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Since the beginning of the 19th century, a record of defeats and victories of the team, which the whole world is talking about today, has gone. Indeed, in its composition, a football player unsurpassed in the number of Golden Balls, the captain of the current blue and white and the hope of all Argentines, is fighting. However, even without Lionel Messi there were glorious pages in Argentine football.

The very first exit of the national team on the field of the World Cup ended in revenge. Nobody knows the score, it was back in 1902, but according to legend, the victory was not easy for them: the Uruguayans desperately resisted.

For almost a quarter of a century, it was not possible to travel outside of South America. The continental border was crossed in 1928. The Argentines tried their hand at the match with the Portuguese, who love football no less than they do. The meeting ended in a draw.

Uruguay hosted the first World Cup. Then thirteen teams fought for the championship, of which the Argentines and the home team went to the final. The defeat of the Argentina national team in the second half brought the gold to the Uruguayans. At that time they were Olympic champions last two seasons, having successfully defended his honor in Paris and Amsterdam with an interval of four years.

With a score of 4:2, the "Olympians" confirmed their skills and became the first world football champions. Argentina came in second.

That championship was remembered for the cries of Argentine fans demanding "victory or death", and at the end of the match they started shooting. The embassy of Uruguay also got it, in the building of which upset fans threw stones. Buenos Aires was indignant, but this is what most often happens when their national team does not justify their hopes.

However, the Argentine came out in the top scorers of the championship. His hitting the opponents' goal eight times made him famous. But this period was short-lived, he did not achieve great success in football. Guillermo Stabile retired from football at the age of 34 and began coaching. Until 1960, the Argentine national team under his leadership led the America's Cup eight times, took silver twice and only once bronze.

By the way, for the Argentines, the America's Cup matches were the most productive. They held 175 meetings and finished 122 with a victory. In terms of the number of titles at these games, the team was only ahead of its neighbors and bitter rivals - Uruguay.

But today she has enough awards to be in the top five of the world leaders. FIFA put it in the ranking in fifth place, and the Uruguayan team remained far below - in 14th position.

In addition, the white and blue are among the top three national teams, where the teams of Brazil and France are present. Access to leadership was opened to them by victories in all FIFA tournaments.

The two-time world champion, who stood on the podium in 1978 and 1986, the team also became the silver medalist three times. She also has gold olympic cups– unforgettable victories in 2004 and 2008.

But the failures of the Argentines, obsessed with football, are hard to experience. The "black streak" that befell the national team stretched for twenty years. Until, in 1978, the country became the host of the eleventh World Cup and confirmed its right to be called the best.

The Argentines staged a real feast for all football fans, and expected only leadership from their team. Sixteen national teams arrived with the intention of demonstrating their strength. The Urguayans did not qualify that year and were unable to apply. The Argentines were lucky: they defeated Hungary, France, Italy, Brazil, Poland and Peru. In the final they were met by the team of the Netherlands, and with a score of 3:1 lost to the host of the championship. For the first time, Argentina became the world champion, and even on its own territory. The icing on the cake was 24-year-old Mario Kempes, who scored six goals, two of which came against the Dutch in the decisive match. A stadium in a small town in Argentina was named after him many years later.

In 1986, in Mexico, the Argentines repeated their success. For their team, the 13th championship turned out to be happy. He brought another World Cup. It was the triumph of Diego Maradona, who performed unsuccessfully at his first World Cup in 1982.

This time the stars aligned: the Argentine national team in the world championship for the first time successfully fought with their rivals from Uruguay, and then put an end to the final with the Germans. With the score 3:2, the result of the championship was decided, the Argentinean flag was raised, the team brought another cup.

Fans celebrated the victory brightly and noisily, praising all the players, and especially Maradona. His house was littered with flowers, and his mother accepted congratulations and words of thanks to Diego.

By the way, the idol of the Argentines has not been at home for many years, replenishing the treasury of the victories of the Barcelona club. He did not plan to play for his national team, and if it were not for vanity, then this would not have happened. But he was offered the captain's armband.

Coach Bilardo understood that Maradona was a chance to be used. After all, the team showed disgusting results in selected friendly matches.

The new captain, despite all the difficulties and some rejection in the team, was sure of victory. And he turned out to be fantastically right.

At a meeting with the Italian team, he scored a goal, which he later called the best in his entire career. That year he received the Golden Ball as the best player in the championship. Although it was not he who brought Argentina to the list of champions with his blow, but his colleague Jorge Burucchaga. However, Maradona was able to distinguish himself in the quarter-finals, where he scored two goals against the Germans. His fantastic dribbling, when he dribbled past five opponents and was able to score, went down in football history.

