Argentina,[a] officially the Argentine Republic,[b] is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of 2,780,400 km2 (1,073,500 sq mi),[B] making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourth-largest country in the Americas, and the eighth-largest country in the world. It shares the bulk of the Southern Cone with Chile to the west, and is also bordered by Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, Brazil to the northeast, Uruguay and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. Argentina is a federal state subdivided into twenty-three provinces, and one autonomous city, which is the federal capital and largest city of the nation, Buenos Aires. The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system. Argentina claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, and a part of Antarctica.

The earliest recorded human presence in modern-day Argentina dates back to the Paleolithic period.[13] The Inca Empire expanded to the northwest of the country in Pre-Columbian times. The country has its roots in Spanish colonization of the region during the 16th century.[14] Argentina rose as the successor state of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata,[15] a Spanish overseas viceroyalty founded in 1776. The declaration and fight for independence (1810–1818) was followed by an extended civil war that lasted until 1861, culminating in the country's reorganization as a federation. The country thereafter enjoyed relative peace and stability, with several waves of European immigration, mainly Italians and Spaniards, influencing its culture and demography.[16][17][18][19]

Following the death of President Juan Perón in 1974, his widow and vice president, Isabel Perón, ascended to the presidency, before being overthrown in 1976. The following military junta, which was supported by the United States, persecuted and murdered thousands of political critics, activists, and leftists in the Dirty War, a period of state terrorism and civil unrest that lasted until the election of Raúl Alfonsín as president in 1983.

Argentina is a regional power, and retains its historic status as a middle power in international affairs.[20][21][22] A major non-NATO ally of the United States,[23] Argentina is a developing country with the second-highest HDI (human development index) in Latin America after Chile.[24] It maintains the second-largest economy in South America, and is a member of G-15 and G20. Argentina is also a founding member of the United Nations, World Bank, World Trade Organization, Mercosur, Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and the Organization of Ibero-American States.

Etymology

Main article: Etymology of Argentina

The description of the region by the word Argentina has been found on a Venetian map in 1536.[25]

In English, the name "Argentina" comes from the Spanish language; however, the naming itself is not Spanish, but Italian. Argentina (masculine argentino) means in Italian "(made) of silver, silver coloured", derived from the Latin argentum for silver. In Italian, the adjective or the proper noun is often used in an autonomous way as a substantive and replaces it and it is said l'Argentina.

The name Argentina was probably first given by the Venetian and Genoese navigators, such as Giovanni Caboto. In Spanish and Portuguese, the words for "silver" are respectively plata and prata and "(made) of silver" is plateado and prateado, although "argento" for "silver" and "argentado" for "covered in silver" exist in Spanish. Argentina was first associated with the silver mountains legend, widespread among the first European explorers of the La Plata Basin.[26]

The first written use of the name in Spanish can be traced to La Argentina,[C] a 1602 poem by Martín del Barco Centenera describing the region.[27] Although "Argentina" was already in common usage by the 18th century, the country was formally named "Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata" by the Spanish Empire, and "United Provinces of the Río de la Plata" after independence.

The 1826 constitution included the first use of the name "Argentine Republic" in legal documents.[28] The name "Argentine Confederation" was also commonly used and was formalized in the Argentine Constitution of 1853.[29] In 1860 a presidential decree settled the country's name as "Argentine Republic",[30] and that year's constitutional amendment ruled all the names since 1810 as legally valid.[31][D]

In English, the country was traditionally called "the Argentine", mimicking the typical Spanish usage la Argentina[32] and perhaps resulting from a mistaken shortening of the fuller name 'Argentine Republic'. 'The Argentine' fell out of fashion during the mid-to-late 20th century, and now the country is referred to as "Argentina".

History

Main article: History of Argentina

Pre-Columbian era

Main article: Indigenous peoples in Argentina

The Cave of the Hands in Santa Cruz province

The earliest traces of human life in the area now known as Argentina are dated from the Paleolithic period, with further traces in the Mesolithic and Neolithic.[13] Until the period of European colonization, Argentina was relatively sparsely populated by a wide number of diverse cultures with different social organizations,[33] which can be divided into three main groups.[34]

The first group are basic hunters and food gatherers without the development of pottery, such as the Selk'nam and Yaghan in the extreme south. The second group are advanced hunters and food gatherers which include the Puelche, Querandí and Serranos in the centre-east; and the Tehuelche in the south—all of them conquered by the Mapuche spreading from Chile[35]—and the Kom and Wichi in the north. The last group are farmers with pottery, like the Charrúa, Minuane and Guaraní in the northeast, with slash and burn semisedentary existence;[33] the advanced Diaguita sedentary trading culture in the northwest, which was conquered by the Inca Empire around 1480; the Toconoté and Hênîa and Kâmîare in the country's centre, and the Huarpe in the centre-west, a culture that raised llama cattle and was strongly influenced by the Incas.[33]

Colonial era

Main article: Colonial Argentina

See also: Spanish colonization of the Americas

Painting showing the surrender during the British invasions of the Río de la Plata.

The surrender of Beresford to Santiago de Liniers during the British invasions of the Río de la Plata

Europeans first arrived in the region with the 1502 voyage of Amerigo Vespucci. The Spanish navigators Juan Díaz de Solís and Sebastian Cabot visited the territory that is now Argentina in 1516 and 1526, respectively.[14] In 1536 Pedro de Mendoza founded the small settlement of Buenos Aires, which was abandoned in 1541.[36]

Further colonization efforts came from Paraguay—establishing the Governorate of the Río de la Plata—Peru and Chile.[37] Francisco de Aguirre founded Santiago del Estero in 1553. Londres was founded in 1558; Mendoza, in 1561; San Juan, in 1562; San Miguel de Tucumán, in 1565.[38] Juan de Garay founded Santa Fe in 1573 and the same year Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera set up Córdoba.[39] Garay went further south to re-found Buenos Aires in 1580.[40] San Luis was established in 1596.[38]

The Spanish Empire subordinated the economic potential of the Argentine territory to the immediate wealth of the silver and gold mines in Bolivia and Peru, and as such it became part of the Viceroyalty of Peru until the creation of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776 with Buenos Aires as its capital.[41]

Buenos Aires repelled two ill-fated British invasions in 1806 and 1807.[42] The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment and the example of the first Atlantic Revolutions generated criticism of the absolutist monarchy that ruled the country. As in the rest of Spanish America, the overthrow of Ferdinand VII during the Peninsular War created great concern.[43]

Independence and civil wars

Main articles: Argentine War of Independence and Argentine Civil Wars

Painting of San Martín holding the Argentine flag

Portrait of General José de San Martin, "the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru"[44]

Beginning a process from which Argentina was to emerge as successor state to the Viceroyalty,[15] the 1810 May Revolution replaced the viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros with the First Junta, a new government in Buenos Aires made up from locals.[43] In the first clashes of the Independence War the Junta crushed a royalist counter-revolution in Córdoba,[45] but failed to overcome those of the Banda Oriental, Upper Peru and Paraguay, which later became independent states.[46] The French-Argentine Hippolyte Bouchard then brought his fleet to wage war against Spain overseas and attacked Spanish California, Spanish Peru and Spanish Philippines. He secured the allegiance of escaped Filipinos in San Blas who defected from the Spanish to join the Argentine navy, due to common Argentine and Philippine grievances against Spanish colonization.[47][48] Jose de San Martin's brother, Juan Fermín de San Martín, was already in the Philippines and drumming up revolutionary fervor prior to this.[49] At a later date, the Argentine sign of Inca origin, the Sun of May was adopted as a symbol by the Filipinos in the Philippine Revolution against Spain. He also secured the diplomatic recognition of Argentina from King Kamehameha I of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Historian Pacho O'Donnell affirms that Hawaii was the first state that recognized Argentina's independence.[50]He was finally arrested in 1819 by Chilean patriots.

