Argentina women's national field hockey team

The Argentina women's national field hockey team () is governed by the Argentine Hockey Confederation (CAH). The current coach is Fernando Ferrara, who was appointed after Carlos Retegui was let go in late 2021. The team is currently second in the FIH Women's World Ranking.

Las Leonas (The Lionesses) have appeared in six Hockey World Cup finals, including the first final in 1974, which they lost 1–0 to the Netherlands. Argentina had to settle with second place in two more finals before winning the tournament for the first time in 2002, beating the Netherlands 4–3 in the final on penalty strokes after a 1–1 draw. Argentina, led by eight-time FIH Player of the Year Luciana Aymar won again in 2010, a 3–1 victory over the Netherlands. Argentina's World Cup-winning coaches are Sergio Vigil in 2002 and Carlos Retegui in 2010.

Argentina has been very successful at the Summer Olympics, winning four consecutive medals (two silver, two bronze) since the 2000 edition, when they became the first women's team in any sport to win an Olympic medal for their country. Luciana Aymar is the only player that has participated and won those four medals. Also, after their first title in 2001 at a Hockey Champions Trophy, they have won the tournament six more times. In front of a home crowd, they won the 2014–15 Hockey World League as the first international title after Aymar's retirement from the national team the previous year.

At a continental level, Argentina has dominated and won every tournament they played, including the Pan American Cup and the Pan American Games leaving the United States with second place on most events until they lost the 2011 Pan American Games final for the first time.

In July 2003, after the implementation of an official World Ranking System, Argentina reached the top of the FIH Women's World Ranking for the first time, reaching it again in 2010 after obtaining the World Cup title and once more in late 2013.

History Hockey was introduced in Argentina by English immigrants at the beginning of the 20th century, and the first women's teams were officially formed in 1909. History of the Argentine Hockey Confederation In 1997, Sergio Vigil, a former player for the men's national team, was appointed coach. Under his leadership, Las Leonas achieved their first World Hockey Cup title, their first Olympic medals, their first Champions Trophy medals, and many other achievements. The team went from having a rather limited audience to becoming a national sensation, with some of the players even appearing as models in advertising campaigns.

Nickname Throughout its history, the team has developed a reputation for being tenacious even when a match appears to be lost. For this reason, a lioness was chosen as their symbol when the team qualified for the 2000 Summer Olympics. During the second round of games, Argentina played against the powerful Dutch team, and they chose this occasion to place the image of a lioness on their shirts for the first time.

The image was designed by then-player Inés Arrondo together with Vigil's sister-in-law. Interview with Inés Arrondo by DeporTEA Press, 10 August 2010. Argentina won that match, went on to win the silver medal, and Las Leonas were born. Subsequently, the junior (under 21) team is called Las Leoncitas ("the baby lionesses" or "the lioness cubs").

The lioness logo was redesigned in 2006 by the team kit supplier, Adidas, along with Confederación Argentina de Hockey and even some of the most representative players. This is slightly different from the original, showing the lioness' tail pretending to be a hockey stick while holding a ball., 29 September 2006.

The nickname also falls in line with an unwritten Argentine tradition of naming national teams after big cats: the men's field hockey team is called Los Leones ("The Lions"), the men's rugby union team is called Los Pumas ("The Pumas"), and the women's volleyball team is known as Las Panteras ("The Panthers").

