The history of the Argentina national football team begins with their first official match, played on 20 July 1902 against Uruguay, a 6–0 win in Paso del Molino, Montevideo."Historias, curiosidades y estadísticas de la Selección, tras sus "primeros" 900 partidos", El Gráfico, 4 Jul 2012Argentina national team archive on the RSSSFUruguay - international results on the RSSSF One year before, there had been a precedent when representatives from both sides met in a match also in Montevideo, although it was not organised by any association and therefore is not considered official.
Since their inception in 1902, the Argentina national team has appeared in seven FIFA World Cup finals, including the inaugural final in 1930, 1978 (when the team won its first World Cup beating the Netherlands), 1986 (winning its second World Cup after defeating West Germany), 1990, 2014, 2022 (when the team won its third World Cup after defeating France) and 2026 (where they lost to Spain).
Argentina has been very successful in the Copa América, winning it 16 times. The team also won the FIFA Confederations Cup and the Kirin Cup, both in 1992, and the Argentine Olympic team won the Olympics football tournaments in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.
Argentina is the most successful team in the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions, having won it twice, in 1993 and 2022. As of 2024, Argentina holds the record for most official titles won by a men's national team, with 23.https://www.infobae.com/deportes/2024/07/14/asi-esta-la-tabla-historica-de-las-selecciones-con-mas-titulos-en-el-mundo-en-la-previa-a-las-finales-de-la-copa-america-y-la-eurocopa/ Tras la conquista de Argentina en la Copa América, así quedó la tabla histórica de títulos de las selecciones del mundo. Infobae, 15 de Julio de 2024.
History
Beginning and first titles
Although the first match ever recorded by an Argentine side was played on 16 May 1901 against Uruguay, this is not considered an official game due to the match not being organized by Uruguay's Football Association but by Albion FC in its home field, "Paso del Molino". The Uruguayan side had nine players from that club and the remainder from Nacional."Historia del Fútbol Uruguayo" at Deportes en Uruguay Argentina won the match 3–2.
The match considered the first official game played by Argentina, was held in the same venue, on 20 July 1902 against Uruguay. Argentina defeated the Uruguayan side 6–0. The line-up was: José Buruca Laforia (Barracas A.C.), William Leslie (Quilmes), Walter Buchanan (Alumni), Eduardo Patricio Duggan (Belgrano A.C.), Carlos J. Buchanan (Alumni), Ernesto Brown (Alumni), Edward O. Morgan (Quilmes), Juan José Moore (cap.) (Alumni), Juan O. Anderson (Lomas A.C.), Carlos Edgar Dickinson (Belgrano A.C.), Jorge Brown (Alumni). The goals were scored by Dickinson, Arímalo, Morgan, Carve Urioste, Anderson and J. Brown."Uruguay 0-6 Argentina" on Fútbol Nostalgia
During its first years of existence, the national team played only friendly matches until 1905, when the first edition of Lipton Cup was held. It was a cup organized by both the Argentine and Uruguayan Football Associations, with its last edition being contested in 1992. The first official title won by Argentina was the 1906 Copa Lipton, defeating Uruguay 2–0 in Montevideo.Copa Lipton 1905-1992 at RSSSF That same year, Argentina also played the Newton Cup, another competition organized by both associations, earning the trophy after defeating Uruguay 2–1 in Buenos Aires.
On 9 July 1906, Argentina wore the lightblue and white shirt for the first time in a match v South Africa during their tour of South America. The match was held in Sociedad Sportiva Argentina.Río de la Plata Trip of South African Football Association 1906 by Pablo Ciullini on the RSSSF Since then, the albiceleste shirt has remained as the definitive kit for Argentina. The team's away kits have been in dark blue shades, with the colours of shorts and socks varying from time to time.
In the following years, matches played by the Argentine side were against South American teams only. The reasons varied, from the long time the trips took to other countries at that time to World War I."AFA: los comienzos (1901-1930)", AFA official site
Argentina would win four consecutive Newton Cups from 1907 to 1911,Copa Newton 1906-1976 at RSSSF and four Lipton Cups from 1906 to 1909. After some Uruguayan victories, Argentina won the 1913, 1915 and 1916 Lipton and 1916 Newton Cup trophies.
In 1916, Argentina contested the first tournament organized by CONMEBOL, the South American Championship (the current Copa América) hosted in Buenos Aires and Avellaneda and won by Uruguay. The host plus Brazil, Chile and Uruguay were the only teams contesting the inaugural competition. During that tournament Argentina played three matches, defeating Chile 6–0 and drawing Brazil and Uruguay, who became champions on goal difference. The line-up at the final was: Isola, Díaz, Reyes, Martínez, Olazar, Badaracco, Heissinger, Ohaco, H. Hayes, E. Hayes and Perinetti.Southamerican Championship 1916 - RSSSF
Argentina won its first South American championship in 1921, also held in Buenos Aires. The squad won all the games disputed, defeating Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay to earn six points with no goals received. Notable players of that team were goalkeeper Américo Tesoriere and striker Pedro Calomino. Julio Libonatti was also tournament's top scorer.Southamerican Championship 1916 - RSSSF
The Olympic goal
In 1924, Argentina played a friendly match against Uruguay at Sportivo Barracas' stadium. When only 15 minutes had been played, winger Cesáreo Onzari scored from a corner kick, with no other player touching the ball before scoring. Due to the fact that Uruguay was the Olympic champion, this play was called "Gol Olímpico". This designation remains to this day."El gol olímpico cumple 80" , Clarín, 2 October 2004
The goal stood since FIFA had previously regulated goals scored directly from the corner kick, as Onzari did during that match. According to La Nación newspaper, 52,000 fans attended the game, an Argentina 2–1 win, where the Uruguayan team left the field with only four minutes to play. Argentine players later complained about the rough play of the Uruguayans during the match, while their rivals also complained about the aggressiveness of local spectators, who threw bottles at them at the end of the match."El gol olímpico cumple 85 años" , Canchallena.com, 2 October 2009
In 1925, the South American championship was hosted a third time in Argentina, and the Albiceleste won its second title. The team played four matches and remained unbeaten once more, defeating Paraguay and Brazil twice each. A highmark was the 4–1 victory against rivals Brazil.