Revolutionaries split into two antagonist groups: the Centralists and the Federalists—a move that would define Argentina's first decades of independence.[51] The Assembly of the Year XIII appointed Gervasio Antonio de Posadas as Argentina's first Supreme Director.[51]

On 9 July 1816, the Congress of Tucumán formalized the Declaration of Independence,[52] which is now celebrated as Independence Day, a national holiday.[53] One year later General Martín Miguel de Güemes stopped royalists on the north, and General José de San Martín He joined Bernardo O'Higgins and they led a combined army across the Andes and secured the independence of Chile; then it was sent by O'Higgins orders to the Spanish stronghold of Lima and proclaimed the independence of Peru.[54][E] In 1819 Buenos Aires enacted a centralist constitution that was soon abrogated by federalists.[56]

Some of the most important figures of Argentine independence made a proposal known as the Inca plan of 1816, which proposed that the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (Present Argentina) should be a monarchy, led by a descendant of the Inca. Juan Bautista Túpac Amaru (half-brother of Túpac Amaru II) was proposed as monarch.[57] Some examples of those who supported this proposal were Manuel Belgrano, José de San Martín and Martín Miguel de Güemes. The Congress of Tucumán finally decided to reject the Inca plan, creating instead a republican, centralist state.[58][59]

The 1820 Battle of Cepeda, fought between the Centralists and the Federalists, resulted in the end of the Supreme Director rule. In 1826 Buenos Aires enacted another centralist constitution, with Bernardino Rivadavia being appointed as the first president of the country. However, the interior provinces soon rose against him, forced his resignation and discarded the constitution.[60] Centralists and Federalists resumed the civil war; the latter prevailed and formed the Argentine Confederation in 1831, led by Juan Manuel de Rosas.[61] During his regime he faced a French blockade (1838–1840), the War of the Confederation (1836–1839), and an Anglo-French blockade (1845–1850), but remained undefeated and prevented further loss of national territory.[62] His trade restriction policies, however, angered the interior provinces and in 1852 Justo José de Urquiza, another powerful caudillo, beat him out of power. As the new president of the Confederation, Urquiza enacted the liberal and federal 1853 Constitution. Buenos Aires seceded but was forced back into the Confederation after being defeated in the 1859 Battle of Cepeda.[63]

Rise of the modern nation

Main articles: List of Presidents of Argentina, Generation of '80, and Infamous Decade

See also: Argentine–Chilean naval arms race and South American dreadnought race

People gathered in front of the Buenos Aires Cabildo during the May Revolution

Immigrants from Italy arriving in Buenos Aires, during the great European immigration wave to Argentina

Overpowering Urquiza in the 1861 Battle of Pavón, Bartolomé Mitre secured Buenos Aires' predominance and was elected as the first president of the reunified country. He was followed by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento and Nicolás Avellaneda; these three presidencies set up the basis of the modern Argentine State.[64]

Starting with Julio Argentino Roca in 1880, ten consecutive federal governments emphasized liberal economic policies. The massive wave of European immigration they promoted—second only to the United States'—led to a near-reinvention of Argentine society and economy that by 1908 had placed the country as the seventh wealthiest[65] developed nation[66] in the world. Driven by this immigration wave and decreasing mortality, the Argentine population grew fivefold and the economy 15-fold:[67] from 1870 to 1910, Argentina's wheat exports went from 100,000 to 2,500,000 t (110,000 to 2,760,000 short tons) per year, while frozen beef exports increased from 25,000 to 365,000 t (28,000 to 402,000 short tons) per year,[68] placing Argentina as one of the world's top five exporters.[69] Its railway mileage rose from 503 to 31,104 km (313 to 19,327 mi).[70] Fostered by a new public, compulsory, free and secular education system, literacy quickly increased from 22% to 65%, a level higher than most Latin American nations would reach even fifty years later.[69] Furthermore, real GDP grew so fast that despite the huge immigration influx, per capita income between 1862 and 1920 went from 67% of developed country levels to 100%:[70] In 1865, Argentina was already one of the top 25 nations by per capita income. By 1908, it had surpassed Denmark, Canada and the Netherlands to reach 7th place—behind Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Belgium. Argentina's per capita income was 70% higher than Italy's, 90% higher than Spain's, 180% higher than Japan's and 400% higher than Brazil's.[65] Despite these unique achievements, the country was slow to meet its original goals of industrialization:[71] after the steep development of capital-intensive local industries in the 1920s, a significant part of the manufacturing sector remained labour-intensive in the 1930s.[72]

Conquest of the Desert, by Juan Manuel Blanes (fragment showing Julio Argentino Roca, at the front, a major figure of the Generation of '80)[73]

Between 1878 and 1884, the so-called Conquest of the Desert occurred, with the purpose of tripling the Argentine territory by means of the constant confrontations between natives and Criollos in the border,[74] and the appropriation of the indigenous territories. The first conquest consisted of a series of military incursions into the Pampa and Patagonian territories dominated by the indigenous peoples,[75] distributing them among the members of the Sociedad Rural Argentina, financiers of the expeditions.[76] The conquest of Chaco lasted up to the end of the century,[77] since its full ownership of the national economic system only took place when the mere extraction of wood and tannin was replaced by the production of cotton.[78] The Argentine government considered indigenous people as inferior beings, without the same rights as Criollos and Europeans.[79]

In 1912, President Roque Sáenz Peña enacted universal and secret male suffrage, which allowed Hipólito Yrigoyen, leader of the Radical Civic Union (or UCR), to win the 1916 election. He enacted social and economic reforms and extended assistance to small farms and businesses. Argentina stayed neutral during World War I. The second administration of Yrigoyen faced an economic crisis, precipitated by the Great Depression.[80]

Crowds outside the Argentine National Congress during the 1930 Argentine coup d'état which marked the start of the Infamous Decade

In 1930, Yrigoyen was ousted from power by the military led by José Félix Uriburu. Although Argentina remained among the fifteen richest countries until mid-century,[65] this coup d'état marks the start of the steady economic and social decline that pushed the country back into underdevelopment.[81]

Uriburu ruled for two years; then Agustín Pedro Justo was elected in a fraudulent election, and signed a controversial treaty with the United Kingdom. Argentina stayed neutral during World War II, a decision that had full British support but was rejected by the United States after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In 1943 a military coup d'état led by General Arturo Rawson toppled the democratically elected government of Ramón Castillo. Under pressure from the United States, later Argentina declared war on the Axis Powers (on 27 March 1945, roughly a month before the end of World War II in Europe).

During the Rawson dictatorship a relatively unknown military colonel named Juan Perón was named head of the Labour Department. Perón quickly managed to climb the political ladder, being named Minister of Defence by 1944. Being perceived as a political threat by rivals in the military and the conservative camp, he was forced to resign in 1945, and was arrested days later. He was finally released under mounting pressure from both his base and several allied unions.[82] He would later become president after a landslide victory over the UCR in the 1946 general election as the Laborioust candidate.[83]

Peronist years

Main article: Peronism

Juan Domingo Perón and his wife Eva Perón, 1947.