Tournament records World Cup Year Host city Position1974 Mandelieu, France2nd1976 Berlin, West Germany2nd1978 Madrid, Spain3rd1981 Buenos Aires, Argentina6th1983 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia9th1986 Amsterdam, Netherlands7th1990 Sydney, Australia9th1994 Dublin, Ireland2nd1998 Utrecht, Netherlands4th2002 Perth, Australia1st2006 Madrid, Spain3rd2010 Rosario, Argentina1st2014 The Hague, Netherlands3rd2018 London, England7th2022 Terrassa, Spain Amstelveen, Netherlands2nd2026 Wavre, Belgium Amstelveen, Netherlands1st

Pan American Cup Year Host city Position2001 Kingston, Jamaica1st2004 Bridgetown, Barbados1st2009 Hamilton, Bermuda1st2013 Mendoza, Argentina1st2017 Lancaster, United States1st2022 Santiago, Chile1st2025 Montevideo, Uruguay1st

South American Championship Year Host city Position2003 Santiago, Chile1st2008 Montevideo, Uruguay1st2010 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil1st2013 Santiago, Chile1st

Olympic Games Year Host city Position1980 Moscow, Soviet UnionN/A1988 Seoul, South Korea7th1996 Atlanta, United States7th2000 Sydney, Australia2nd2004 Athens, Greece3rd2008 Beijing, China3rd2012 London, United Kingdom2nd2016 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil7th2020 Tokyo, Japan2nd2024 Paris, France3rd

Pan American Games Year Host city Position1987 Indianapolis, United States1st1991 Havana, Cuba1st1995 Mar del Plata, Argentina1st1999 Winnipeg, Canada1st2003 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic1st2007 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil1st2011 Guadalajara, Mexico2nd2015 Toronto, Canada2nd2019 Lima, Peru1st2023 Santiago, Chile1st2027 Lima, PeruQualified

South American Games Year Host city Position2006 Buenos Aires, Argentina1st2014 Santiago, Chile1st2018 Cochabamba, Bolivia1st2022 Asunción, Paraguay2nd2026 Santa Fe, Argentina1st

Pro League Year Final host city Position2019 Amstelveen, Netherlands4th2020–212nd2021–221st2022–232nd2023–243rd2024–252nd2025–262nd2026–27Qualified

World League Year Final host city Position2012–13 San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina4th2014–15 Rosario, Argentina1st2016–17 Auckland, New Zealand5th

Champions Trophy Year Host city Position1995 Mar del Plata, Argentina6th1999 Brisbane, Australia4th2000 Amstelveen, Netherlands4th2001 Amstelveen, Netherlands1st2002 Macau, China2nd2003 Sydney, Australia4th2004 Rosario, Argentina3rd2005 Canberra, Australia4th2006 Amstelveen, Netherlands4th2007 Quilmes, Argentina2nd2008 Mönchengladbach, Germany1st2009 Sydney, Australia1st2010 Nottingham, England1st2011 Amstelveen, Netherlands2nd2012 Rosario, Argentina1st2014 Mendoza, Argentina1st2016 London, United Kingdom1st2018 Changzhou, China3rd

Players

Current squad The following players were called by both Fernando Ferrara and Juan Martín López to compete at the South American Games between 13 and 22 September in Santa Fe, Argentina.

Players, caps and goals updated as of 22 September 2026.

Head coach: Juan Martín López

Recent call-ups These players were called up in the last 12 months.

Notable past players

Magdalena Aicega (1993–2008) Laura Aladro (2005–16) Agustina Albertario (2011–25) Mariela Antoniska (1994–2006) Inés Arrondo (1997–2004) Luciana Aymar (1998–2014) Noel Barrionuevo (2006–21) Jimena Cedrés Laura del Colle Silvina D'Elía (2006-15, 2019-20) Natalí Doreski María Paz Ferrari Andrea Fioroni Anabel Gambero Soledad García (1999–2011) Mariana González Oliva Alejandra Gulla (1998–2010) Agustina Habif (2014-19) Florencia Habif (2011–19) María de la Paz Hernández Giselle Kañevsky (2006–11, 2019–?) Gabriela Liz Marisa López Rosario Luchetti (2005–15, 2019–?) Sofía MacKenzie Laura Maiztegui Mercedes Margalot (1997–2012) Karina Masotta (1987–2003) Delfina Merino (2009–22) Laura Mulhall Vanina Oneto (1991–2004) Gabriela Pando (1989–98) María Gabriela Pazos Carla Rebecchi (2004–20) Jorgelina Rimoldi (1991–2001) Macarena Rodríguez María Cecilia Rognoni (1994–2005) Mariana Rossi Mariné Russo Rocío Sánchez Moccia (2007–24) Mariela Scarone Daniela Sruoga Josefina Sruoga Ayelén Stepnik (1993–2010) Belén Succi (2006–22) María Alejandra Tucat Lucina von der Heyde (2016–19, 2022) Paola Vukojicic Victoria Zuloaga