Needless to say, the victory of the Argentines was unexpected. The final meeting of these two teams at the next championship in Italy turned out to be unpredictable.

The Argentines then bypassed Cameroon and Romania. Without special work coped with the USSR. But, having reached the final, the Argentina national team could not hit the gates of the Germans. They lost with a score of 0:1, and there were quits.

Maradona wiped away tears along with everyone. Later, he announced his departure from the national team, slammed the door loudly, but a year later he played for best club in Rosario.

At Newell's Old Boys, he played only five games, although he did not plan to part with it. But after the dismissal of the coach, who invited the scandalous player, he also left. It was in 1993 when six-year-old Lionel Messi was already demonstrating his football talent.

The composition of the Argentina national team of the 1994 model was called one of the strongest in all previous years. It includes such outstanding players as Gabriel Batistuta and Abel Balbo, who have shown themselves well in three world championships.

Maradona let the team down. He scored his last goal for Argentina in the Americas. After doping scandals, he was disqualified, the Argentines flew out of the one-eighth final, losing to Bulgaria and Romania.

With the national team, the great Maradona, who is worshiped in his homeland by old and young, despite his unbearable character and quirks, played more than ninety matches and scored thirty-four goals.

Four years later in France, Gabriel Batistuta, an experienced player, scored a hat-trick by scoring the fifth goal ten minutes before the end of the game against Jamaica. Many people remember that game and the indecent 5-0 score in the one-eighth final only because it gave the Ural musician Vladimir Shakhrin a reason to write a song that the whole country knows. The Argentines were breathtaking, but the team flew out of one fourth, and the "gold" went to the French.

The 2002 championship also did not bring victory to the Argentina national team, and the next world championship did not go well either. Although 18-year-old Lionel Messi has already joined the team, his debut was not successful, despite goal scored in the game with the team of Serbia and Montenegro in the group meeting in 2006. The team got to one-fourth but lost to the Germans.

Few in his homeland believed in the youngest player of the team, despite his successful steps in Spanish club. Messi proved to the Argentines that he was worth something in 2008. The Olympic “gold” of Beijing went to the team thanks to Messi. He gave an assist and the ball flew into the gates of the Nigerians, which ensured the victory.

After that, he became eleven more times best player at home. In twelve years, he will score 64 goals for the national team in 125 meetings.

Most of the matches were played by his colleague, with whom they got the "gold" of the Olympics - Javier Mascherano, but he only scored three goals.

In recent years, despite the strong line-up and excellent leader, the team has been unlucky. Team coach Jorge Sampaoli still believes in their luck. He has been working with the team for two years, has achievements in the coaching field with Chile and knows exactly what a huge chance they can have in Russia, thanks to the captain.

For Messi, this is an opportunity to leave gracefully, to end his career in the national team. He has stated this more than once in interviews.

Experts note that today the team lacks a well-coordinated game, strong defensive players. There are problems with goalkeeper Sergio Romero, who, although he is listed for Manchester United, but most often sits on the bench. There are several world-class players: in addition to Messi, Pablo Zabaleta and Xaver Mascherano can be noted.

At least the Argentines always hope for good luck, and she smiled at them more than once.

The Argentina national team with great difficulty qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Only in the final round of the qualifying round, thanks to 3 goals from Lionel Messi, a ticket to the final part tournament. Qualifying and friendly matches Main coach team Jorge Sampaoli tested many players, and selected the 23 best, who, as a result, will go to Russia in the summer.

Messi and company are going to the World Cup 2018

The main trump card of the Argentina national team is a powerful attacking line. Sampaoli has 5 high-class forwards at once. They are Leo Messi, Paulo Dybala, Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain. All these players are individually good, especially Messi.

Leo has one last chance to win the World Cup as it is likely that the Barcelona forward will retire from the country in the coming years. Throughout his career, Messi has not managed to win a single big trophy for his homeland, for which he is often criticized by many Argentine fans. All Argentina confer great expectations on its leader, who is considered one of the the best football players modernity.
The other lines of Sampaoli's unit do not look as balanced as the attack. The defense, which lacks experience and teamwork, especially does not shine. The frame of the gate also lacks a skillful goalkeeper. In the qualifying round, the main goalkeeper was Sergio Romero, who sits on the bench at Manchester United with little to no match practice in official matches.

Argentina squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup: official version

Goalkeepers

Defenders:

Midfielders:

Argentina has given the world an innumerable number of 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 times South American Champion.
• Silver medalist - 14 times.
• Bronze medalist - 4 times.