Juan Perón and his wife Eva Perón, 1947

The Labour Party (later renamed Justicialist Party), the most powerful and influential party in Argentine history, came into power with the rise of Juan Perón to the presidency in 1946. He nationalized strategic industries and services, improved wages and working conditions, paid the full external debt and claimed he achieved nearly full employment. He pushed Congress to enact women's suffrage in 1947,[84] and developed a system of social assistance for the most vulnerable sectors of society.[85] The economy began to decline in 1950 due in part to government expenditures and the protectionist economic policies.[86]

He also engaged in a campaign of political suppression. Anyone who was perceived to be a political dissident or potential rival was subject to threats, physical violence and harassment. The Argentine intelligentsia, the middle-class, university students, and professors were seen as particularly troublesome. Perón fired over 2,000 university professors and faculty members from all major public education institutions.[87]

Perón tried to bring most trade and labour unions under his thumb, regularly resorting to violence when needed. For instance, the meat-packers union leader, Cipriano Reyes, organised strikes in protest against the government after elected labour movement officials were forcefully replaced by Peronist puppets from the Peronist Party. Reyes was soon arrested on charges of terrorism, though the allegations were never substantiated. Reyes, who was never formally charged, was tortured in prison for five years and only released after the regime's downfall in 1955.[88]

Perón managed to get re-elected in 1951. His wife Eva Perón, who played a critical role in the party, died of cancer in 1952. As the economy continued to tank, Perón started losing popular support, and came to be seen as a threat to the national process. The Navy took advantage of Perón's withering political power, and bombed the Plaza de Mayo in 1955. Perón survived the attack, but a few months later, during the Liberating Revolution coup, he was deposed and went into exile in Spain.[89]

Revolución Libertadora

Main article: Revolución Libertadora

Civilian casualties after the air attack and massacre on Plaza de Mayo, June 1955

The new head of State, Pedro Eugenio Aramburu, proscribed Peronism and banned the party from any future elections. Arturo Frondizi from the UCR won the 1958 general election.[90] He encouraged investment to achieve energetic and industrial self-sufficiency, reversed a chronic trade deficit and lifted the ban on Peronism; yet his efforts to stay on good terms with both the Peronists and the military earned him the rejection of both and a new coup forced him out.[91] Amidst the political turmoil, Senate leader José María Guido reacted swiftly and applied anti-power vacuum legislation, ascending to the presidency himself; elections were repealed and Peronism was prohibited once again. Arturo Illia was elected in 1963 and led an increase in prosperity across the board; however he was overthrown in 1966 by another military coup d'état led by General Juan Carlos Onganía in the self-proclaimed Argentine Revolution, creating a new military government that sought to rule indefinitely.[92]

Perón's return and death

Juan Perón and his wife Isabel Perón, 1973

Following several years of military rule, Alejandro Agustín Lanusse was appointed president by the military junta in 1971. Under increasing political pressure for the return of democracy, Lanusse called for elections in 1973. Perón was banned from running but the Peronist party was allowed to participate. The presidential elections were won by Perón's surrogate candidate, Hector Cámpora, a left-wing Peronist, who took office on 25 May 1973. A month later, in June, Perón returned from Spain. One of Cámpora's first presidential actions was to grant amnesty to members of organizations that had carried out political assassinations and terrorist attacks, and to those who had been tried and sentenced to prison by judges. Cámpora's months-long tenure in government was beset by political and social unrest. Over 600 social conflicts, strikes, and factory occupations took place within a single month.[93] Even though far-left terrorist organisations had suspended their armed struggle, their joining with the participatory democracy process was interpreted as a direct threat by the Peronist right-wing faction.[94]

Amid a state of political, social, and economic upheaval, Cámpora and Vice President Vicente Solano Lima resigned in July 1973, calling for new elections, but this time with Perón as the Justicialist Party nominee. Perón won the election with his wife Isabel Perón as vice president. Perón's third term was marked by escalating conflict between left and right-wing factions within the Peronist party, as well as the return of armed terror guerrilla groups like the Guevarist ERP, leftist Peronist Montoneros, and the state-backed far-right Triple A. After a series of heart attacks and signs of pneumonia in 1974, Perón's health deteriorated quickly. He suffered a final heart attack on Monday, 1 July 1974, and died at 13:15. He was 78 years old. After his death, Isabel Perón, his wife and vice president, succeeded him in office. During her presidency, a military junta, along with the Peronists' far-right fascist faction, once again became the de facto head of state. Isabel Perón served as President of Argentina from 1974 until 1976, when she was ousted by the military. Her short presidency was marked by the collapse of Argentine political and social systems, leading to a constitutional crisis that paved the way for a decade of instability, left-wing terrorist guerrilla attacks, and state-sponsored terrorism.[86][95][96]

National Reorganization Process

Main articles: National Reorganization Process and Dirty War

The "first military junta" – Admiral Emilio Massera, Lieutenant General Jorge Videla and Brigadier General Orlando Agosti (from left to right) – observing the Independence Day military parade on Avenida del Libertador, 9 July 1978

The "Dirty War" (Spanish: Guerra Sucia) was part of Operation Condor, which included the participation of other right-wing dictatorships in the Southern Cone. The Dirty War involved state terrorism in Argentina and elsewhere in the Southern Cone against political dissidents, with military and security forces employing urban and rural violence against left-wing guerrillas, political dissidents, and anyone believed to be associated with socialism or somehow contrary to the neoliberal economic policies of the regime.[97][98][99] Victims of the violence in Argentina alone included an estimated 15,000 to 30,000 left-wing activists and militants, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, Peronist guerrillas,[100] and alleged sympathizers. Most of the victims were casualties of state terrorism. The opposing guerrillas' victims numbered nearly 500–540 military and police officials[101] and up to 230 civilians.[102] Argentina received technical support and military aid from the United States government during the Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan administrations.

The exact chronology of the repression is still debated, yet the roots of the long political war may have started in 1969 when trade unionists were targeted for assassination by Peronist and Marxist paramilitaries. Individual cases of state-sponsored terrorism against Peronism and the left can be traced back even further to the Bombing of Plaza de Mayo in 1955. The Trelew massacre of 1972, the actions of the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance commencing in 1973, and Isabel Perón's "annihilation decrees" against left-wing guerrillas during Operativo Independencia (Operation Independence) in 1975, are also possible events signaling the beginning of the Dirty War.[F]

Onganía shut down Congress, banned all political parties, and dismantled student and worker unions. In 1969, popular discontent led to two massive protests: the Cordobazo and the Rosariazo. The terrorist guerrilla organization Montoneros kidnapped and executed Aramburu.[106] The newly chosen head of government, Alejandro Agustín Lanusse, seeking to ease the growing political pressure, allowed Héctor José Cámpora to become the Peronist candidate instead of Perón. Cámpora won the March 1973 election, issued pardons for condemned guerrilla members, and then secured Perón's return from his exile in Spain.[107]

Argentine soldiers during the Falklands War, 1982

On the day Perón returned to Argentina, the clash between Peronist internal factions—right-wing union leaders and left-wing youth from the Montoneros—resulted in the Ezeiza Massacre. Overwhelmed by political violence, Cámpora resigned and Perón won the following September 1973 election with his third wife Isabel as vice-president. He expelled Montoneros from the party[108] and they became once again a clandestine organization. José López Rega organized the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (AAA) to fight against them and the People's Revolutionary Army (ERP).[109][110]