Not in use jersey numbers

When Luciana Aymar (eight-time FIH Player of the Year Award winner and regarded as the best player in the history of the sport),Luciana Aymar profile on CAH website retired from the national team in 2014 after 376 international matches played, some of Aymar's teammates (such as Carla RebecchiPiden retirar la camiseta Nº 8 de Luciana Aymar on Rosario3, 8 Dec 2014Rebecchi pidió retirar la camiseta número 8 de Luciana Aymar on Télam, 8 Dec 2014) asked the Confederation for the retirement of her iconic number 8 worn by her during 17 years with the national team.Rebecchi pidió retirar la camiseta número 8, Télam, 8 December 2014 Nevertheless, the number is not officially retired by the CAH, although it has not been assigned to other players since.

Captains PeriodCaptainVice-captain1997–2002Karina MasottaMagdalena Aicega2003–2005Magdalena AicegaCecilia Rognoni2006–2008Luciana Aymar2009–2014Luciana AymarRosario Luchetti2014–2015Macarena RodríguezCarla Rebecchi2015–2017Carla RebecchiBelén Succi2017–2019Belén SucciDelfina Merino2019–2020Rosario LuchettiSilvina D'ElíaCarla Rebecchi2021Noel BarrionuevoDelfina Merino2022Agostina AlonsoDelfina MerinoRocío Sánchez MocciaVictoria Sauze2023–2024Agostina AlonsoMaría José GranattoRocío Sánchez MocciaVictoria Sauze2024–PresentAgostina AlonsoMaría José Granatto

Coaches

PeriodName1986–1991Miguel MacCormik1991–1997Rodolfo Mendoza1997–2004Sergio Vigil2004–2009Gabriel Minadeo2009–2012Carlos Retegui2012–2013Marcelo Garraffo2013Emanuel Roggero2013–2014Carlos Retegui (2nd cycle)2014–2015Santiago Capurro2015–2017Gabriel Minadeo (2nd cycle)2017–2018Agustín Corradini2018–2021Carlos Retegui (3rd cycle)2021–presentFernando Ferrara

Honours Since its breakthrough in the 2000 Summer Olympics (where the team nicknamed "Las Leonas" for the first time),"El nacimiento de Las Leonas", CanchaLlena, 24 September 2010 Argentina has won more than 20 official titles, which are detailed below:

Summer Olympics: Silver medal: Sydney 2000,"Igual son de oro", Clarín, 30 September 2000 London 2012,"Las Leonas perdieron y tuvieron que conformarse con la de plata" by Sabrina Faija, Clarín, 12 August 2012 Tokyo 2020 Bronze medal: Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, Paris 2024 World Cup: 2002, 2010, 2026 FIH Pro League: 2021–22 FIH Hockey World League: 2014–15 Champions Trophy: 2001, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 Pan American Cup: 2001, 2004, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2022, 2025 Pan American Games: 1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2019, 2023 South American Championship: 2003, 2008, 2010, 2013 South American Games': 2006, 2014, 2018

Gallery

See also

Argentina men's national field hockey team Argentina women's national under-21 field hockey team

Notes The team alternates between light blue and black skirt/socks when using their main kit, even during the same tournament, apparently arbitrarily. For example, during the 2010 World Cup, see photos from Day 1 (black), Day 3 (light blue) and Day 6 (black).

References

External links

FIH profile