The Argentina national team played its first match in 1901 or 1902, no exact information has been preserved. It is authentically known that the team of Uruguay was the rival, and that the Argentines won. As for the score, here football statistics are 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 by the fact that the teams played with two balls - the first half was Argentinean, the second - Uruguayan. FIFA made this decision because both teams presented their ball and could not agree - everyone wanted to play their own ball.

Interestingly, the teams argued not in vain. The first half was won by Argentina 2:1, the second was outright won by Uruguay 3:0.

At the next World Cup, which was held according to the Olympic system, the Argentina national team lost 2:3 to the Swedish team in the first round. This match was, as it were, the beginning of the long-term failures of Albicelesta at the World Championships.

In the tournaments of 1938, 1950 and 1984, Argentina refused to participate, in the championships of 1958 and 1962 they could not even leave the group.

Only in 1966, the Argentina national team, having beaten Spain and Switzerland and tied with the West Germany team, was finally able to overcome the group stage. In the quarter-finals they were waiting for the host team - the England team. That match was remembered for the scandalous refereeing of the West German referee Rudolf Kreitlein, who sent off the Argentine captain Antonio Rattin in the first half.

Offended in the best of feelings, Rattin wiped his hands on the corner flag, on which the British flag was depicted. 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.

Argentina missed the 1970 World Cup, losing sensationally in the qualifying group to the national teams of Bolivia and Peru. Looking ahead, I’ll say that this was the last World Cup that took place without an “albicelesta”.

The next tournament also did not bring glory to the Argentine team. With difficulty, only due to the better difference between goals scored and conceded, 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 - world champion in 1978

As you can see, the Argentine national team approached its first home world championship with a far from enviable history of performances at world championships.

And yet, the country was waiting only for victory. How could it be otherwise, because football in Argentina has long been a religion.

At the first stage, the Argentines hardly defeated the national teams of Hungary and France with the same score 2:1, after which they lost 0:1 to the Italian team. And at the second stage, Mario Kempes said his weighty word.

He was the only legionnaire in the Argentina national team (he played in Spain for Valencia) and initially high hopes were placed on him. 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 put the striker in the squad and did not fail. Kempes scored two goals each against Poland (2:0) and Peru (6:0). Between these matches there was a goalless draw with the team of Brazil, but Argentina reached the final on the difference of goals scored and conceded goals.

That victory over Peru raised a lot of questions. The match began after Brazil had played their meeting, at the gates of the Peruvian national team was an Argentinean by origin Ramon Quiroga. And the game of the Peruvians, who had previously conceded six goals in five matches, raised questions.

All this is 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 hostess of the World Cup. So it was and so, unfortunately, will be. Why go far, just remember the match last championship world Brazil - Croatia and a penalty awarded in favor of the hosts of the tournament.

And in the final, Argentina, without any questions, outplayed the Dutch team 3:1 with extra time. Again, Kempes made a double, scoring the first and second goals of his team. He became top scorer and championship player.

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 application, 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 outplayed El Salvador 2:0. But in the second group round they lost both matches - Italy and Brazil.

But the next championship became the championship of Maradona. The Argentines, led by Carlos Bilardo, confidently won their group, in the 1/8 finals they defeated the eternal rivals of the Uruguayans 1:0, and then outplayed the teams of England (2:1) and Belgium (2:0). In the last two matches against Argentina, only Maradona scored.

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 exaggerated before the match. But in the game itself referee team missed the hand of Maradona, with which he scored the first goal.

True, after four minutes, Diego created his famous masterpiece, having made a raid from his half of the field and beating six Englishmen.

In the final, Maradona did not score, but his partners scored - Brown, Valdano, Burruchaga. 3:2 victory over the German national team.

In the final of the Italian World Cup, these teams met again. But what an indistinct Argentina looked then! Getting out of the group from third place, the Argentines immediately got on the Brazilian team. Fighting back the whole match, the team counted on the genius of its leader. And he did not disappoint - in the 81st minute, Maradona made his signature pass and brought Kanidzha one on one with the goalkeeper. The forward did not blunder.

The next opponents - Yugoslavia and Italy were only passed on penalties. How can one not remember the saying "There would be no happiness, but misfortune helped." Goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea saved four penalties in those series.

But he came to the championship as the second number, taking a place at the gate 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 the penalty shootout. But five minutes before the end of the match, Andreas Brehme, having converted a penalty, brought victory to the German national team.