Perón died in July 1974 and was succeeded by his wife, who signed a secret decree empowering the military and the police to "annihilate" the left-wing subversion,[111] stopping ERP's attempt to start a rural insurgence in Tucumán province.[112] Isabel Perón was ousted one year later by a junta of the combined armed forces, led by army general Jorge Rafael Videla. They initiated the National Reorganization Process, often shortened to Proceso.[113]

The Proceso shut down Congress, removed the judges on the Supreme Court, banned political parties and unions, and resorted to employing the forced disappearance of suspected guerrilla members including individuals suspected of being associated with the left-wing. By the end of 1976, the Montoneros had lost nearly 2,000 members and by 1977, the ERP was completely subdued. Nevertheless, the severely weakened Montoneros launched a counterattack in 1979, which was quickly put down, effectively ending the guerrilla threat and securing the junta's position in power.[citation needed]

In March 1982, an Argentine force took control of the British territory of South Georgia and, on 2 April, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. The United Kingdom dispatched a task force to regain possession. Argentina surrendered on 14 June and its forces were taken home. Street riots in Buenos Aires followed the humiliating defeat and the military leadership stood down.[114][115] Reynaldo Bignone replaced Galtieri and began to organize the transition to democratic governance.[116]

Return to democracy

Main articles: Presidency of Raúl Alfonsín and Argentine economic crisis (1999–2002)

Carlos Menem with the new president, Fernando de la Rúa, on 10 December 1999

Raúl Alfonsín won the 1983 elections campaigning for the prosecution of those responsible for human rights violations during the Proceso: the Trial of the Juntas and other martial courts sentenced all the coup's leaders but, under military pressure, he also enacted the Full Stop and Due Obedience laws,[117][118] which halted prosecutions further down the chain of command. The worsening economic crisis and hyperinflation reduced his popular support and the Peronist Carlos Menem won the 1989 election. Soon after, riots forced Alfonsín to an early resignation.[119]

Menem embraced and enacted neoliberal policies:[120] a fixed exchange rate, business deregulation, privatizations, and the dismantling of protectionist barriers normalized the economy in the short term. He pardoned the officers who had been sentenced during Alfonsín's government. The 1994 Constitutional Amendment allowed Menem to be elected for a second term. With the economy beginning to decline in 1995, and with increasing unemployment and recession,[121] the UCR, led by Fernando de la Rúa, returned to the presidency in the 1999 elections.[122]

Protests in the city of Buenos Aires during the December 2001 riots in Argentina

De la Rúa left Menem's economic plan in effect despite the worsening crisis, which led to growing social discontent.[121] Massive capital flight from the country was responded to with a freezing of bank accounts, generating further turmoil. The December 2001 riots forced him to resign.[123] Congress appointed Eduardo Duhalde as acting president, who revoked the fixed exchange rate established by Menem,[124] causing many working- and middle-class Argentines to lose a significant portion of their savings. By late 2002, the economic crisis began to recede, but the assassination of two piqueteros by the police caused political unrest, prompting Duhalde to move elections forward.[125] Néstor Kirchner was elected as the new president. On 26 May 2003, he was sworn in.[126][127]

Néstor Kirchner and his wife and political successor, Cristina Kirchner

Boosting the neo-Keynesian economic policies[125] laid by Duhalde, Kirchner ended the economic crisis attaining significant fiscal and trade surpluses, and rapid GDP growth.[128] Under his administration, Argentina restructured its defaulted debt with an unprecedented discount of about 70% on most bonds, paid off debts with the International Monetary Fund,[129] purged the military of officers with dubious human rights records,[130] nullified and voided the Full Stop and Due Obedience laws,[131][G] ruled them as unconstitutional, and resumed legal prosecution of the Junta's crimes. He did not run for reelection, promoting instead the candidacy of his wife, senator Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who was elected in 2007[133] and reelected in 2011. Fernández de Kirchner's administration established positive foreign relations with countries such as Venezuela, Iran, and Cuba, while at the same time relations with the United States and the United Kingdom became increasingly strained. By 2015, the Argentine GDP grew by 2.7%[134] and real incomes had risen over 50% since the post-Menem era.[135] Despite these economic gains and increased renewable energy production and subsidies, the overall economy had been sluggish since 2011.[136]

On 22 November 2015, after a tie in the first round of presidential elections on 25 October, center-right coalition candidate Mauricio Macri won the first ballotage in Argentina's history, beating Front for Victory candidate Daniel Scioli and becoming president-elect.[137] Macri was the first democratically elected non-peronist president since 1916 that managed to complete his term in office without being overthrown.[138] He took office on 10 December 2015 and inherited an economy with a high inflation rate and in a poor shape.[139] In April 2016, the Macri Government introduced neoliberal austerity measures intended to tackle inflation and overblown public deficits.[140] Under Macri's administration, economic recovery remained elusive with GDP shrinking 3.4%, inflation totaling 240%, billions of US dollars issued in sovereign debt, and mass poverty increasing by the end of his term.[141][142] He ran for re-election in 2019 but lost by nearly eight percentage points to Alberto Fernández, the Justicialist Party candidate.[143]

President Alberto Fernández and Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner took office in December 2019,[144] just months before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Argentina and among accusations of corruption, bribery and misuse of public funds during Nestor and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's presidencies.[145][146] On 14 November 2021, the center-left coalition of Argentina's ruling Peronist party, Frente de Todos (Front for Everyone), lost its majority in Congress, for the first time in almost 40 years, in midterm legislative elections. The election victory of the center-right coalition, Juntos por el Cambio (Together for Change) limited President Alberto Fernandez's power during his final two years in office. Losing control of the Senate made it difficult for him to make key appointments, including to the judiciary. It also forced him to negotiate with the opposition every initiative he sends to the legislature.[147][148]

In April 2023, President Alberto Fernandez announced that he will not seek re-election in the next presidential election.[149] The 19 November 2023 election run-off vote ended in a win for libertarian outsider Javier Milei with close to 56% of the vote against 44% of the ruling coalition candidate Sergio Massa.[150] On 10 December 2023, Javier Milei was sworn in as the new president of Argentina.[151]

Geography

Main article: Geography of Argentina

Topographical map of Argentina

With a mainland surface area of 2,780,400 km2 (1,073,518 sq mi),[B] Argentina is located in southern South America, sharing land borders with Chile across the Andes to the west;[152] Bolivia and Paraguay to the north; Brazil to the northeast, Uruguay and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east;[153] and the Drake Passage to the south;[154] for an overall land border length of 9,376 km (5,826 mi). Its coastal border over the Río de la Plata and South Atlantic Ocean is 5,117 km (3,180 mi) long.[153]

Argentina's highest point is Aconcagua in the Mendoza province (6,959 m (22,831 ft) above sea level),[155] also the highest point in the Southern and Western Hemispheres.[156] The lowest point is Laguna del Carbón in the San Julián Great Depression Santa Cruz province (−105 m (−344 ft) below sea level,[155] also the lowest point in the Southern and Western Hemispheres, and the seventh lowest point on Earth).[157]

The northernmost point is at the confluence of the Grande de San Juan and Mojinete rivers in Jujuy province; the southernmost is Cape San Pío in Tierra del Fuego province; the easternmost is northeast of Bernardo de Irigoyen, Misiones and the westernmost is within Los Glaciares National Park in Santa Cruz province.[153] The maximum north–south distance is 3,694 km (2,295 mi), while the maximum east–west one is 1,423 km (884 mi).[153]

Some of the major rivers are the Paraná, Uruguay—which join to form the Río de la Plata, Paraguay, Salado, Negro, Santa Cruz, Pilcomayo, Bermejo and Colorado.[158] These rivers are discharged into the Argentine Sea, the shallow area of the Atlantic Ocean over the Argentine Shelf, an unusually wide continental platform.[159] Its waters are influenced by two major ocean currents: the warm Brazil Current and the cold Falklands Current.[160]

Biodiversity

Main article: Environment of Argentina

Mountain tops, with clouds shown.

