was missing a superstar of their own: Johan Cruyff did not join the 1978 World Cup squad due to the aftermath of a kidnapping attempt which occurred in 1977; he only disclosed this information 30 years later.[4]
The closely contested match was influenced by a hostile atmosphere and ended with the Dutch players refusing to attend the award ceremony after Argentina won the title in extra time.
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1986 v West Germany
Eight years after the victory on home soil, Argentina won the World Cup for a second time. Diego Maradona was voted Best Player of the tournament after scoring five goals and assisting Jorge Burruchaga's winner against West Germany in the 84th minute of the final, which was won 3–2 by Argentina. The match was played in front of a record attendance of 114,600 people.
| Argentina | 3–2 | West Germany |
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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 late penalty kick in favour of West Germany.
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2014 v Germany
In 2014, Argentina reached a fifth World Cup final, and for the third time faced Germany, 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.
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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2022 v France
After reaching their sixth World Cup final, Argentina took the lead against France through captain Lionel Messi from the penalty spot, and doubled their advantage with an Ángel Di María goal in the 36th minute.[6] France made two substitutions in the first half, but went into half-time trailing 0–2.[7] Despite not having a shot until after the 80th minute, France were awarded a penalty after Randal Kolo Muani was brought down in the area. Kylian Mbappé would convert the penalty for France, and added a second goal less than two minutes later to level the score.[7] Since regulation time ended with the score 2–2, the match went to extra time. Messi again scored for Argentina in 108th minute to restore Argentina's lead. However, Mbappé was then awarded a second penalty in the 118th minute after his initial shot hit the arm of Argentine defender Gonzalo Montiel. Mbappé converted the penalty to again tie the game, becoming the second ever player to score a hat-trick in the final of a men's World Cup.[7] With extra time concluding and the score at 3–3, the match went to a penalty shoot-out; Argentina emerged victorious after scoring all of their penalties, winning the shoot-out 4–2.[7]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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2026 v Spain
     Spain[11]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[11]
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Head coaches
Throughout the team's history, several coaches have managed the Argentina national side with different football styles and ranges in offensive and defensive tactics. There were two predominant "football schools" taught by Argentina's World Cup-winning coaches: César Menotti, who propagated possession and well-look play, and Carlos Bilardo, who prioritized results and tactical order. These head coaching styles divided Argentine fans kindly.[12] Other managers such as Marcelo Bielsa had their own football style. The following table lists every Argentina coach's record with the side at the World Cup finals and in the qualifying stages.
| By tournament | At FIFA World Cup | In qualification | Total | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coach | Year | Pld | W | D | L | W % | Pts % | Pld | W | D | L | W % | Pts % | Pld | W | D | L | W % | Pts % |
| Francisco Olazar Juan José Tramutola | 1930 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 80% | 80% | Qualified as invitees | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 80% | 80% | |||||
| Felipe Pascucci | 1934 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 0% | Qualified automatically | 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 | Only managed in qualifiers | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 100% | ||||||||||||
| Juan Carlos Lorenzo | 1962 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 33.3% | 50% | Only managed in final tournament | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 42.9% | 57.1% | |||||
| 1966 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 50% | 62.5% | |||||||||||||
| José María Minella | 1966 | Only managed in qualifiers | 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 | Only managed in qualifiers | 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% | Only managed in final tournament | 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 | Only managed in qualifiers | 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 | Only managed in qualifiers | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 50% | 61.1% | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 50% | 61.1% | |||||
| Edgardo Bauza | Only managed in qualifiers | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 37.5% | 45.8% | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 37.5% | 45.8% | ||||||
| Jorge Sampaoli | 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% | 50 | 34 | 10 | 6 | 68% | 74.7% |
| 2026 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 87.5% | 87.5% | 18 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 66.7% | 70.4% | |||||||
From 1994 onwards, three points are given for a win; previous wins are two points.
Player records
Most appearances
Lionel Messi has captained the team in 26 World Cup matches. Messi's total of 34 appearances is both a record for Argentina and the most for any player at the FIFA World Cup.
| Rank | Player | Matches | World Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lionel Messi | 34 | 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026 |
| 2 | Diego Maradona | 21 | 1982, 1986, 1990 and 1994 |
| Nicolás Otamendi | 21 | 2010, 2018, 2022 and 2026 | |
| 4 | Javier Mascherano | 20 | 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 |
| 5 | Mario Kempes | 18 | 1974, 1978 and 1982 |
| Ángel Di María | 18 | 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022 | |
| 7 | Nicolás Tagliafico | 17 | 2018, 2022 and 2026 |
| 8 | Oscar Ruggeri | 16 | 1986, 1990 and 1994 |
| 9 | Julián Alvarez | 15 | 2022 and 2026 |
| Emiliano Martínez | 15 | 2022 and 2026 |
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Goals | World Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lionel Messi | 21 | 2006 (1), 2014 (4), 2018 (1), 2022 (7) and 2026 (8) |
| 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) |
| Julián Alvarez | 5 | 2022 (4) and 2026 (1) | |
| 8 | Six players | 4 |
Goalscoring by tournament
Awards
Team
Individual
- Golden Ball:
- Mario Kempes (1978; unofficial)
- Diego Maradona (1986)
- Lionel Messi (2014, 2022)
- Silver Ball:
- Guillermo Stábile (1930; retrospective)
- Lionel Messi (2026)
- Bronze Ball:
- Golden Boot:
- Guillermo Stábile (1930; retrospective)
- Mario Kempes (1978; retrospective)
- Silver Boot:
- Player of the Match win leaders:
- Lionel Messi (4 in 2014, 5 in 2022, 5 in 2026)
- Most Player of the Match wins overall:
- Lionel Messi (16)
Miscellaneous
Argentina's match against 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 a second jersey, they decided to borrow jerseys from local team club Malmö. Germany won 3–1.[13]
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.[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
External links
Notes
- Rabiot suffered a knock to the head in the 94th minute. Therefore, his substitution for Fofana fell under FIFA's "concussion protocol", which allows a player at risk of a concussion to be substituted without taking account either the substitution window nor the amount of players already substituted.[8][9]
- "Germany vs Argentina | Final | 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil". FIFA. Archived from the original on 15 July 2026. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
- "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil – Matches – Germany v Argentina". FIFA. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
- "Match report – Final – Germany v Argentina" (PDF). FIFA. 13 July 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 April 2026. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
- "Argentina vs France | Final | FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022". FIFA. Archived from the original on 29 April 2025. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
- "Post match summary report – Final – Argentina v France" (PDF). FIFA. 18 December 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 April 2026. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
- "Spain vs Argentina | Final | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
- "Match Report – Final – Spain v. Argentina". FIFA. July 19, 2026. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
- "Post match summary report – Final – Spain v. Argentina". FIFA. July 20, 2026. Retrieved July 20, 2026.