About that penalty there was a lot of controversy about the validity of the appointment. Yes, the penalty was rather dubious. But the fact is that a little earlier, Goykochea knocked down Augentaller in the penalty area, but the referee said nothing. Apparently, the Mexican Edgardo Mendez realized his mistake and decided to correct it in such a peculiar way.

Albicelesta 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 Canigia, 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 bright team, instantly becoming the main contender for the title.

Everyone knows what happened next - Maradona's positive doping test and the 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 constantly lacked something.

In 1998, they were eliminated in the quarter-finals when Denis Bergkamp scored a crazy last-minute 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 to Argentina. At least the best one I've seen. Ayala, Pochettino, Samuel, Sunneti, Sorin, Almeida, Veron, Simeone, Aymar, Claudio Lopez, Batistuta, Ortega, Crespo, Caniggia.

This is not a team, this is a dream. No one weak spot, the presence in each line of at least two world-class stars, an obscenely long bench. Along with France, Argentina was the main favorite for the championship.

But, ironically, this team did not even make it out of the group. After the victory over Nigeria 1:0, the British took revenge on the Argentines and personally David Beckham, who scored the only goal in the match from the penalty spot. BUT last meeting"albicelesta" could not get the necessary victory in the match with Sweden - 1:1.

Not much weaker than the Argentines appeared four years later from Germany, in addition, a little-known then 18-year-old child prodigy named Lionel Messi appeared in their composition. This time, the Argentines were unlucky in the penalty shootout against the hosts of the championship in the ¼ final match - Roberto Ayala and Esteban Cambiasso could not use their attempts.

True, everything could have ended much earlier, when in extra time, but the referee's whistle was silent. This I return to the question of some advantage, which is always used by the hosts of the world championships.

Even at that championship, the Argentines were remembered for a 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 assist on 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. Diego Maradona, who led the team, decided to play open football with the Germans, put up five attacking players and was indicative of a beat. However, Maradona could do it differently, he could not step on the throat of his own song.

Argentina national 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 defense players.

But head coach Alejandro Sabella managed to mold the defense from what it was. In the playoff matches, Argentina conceded only one goal, and that was in extra time of the final match from the Germans (they again!).

The trouble crept up on the other side - a magnificent attack in the person of di Maria, Higuain, Messi, Palacio, Lavezzi, Aguero in the same four matches was honored with two goals - against Switzerland and Belgium. The Dutch were only in the penalty shootout, and the German team lost again.

Once again, Lionel Messi failed to cope with the role of the leader of the national team, scoring all his goals on group stage at the gates of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran, Nigeria.

Argentina national team in the championships (Cups) of South America

In terms of the number of continental titles (14), the Argentina national team is second only to Uruguay, which has one "gold" more. Everything would be fine if not for one big and fat BUT. Argentina's last win at the Copa America was in 1993, when they defeated Mexico in the final.

But it all started so well. From 1916 to 1967, 26 tournaments were held and only one (!!!) time Argentina did not get into the prize-winners (1922), having won 12 continental championships during this time.

Now compare that to another set of numbers - 15 tournaments (from 1975 to present), 2 wins and 5 prizes.

If someone drew attention to the 8-year gap (1967-1975), I explain that this is not a mistake, it's just that the South American championship was not played during this period.

And in recent years, “albicelesta” has been pursued by some kind of evil rock - four times in five draws it reached the final and lost everything, and three in the penalty shoot-out.

The last two defeats against the Chilean national team are still fresh in my memory, including in connection with Messi's sensational statement and the termination of the national team.

By the way, at the last Copa America, Lionel Messi, scoring a goal against the USA, bypassed Gabriel Batistuta, and is now the top scorer of the Argentina national team.

The Argentine specialist was best known for his work with the Chilean national team, with which he won the Copa America - 2015, defeating his fellow countrymen in the final.

The emblem of the Argentina national team

present tense

As I said, the current Argentina national team has a shortage of qualified defensive players. The main goalkeeper of the Argentina national team Sergio Romero comes to the team from the bench of Manchester United.

Of the defenders, only Pablo Zabaleta can be classified without any exaggeration as a world-class player. But he is an extreme defender and by the Russian World Cup he will already be 33 years old. And the only really cool Argentine defensive midfielder, Javier Mascherano, will be 34.

In attack, a lot depends on how serious Messi's announcement of his retirement 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 go down in history as a truly great player. However, in the attack, the Argentines will always find worthy shots.

In general, the Argentine national team in Russia will not have an easy walk, especially considering the complexity of the opponent in the group. As for the overall prospects of the team, due to the above reasons, I do not believe in the victory of the Argentines in the World Cup. The limit for this team will be the semi-finals.