Aconcagua is the highest mountain outside of Asia, at 6,960.8 metres (22,837 ft), and the highest point in the Southern Hemisphere.[161]

Los Cardones National Park

Argentina is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world[162] hosting one of the greatest ecosystem varieties in the world: 15 continental zones, 2 marine zones, and the Antarctic region are all represented in its territory.[162] This huge ecosystem variety has led to a biological diversity that is among the world's largest:[162][163] 9,372 cataloged vascular plant species (ranked 24th);[H] 1,038 cataloged bird species (ranked 14th);[I] 375 cataloged mammal species (ranked 12th);[J] 338 cataloged reptilian species (ranked 16th); and 162 cataloged amphibian species (ranked 19th).

The original pampa had virtually no trees; some imported species like the American sycamore or eucalyptus are present along roads or in towns and country estates (estancias). The only tree-like plant native to the pampa is the evergreen Ombú. The surface soils of the pampa are a deep black color, primarily mollisols, known commonly as humus. This makes the region one of the most agriculturally productive on Earth; however, this is also responsible for decimating much of the original ecosystem, to make way for commercial agriculture.[164] The western pampas receive less rainfall, this dry pampa is a plain of short grasses or steppe.[165][166]

The National Parks of Argentina make up a network of 35 national parks in Argentina. The parks cover a very varied set of terrains and biotopes, from Baritú National Park on the northern border with Bolivia to Tierra del Fuego National Park in the far south of the continent. The Administración de Parques Nacionales (National Parks Administration) is the agency that preserves and manages these national parks along with Natural monuments and National Reserves within the country.[167] Argentina had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.21/10, ranking it 47th globally out of 172 countries.[168]

Climate

Main articles: Climate of Argentina and Climatic regions of Argentina

Köppen climate classification in Argentina

Argentina features geographical locations such as this glacier, known as the Perito Moreno Glacier.[169]

In general, Argentina has four main climate types: warm humid subtropical, moderate humid subtropical, arid and cold. all determined by the expanse across latitude, range in altitude, and relief features.[170][171] Although the most populated areas are generally temperate, Argentina has an exceptional amount of climate diversity,[172] ranging from subtropical in the north to polar in the far south.[173] Consequently, there is a wide variety of biomes in the country, including Subtropical rainforests, semi-arid and arid regions, temperate plains in the Pampas, and cold subantarctic in the south.[174] The average annual precipitation ranges from 150 millimetres (6 in) in the driest parts of Patagonia to over 2,000 millimetres (79 in) in the westernmost parts of Patagonia and the northeastern parts of the country.[172] Mean annual temperatures range from 5 °C (41 °F) in the far south to 25 °C (77 °F) in the north.[172]

Major wind currents include the cool Pampero Winds blowing on the flat plains of Patagonia and the Pampas; following the cold front, warm currents blow from the north in middle and late winter, creating mild conditions.[175] The Sudestada usually moderates cold temperatures but brings very heavy rains, rough seas and coastal flooding. It is most common in late autumn and winter along the central coast and in the Río de la Plata estuary.[175] The Zonda, a hot dry wind, affects Cuyo and the central Pampas. Squeezed of all moisture during the 6,000 m (19,685 ft) descent from the Andes, Zonda winds can blow for hours with gusts up to 120 km/h (75 mph), fueling wildfires and causing damage; between June and November, when the Zonda blows, snowstorms and blizzard (viento blanco) conditions usually affect higher elevations.[176]

Climate change in Argentina is predicted to have significant effects on the living conditions in Argentina.[177]: 30  The climate of Argentina is changing with regards to precipitation patterns and temperatures. The highest increases in precipitation (from the period 1960–2010) have occurred in the eastern parts of the country. The increase in precipitation has led to more variability in precipitation from year to year in the northern parts of the country, with a higher risk of prolonged droughts, disfavoring agriculture in these regions.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Argentina

In the 20th century, Argentina experienced significant political turmoil and democratic reversals.[178][179] Between 1930 and 1976, the armed forces overthrew six governments in Argentina;[179] and the country alternated periods of democracy (1912–1930, 1946–1955, and 1973–1976) with periods of restricted democracy and military rule.[178] Following a transition that began in 1983,[180] full-scale democracy in Argentina was reestablished.[178][179] Argentina's democracy endured through the 2001–02 crisis and to the present day; it is regarded as more robust than both its pre-1983 predecessors and other democracies in Latin America.[179] According to the V-Dem Democracy indices, Argentina in 2023 was the second most electoral democratic country in Latin America.[181]

Government

Main articles: Government of Argentina and Ministries of the Argentine Republic

Casa Rosada, workplace of the President

The National Congress composed of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.[182]

Argentina is a federal constitutional republic and representative democracy.[183] The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the Constitution of Argentina, the country's supreme legal document. The seat of government is the city of Buenos Aires, as designated by Congress.[184] Suffrage is universal, equal, secret and mandatory.[185][K]

The federal government is composed of three branches. The Legislative branch consists of the bicameral Congress, made up of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The Congress makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties and has the power of the purse and of impeachment, by which it can remove sitting members of the government.[187] The Chamber of Deputies represents the people and has 257 voting members elected to a four-year term. Seats are apportioned among the provinces by population every tenth year.[188] As of 2014 ten provinces have just five deputies while the Buenos Aires Province, being the most populous one, has 70. The Chamber of Senators represents the provinces, and has 72 members elected at-large to six-year terms, with each province having three seats; one-third of Senate seats are up for election every other year.[189] At least one-third of the candidates presented by the parties must be women.

In the Executive branch, the President is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law—subject to Congressional override—and appoints the members of the Cabinet and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.[190] The President is elected directly by the vote of the people, serves a four-year term and may be elected to office no more than twice in a row.[191]

The Judicial branch includes the Supreme Court and lower federal courts interpret laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional.[192] The Judicial is independent of the Executive and the Legislative. The Supreme Court has seven members appointed by the President—subject to Senate approval—who serve for life. The lower courts' judges are proposed by the Council of Magistracy (a secretariat composed of representatives of judges, lawyers, researchers, the Executive and the Legislative), and appointed by the president on Senate approval.[193]

Provinces

Provinces of Argentina. Click to explore.

Main article: Provinces of Argentina

Argentina is a federation of twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city, Buenos Aires. Provinces are divided for administration purposes into departments and municipalities, except for Buenos Aires Province, which is divided into partidos. The City of Buenos Aires is divided into communes.