Argentina won another consecutive title in 1927 obtaining the South American championship held in Peru. The team had a great campaign, finishing unbeaten with three wins in three games played. The national squad achieved a large victory over Bolivia (7–1), then beating Uruguay 3–2 and the local team 5–1 in the last match of the tournament. It was the third South American title for the Argentina national team.
1928 Summer Olympics
In 1928, Argentina went to Amsterdam to play the 1928 Summer Olympics, which was the first international tournament played by the national team in its history. The football squad reached the final after trashing the United States 11–2, Belgium 6–3 and Egypt 6–0. The final saw Argentina defeated by Uruguay 2–1, thus winning the silver medal.
1930 World Cup
In 1929, Argentina hosted a new edition of the South American championship, winning its second consecutive title. Argentina finished unbeaten once more, defeating all its rivals in the group: Peru (3–0), Paraguay (4–1) and Uruguay in the last match played in the Estadio Gasómetro of Buenos Aires. Most of players that took part in the team would play for Argentina in the first World Cup organized by FIFA one year later.
Argentina was one of the 13 national teams attending to the inaugural FIFA World Cup hosted by Uruguay.
In the inaugural match of the World Cup, Argentina defeated France 1–0. The national team then beat Mexico 6–3 and finished its run in the first stage by defeating Chile 3–1. Argentina qualified to the semi-finals where the squad widely beat the United States 6–1. On July 30, Argentina played its first World Cup final against Uruguay, but lost 4–2.
1934–54: A long absence Argentina played only one game at the next World Cup in Italy in 1934. The tournament format was a knockout tournament, and Argentina lost its only match 3–2 to Sweden. Argentina would not participate in the 1938 World Cup in France, the last before World War II. The first World Cup after the War was the 1950 World Cup held in Brazil, but Argentina did not enter the competition due to a conflict with the Brazilian Football Confederation. For the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland, Argentina refused to participate.
In 1951, Argentina played England for the first time and were defeated 2–1 at Wembley Stadium. The second leg was played in Buenos Aires on 14 June 1953, where Argentina won 3–1, though the match caused great repercussions in Argentina."Los 50 años del gol de Grillo a Inglaterra", Clarín, 14 May 2003
From Los Carasucias to the 1958 disaster
Although Argentina did not contest any World Cups from 1938 to 1954, the team won the 1937, 1941, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1955 and 1957 South American championships, all squads coached by Guillermo Stábile.
The 1957 squad is probably the most remembered team of those years because of its skilled players and exquisite style of playing showed on the field. Argentina thrashed Colombia (8–2), Ecuador (3–0), Uruguay (4–0), Chile (6–2) and Brazil (3–0). The team was defeated by Peru in the last game but won the tournament due to finishing first in its group. The attacking line, formed by Oreste Corbatta, Humberto Maschio, Antonio Angelillo, Omar Sívori and Osvaldo Cruz, was widely praised, being still remembered by the media and football fans."Los Carasucias: la gloria cumple 50 años" , Clarín, 3 April 2007 Maschio was also the topscorer with 9 goals.
Argentina returned to a World Cup competition after 24 years, more precisely to the 1958 held in Sweden. The team suffered the absence of Maschio, Angelillo and Sívori (playing in the Italian first division but not called by Stábile for the tournament"El Bocha Maschio y la generación perdida" , Misión Mundial, 4 May 2010), who had made outstanding performances in Lima one year before. Although the squad was formed with valued players, the lack of experience facing European squads was evidenced once the tournament finished. Argentina lost to West Germany 3–1 in the first game, though they came back to defeat Northern Ireland in the second match. Argentina was finally thrashed by Czechoslovakia 6–1, one of the worst defeats of a national team in a World Cup and being eliminated from the competition. The poor performance was called "El desastre de Suecia" ("The disaster of Sweden"). After the team arrived in Buenos Aires, 10,000 people were waiting in the Ezeiza International Airport to insult them."El desastre de Suecia 1958" , Playfutbol.com, 15 June 2012
Transition After the "Sweden disaster", Argentina returned to official competitions in 1959, winning a new edition of the Copa América, its 12th title. The team thrashed Chile 6–1 at the debut, then beat Bolivia 2–0, Peru and Paraguay 3–1, Uruguay 4–1 and finished with a 1–1 draw against Brazil. Argentina remained unbeaten, winning five of six matches played. The team was coached by a triumvirate composed by Victorio Spinetto, José Della Torre and José Barreiro, replacing Guillermo Stábile after his 19-year tenure in the national team. Argentina would not win a Copa América until 1991 Copa América, when the team coached by Alfio Basile obtained the trophy in Chile.