Provinces hold all the power that they chose not to delegate to the federal government;[194] they must be representative republics and must not contradict the Constitution.[195] Beyond this they are fully autonomous: they enact their own constitutions,[196] freely organize their local governments,[197] and own and manage their natural and financial resources.[198] Some provinces have bicameral legislatures, while others have unicameral ones.[L]

La Pampa and Chaco became provinces in 1951. Misiones did so in 1953, and Formosa, Neuquén, Río Negro, Chubut and Santa Cruz, in 1955. The last national territory, Tierra del Fuego, became the Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province in 1990.[200] It has three components, although two are nominal because they are not under Argentine sovereignty. The first is the Argentine part of Tierra del Fuego; the second is an area of Antarctica claimed by Argentina that overlaps with similar areas claimed by the UK and Chile; the third comprises the two disputed British Overseas Territories of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.[201]

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Argentina

Cristina Kirchner alongside the members of BRICS and Union of South American Nations in 2014

Foreign policy is handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship, which answers to the President. The country is one of the G-15 and G-20 major economies of the world, and a founding member of the UN, WBG, WTO and OAS. In 2012 Argentina was elected again to a two-year non-permanent position on the United Nations Security Council and is participating in major peacekeeping operations in Haiti, Cyprus, Western Sahara and the Middle East.[202] Argentina is described as a middle power.[20][203]

A prominent Latin American[21] and Southern Cone[22] regional power, Argentina co-founded OEI and CELAC. It is also a founding member of the Mercosur block, having Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela as partners. Since 2002 the country has emphasized its key role in Latin American integration, and the block—which has some supranational legislative functions—is its first international priority.[204]

Argentina claims 965,597 km2 (372,819 sq mi) in Antarctica, where it has the world's oldest continuous state presence, since 1904.[205] This overlaps claims by Chile and the United Kingdom, though all such claims fall under the provisions of the 1961 Antarctic Treaty, of which Argentina is a founding signatory and permanent consulting member, with the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat being based in Buenos Aires.[206]

Argentina disputes sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas), and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands,[207] which are administered by the United Kingdom as Overseas Territories. Argentina is a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.[208] Argentina is a Major non-NATO ally since 1998[23] and an OECD candidate country since January 2022.[209]

Armed forces

Main article: Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic

Lockheed Martin A-4AR Fightinghawk operated by the Argentine Air Force

Argentine destroyer ARA Sarandí (D-13)

The president holds the title of commander-in-chief of the Argentine Armed Forces, as part of a legal framework that imposes a strict separation between national defense and internal security systems:[210][211] The National Defense System, an exclusive responsibility of the federal government,[212] coordinated by the Ministry of Defense, and comprising the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.[213] Ruled and monitored by Congress[214] through the Houses' Defense Committees,[215] it is organized on the essential principle of legitimate self-defense: the repelling of any external military aggression in order to guarantee freedom of the people, national sovereignty, and territorial integrity.[215] Its secondary missions include committing to multinational operations within the framework of the United Nations, participating in internal support missions, assisting friendly countries, and establishing a sub-regional defense system.[215]

Military service is voluntary, with enlistment age between 18 and 24 years old and no conscription.[216] Argentina's defense has historically been one of the best equipped in the region, even managing its own weapon research facilities, shipyards, ordnance, tank and plane factories.[217] However, real military expenditures declined steadily after the defeat in the Falklands/Malvinas War and the defense budget in 2011 was only about 0.74% of GDP, a historical minimum,[218] below the Latin American average. Within the defence budget itself, funding for training and even basic maintenance has been significantly cut, a factor contributing to the accidental loss of the Argentine submarine San Juan in 2017. The result has been a steady erosion of Argentine military capabilities, with some arguing that Argentina had, by the end of the 2010s, ceased to be a capable military power.[219]

The Interior Security System is jointly administered by the federal and subscribing provincial governments.[211] At the federal level it is coordinated by the Interior, Security and Justice ministries, and monitored by Congress.[211] It is enforced by the Federal Police; the Prefecture, which fulfills coast guard duties; the Gendarmerie, which serves border guard tasks; and the Airport Security Police.[220] At the provincial level it is coordinated by the respective internal security ministries and enforced by local police agencies.[211]

Argentina was the only South American country to send warships and cargo planes in 1991 to the Gulf War under UN mandate and has remained involved in peacekeeping efforts in multiple locations like UNPROFOR in Croatia/Bosnia, Gulf of Fonseca, UNFICYP in Cyprus (where among Army and Marines troops the Air Force provided the UN Air contingent since 1994) and MINUSTAH in Haiti. Argentina is the only Latin American country to maintain troops in Kosovo during SFOR (and later EUFOR) operations where combat engineers of the Argentine Armed Forces are embedded in an Italian brigade.

In 2007, an Argentine contingent including helicopters, boats and water purification plants was sent to help Bolivia against their worst floods in decades.[221] In 2010 the Armed Forces were also involved in Haiti and Chile humanitarian responses after their respective earthquakes.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Argentina

See also: Industry in Argentina and Argentine foreign trade

The Catalinas Norte business complex in Buenos Aires CBD

Benefiting from rich natural resources, a highly literate population, a diversified industrial base, and an export-oriented agricultural sector, the economy of Argentina is Latin America's third-largest,[222] and the second-largest in South America.[223] Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world, on the 20th century in 1913 it was one of the wealthiest countries in the world by GDP per capita[224] It has a "very high" rating on the Human Development Index[12] and ranks 66th by nominal GDP per capita,[225] with a considerable internal market size and a growing share of the high-tech sector. As a middle emerging economy and one of the world's top developing nations, it is a member of the G-20 major economies.[226][M]

Vineyard in Mendoza. Argentina is the sixth-largest producer of wine.[227]

Argentina is the largest producer in the world of yerba mate (due to the large domestic consumption of mate), one of the five largest producers in the world of soybeans, maize, sunflower seed, lemon and pear, one of the ten largest producers in the world of barley, grape, artichoke, tobacco and cotton, and one of the 15 largest producers in the world of wheat, sugarcane, sorghum and grapefruit. It is the largest producer in South America of wheat, sunflower seed, barley, lemon and pear.[228][229] In wine, Argentina is usually among the ten largest producers in the world.[230] Argentina is also a traditional meat exporter, having been, in 2019, the 4th world producer of beef, with a production of 3 million tons (only behind US, Brazil and China), the 4th world producer of honey, and the 10th world producer of wool, in addition to other relevant productions.[231][232]

Veladero mine is a gold mine located in the San Juan Province.

Fiat factory in Córdoba, Argentina

The mining industry of Argentina is not as relevant as that of other countries. It stands out for being the fourth-largest producer of lithium,[233] 9th of silver[234] and 17th of gold[235] worldwide (based on 2019 data). The country stands out in the production of natural gas, being the largest producer in South America and the 18th-largest in the world, and has an average annual production close to 500 thousand barrels/day of petroleum, even with the under-utilization of the Vaca Muerta field, due to the country's technical and financial inability to extract these resources.[236][237]

In 2012, manufacturing accounted for 20.3% of GDP—the largest sector in the nation's economy.[238] Well-integrated into Argentine agriculture, half of the industrial exports have rural origin.[238] With a 6.5% production growth rate in 2011,[239] the diversified manufacturing sector rests on a steadily growing network of industrial parks (314 as of 2013)[240][241] In 2012 the leading sectors by volume were: food processing, beverages and tobacco products; motor vehicles and auto parts; textiles and leather; refinery products and biodiesel; chemicals and pharmaceuticals; steel, aluminum and iron; industrial and farm machinery; home appliances and furniture; plastics and tires; glass and cement; and recording and print media.[238] In addition, Argentina has since long been one of the top five wine-producing countries in the world.[238]

High inflation—a weakness of the Argentine economy for decades—has become a trouble once again,[242] with an annual rate of 24.8% in 2017.[243] In 2023 the inflation reached 102.5% among the highest inflation rates in the world.[244] Approximately 43% of the Argentina's population lives below the poverty line as of 2023.[245] To deter it and support the peso, the government imposed foreign currency control.[246] Income distribution, having improved since 2002, is classified as "medium", although it is still considerably unequal.[11] In January 2024, Argentina's poverty rate reached 57.4%, the highest poverty rate in the country since 2004.[247]

Argentina ranks 85th out of 180 countries in the Transparency International's 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index,[248] an improvement of 22 positions over its 2014 rankings.[249] Argentina settled its long-standing debt default crisis in 2016 with the so-called vulture funds after the election of Mauricio Macri, allowing Argentina to enter capital markets for the first time in a decade.[250] The government of Argentina defaulted on 22 May 2020 by failing to pay a $500 million bill by its due date to its creditors. Negotiations for the restructuring of $66 billion of its debt continue.[251]

Tourism

Main article: Tourism in Argentina

The country had 5.57 million visitors in 2013, ranking in terms of international tourist arrivals as the top destination in South America, and second in Latin America after Mexico.[252] Revenues from international tourists reached US$4.41 billion in 2013, down from US$4.89 billion in 2012.[252] The country's capital city, Buenos Aires, is the most visited city in South America.[253] There are 30 National Parks of Argentina including many World Heritage Sites.

Panorama of the Nahuel Huapi National Park and the Nahuel Huapi Lake from Cerro Campanario, Bariloche

Transport

Main article: Transport in Argentina

Stretch of National Route 9 between Rosario and Córdoba

A Trenes Argentinos CNR CKD8G at Mar del Plata railway station

By 2004 Buenos Aires, all provincial capitals except Ushuaia, and all medium-sized towns were interconnected by 69,412 km (43,131 mi) of paved roads, out of a total road network of 231,374 km (143,769 mi).[254] In 2021, the country had about 2,800 km (1,740 mi) of duplicated highways, most leaving the capital Buenos Aires, linking it with cities like Rosario and Córdoba, Santa Fe, Mar del Plata and Paso de los Libres (in border with Brazil), there are also duplicated highways leaving from Mendoza towards the capital, and between Córdoba and Santa Fé, among other locations.[255] Nevertheless, this road infrastructure is still inadequate and cannot handle the sharply growing demand caused by deterioration of the railway system.[256]

Argentina has the largest railway system in Latin America, with 36,966 km (22,970 mi) of operating lines in 2008, out of a full network of almost 48,000 km (29,826 mi).[257] This system links all 23 provinces plus Buenos Aires City, and connects with all neighbouring countries.[256] There are four incompatible gauges in use; this forces virtually all interregional freight traffic to pass through Buenos Aires.[256] The system has been in decline since the 1940s: regularly running up large budgetary deficits, by 1991 it was transporting 1,400 times less goods than it did in 1973.[256] However, in recent years the system has experienced a greater degree of investment from the state, in both commuter rail lines and long-distance lines, renewing rolling stock and infrastructure.[258][259] In April 2015, by overwhelming majority the Argentine Senate passed a law which re-created Ferrocarriles Argentinos (2015), effectively re-nationalising the country's railways, a move which saw support from all major political parties on both sides of the political spectrum.[260][261][262]

In 2012 there were about 11,000 km (6,835 mi) of waterways,[263] mostly comprising the La Plata, Paraná, Paraguay and Uruguay rivers, with Buenos Aires, Zárate, Campana, Rosario, San Lorenzo, Santa Fe, Barranqueras and San Nicolas de los Arroyos as the main fluvial ports. Some of the largest sea ports are La Plata–Ensenada, Bahía Blanca, Mar del Plata, Quequén–Necochea, Comodoro Rivadavia, Puerto Deseado, Puerto Madryn, Ushuaia and San Antonio Oeste. Buenos Aires has historically been the most important port; however since the 1990s the Up-River port region has become dominant: stretching along 67 km (42 mi) of the Paraná river shore in Santa Fe province, it includes 17 ports and in 2013 accounted for 50% of all exports.

In 2013 there were 161 airports with paved runways[264] out of more than a thousand.[256] The Ezeiza International Airport, about 35 km (22 mi) from downtown Buenos Aires,[265] is the largest in the country, followed by Cataratas del Iguazú in Misiones, and El Plumerillo in Mendoza.[256] Aeroparque, in the city of Buenos Aires, is the most important domestic airport.[266]

Energy

Main article: Electricity sector in Argentina

Atucha Nuclear Power Plant was the first nuclear power plant in Latin America.[267]

In 2020, more than 60% of Argentina's electricity came from non-renewable sources such as natural gas, oil and coal. 27% came from hydropower, 7.3% from wind and solar energy and 4.4% from nuclear energy.[268] At the end of 2021 Argentina was the 21st country in the world in terms of installed hydroelectric power (11.3 GW), the 26th country in the world in terms of installed wind energy (3.2 GW) and the 43rd country in the world in terms of installed solar energy (1.0 GW).[269]

The wind potential of the Patagonia region is considered gigantic, with estimates that the area could provide enough electricity to sustain the consumption of a country like Brazil alone. However, Argentina has infrastructural deficiencies to carry out the transmission of electricity from uninhabited areas with a lot of wind to the great centers of the country.[270]

In 1974 it was the first country in Latin America to put in-line a commercial nuclear power plant, Atucha I. Although the Argentine-built parts for that station amounted to 10% of the total, the nuclear fuel it uses are since entirely built in the country. Later nuclear power stations employed a higher percentage of Argentine-built components; Embalse, finished in 1983, a 30% and the 2011 Atucha II reactor a 40%.[271]

Science and technology

Main article: Science and technology in Argentina

Luis Federico Leloir (left) and his staff toast his 1970 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Argentines have received three Nobel Prizes in the Sciences. Bernardo Houssay, the first Latin American recipient, discovered the role of pituitary hormones in regulating glucose in animals, and shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1947. Luis Leloir discovered how organisms store energy converting glucose into glycogen and the compounds which are fundamental in metabolizing carbohydrates, receiving the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1970. César Milstein did extensive research in antibodies, sharing the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1984. Argentine research has led to treatments for heart diseases and several forms of cancer. Domingo Liotta designed and developed the first artificial heart that was successfully implanted in a human being in 1969. René Favaloro developed the techniques and performed the world's first coronary bypass surgery.

Argentina's nuclear programme has been highly successful. In 1957 Argentina was the first country in Latin America to design and build a research reactor with homegrown technology, the RA-1 Enrico Fermi. This reliance on the development of its own nuclear-related technologies, instead of buying them abroad, was a constant of Argentina's nuclear programme conducted by the civilian National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA). Nuclear facilities with Argentine technology have been built in Peru, Algeria, Australia and Egypt. In 1983, the country admitted having the capability of producing weapon-grade uranium, a major step needed to assemble nuclear weapons; since then, however, Argentina has pledged to use nuclear power only for peaceful purposes.[272] As a member of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Argentina has been a strong voice in support of nuclear non-proliferation efforts[273] and is highly committed to global nuclear security.[274]

SAOCOM 1A inside the facilities of CEATSA

Despite its modest budget and numerous setbacks, academics and the sciences in Argentina have enjoyed international respect since the turn of the 1900s, when Luis Agote devised the first safe and effective means of blood transfusion as well as René Favaloro, who was a pioneer in the improvement of the coronary artery bypass surgery. Argentine scientists are still on the cutting edge in fields such as nanotechnology, physics, computer sciences, molecular biology, oncology, ecology and cardiology. Juan Maldacena, an Argentine-American scientist, is a leading figure in string theory.

Space research has also become increasingly active in Argentina. Argentine-built satellites include LUSAT-1 (1990), Víctor-1 (1996), PEHUENSAT-1 (2007),[275] and those developed by CONAE, the Argentine space agency, of the SAC series.[276] Argentina has its own satellite programme, nuclear power station designs (4th generation) and public nuclear energy company INVAP, which provides several countries with nuclear reactors.[277] Established in 1991, the CONAE has since launched two satellites successfully and,[278] in June 2009, secured an agreement with the European Space Agency for the installation of a 35-m diameter antenna and other mission support facilities at the Pierre Auger Observatory, the world's foremost cosmic ray observatory.[279] The facility will contribute to numerous ESA space probes, as well as CONAE's own, domestic research projects. Chosen from 20 potential sites and one of only three such ESA installations in the world, the new antenna will create a triangulation which will allow the ESA to ensure mission coverage around the clock[280] Argentina was ranked 73rd in the Global Innovation Index in 2023.[281][282]

Demographics

Main articles: Demographics of Argentina and Argentines

Population density map of Argentina (2000)

The 2010 census counted 40,117,096 inhabitants, up from 36,260,130 in 2001.[283][284] Argentina ranks third in South America in total population, fourth in Latin America and 33rd globally. Its population density of 15 persons per square kilometer of land area is well below the world average of 50 persons. The population growth rate in 2010 was an estimated 1.03% annually, with a birth rate of 17.7 live births per 1,000 inhabitants and a mortality rate of 7.4 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants. Since 2010, the crude net migration rate has ranged from below zero to up to four immigrants per 1,000 inhabitants per year.[285]

Argentina is in the midst of a demographic transition to an older and slower-growing population. The proportion of people under 15 is 25.6%, a little below the world average of 28%, and the proportion of people 65 and older is relatively high at 10.8%. In Latin America, this is second only to Uruguay and well above the world average, which is currently 7%. Argentina has a comparatively low infant mortality rate. Its birth rate of 2.3 children per woman is considerably below the high of 7.0 children born per woman in 1895,[286] though still nearly twice as high as in Spain or Italy, which are culturally and demographically similar.[287][288] The median age is 31.9 years and life expectancy at birth is 77.14 years.[289]

Attitudes towards LGBT people are generally positive within Argentina.[290] In 2010, Argentina became the first country in Latin America, the second in the Americas, and the tenth worldwide to legalize same-sex marriage.[291][292]

Ethnography

Main article: Argentines

See also: Ethnography of Argentina and Immigration to Argentina

The cacique Qom Félix Díaz meets with then president Mauricio Macri.

Argentina is considered a country of immigrants.[293][294][295] Argentines usually refer to the country as a crisol de razas (crucible of races, or melting pot). A 2010 study conducted on 218 individuals by the Argentine geneticist Daniel Corach established that the average genetic ancestry of Argentines is 79% European (mainly Italian and Spanish), 18% indigenous and 4.3% African; 63.6% of the tested group had at least one ancestor who was Indigenous.[296][297] The majority of Argentines descend from multiple European ethnic groups, primarily of Italian and Spanish descent, with over 25 million Argentines (almost 60% of the population) having some partial Italian origins.[298]

Argentina is also home to a notable Asian population, the majority of whom are descended from either West Asians (namely Lebanese and Syrians)[299] or East Asians (such as the Chinese,[300] Koreans, and the Japanese).[301] The latter of whom number around 180,000 individuals. The total number of Arab Argentines (most of whom are of Lebanese or Syrian origin) is estimated to be 1.3 to 3.5 million. Many immigrated from various Asian countries to Argentina during the 19th century (especially during the latter half of the century) and the first half of the 20th century.[302][303] Most Arab Argentines belong to the Catholic Church (including both the Latin Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches) or the Eastern Orthodox Church. A minority are Muslims.

From the 1970s, immigration has mostly been coming from Bolivia, Paraguay and Peru, with smaller numbers from the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Romania.[304] The Argentine government estimates that 750,000 inhabitants lack official documents and has launched a program[305] to encourage illegal immigrants to declare their status in return for two-year residence visas—so far over 670,000 applications have been processed under the program.[306] As of July 2023, more than 18,500 Russians have come to Argentina after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.[307]

Languages

Main article: Languages of Argentina

Dialectal variants of the Spanish language in Argentina

The de facto[N] official language is Spanish, spoken by almost all Argentines.[308] The country is the largest Spanish-speaking society that universally employs voseo, the use of the pronoun vos instead of tú ("you"), which imposes the use of alternative verb forms as well. Owing to the extensive Argentine geography, Spanish has a strong variation among regions, although the prevalent dialect is Rioplatense, primarily spoken in the Pampean and Patagonian regions and accented similarly to the Neapolitan language.[309] Italian and other European immigrants influenced Lunfardo—the regional slang—permeating the vernacular vocabulary of other Latin American countries as well.

There are several second-languages in widespread use among the Argentine population: English (by 2.8 million people);[310] Italian (by 1.5 million people);[308][O] Arabic (specially its Northern Levantine dialect, by one million people);[308] Standard German (by 200,000 people);[308][P] Guaraní (by 200,000 people,[308] mostly in Corrientes and Misiones);[3] Catalan (by 174,000 people);[308] Quechua (by 65,000 people, mostly in the Northwest);[308] Wichí (by 53,700 people, mainly in Chaco[308] where, along with Kom and Moqoit, it is official de jure);[5] Vlax Romani (by 52,000 people);[308] Albanian (by 40,000 people);[311] Japanese (by 32,000 people);[308] Aymara (by 30,000 people, mostly in the Northwest);[308] Ukrainian (by 27,000 people);[308]

Religion

Main article: Religion in Argentina

Francis, the first pope from the Americas, was born and raised in Argentina.

Christianity is the largest religion in Argentina. The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion.[312] Although it enforces neither an official nor a state faith,[313] it gives Roman Catholicism a preferential status.[314][Q]

According to a 2008 CONICET poll, Argentines were 76.5% Catholic, 11.3% Agnostics and Atheists, 9% Evangelical Protestants, 1.2% Jehovah's Witnesses, and 0.9% Mormons, while 1.2% followed other religions, including Islam, Judaism and Buddhism.[316] These figures appear to have changed quite significantly in recent years: data recorded in 2017 indicated that Catholics made up 66% of the population, indicating a drop of 10.5% in nine years, and the nonreligious in the country standing at 21% of the population, indicating an almost doubling over the same period.[317]

The country is home to both one of the largest Muslim[315] and largest Jewish communities in Latin America, the latter being the seventh most populous in the world.[318] Argentina is a member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.[315]

Argentines show high individualization and de-institutionalization of religious beliefs;[319] 23.8% claim to always attend religious services; 49.1% seldom do and 26.8% never do.[320]

On 13 March 2013, Argentine Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires, was elected Bishop of Rome and Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church. He took the name "Francis", and he became the first Pope from either the Americas or from the Southern Hemisphere; he is the first Pope born outside of Europe since the election of Pope Gregory III (who was Syrian) in 741.[321]

Health

Main article: Health care in Argentina

Clemente Álvarez Emergency Hospital in Rosario

Health care is provided through a combination of employer and labour union-sponsored plans (Obras Sociales), government insurance plans, public hospitals and clinics and through private health insurance plans. Health care cooperatives number over 300 (of which 200 are related to labour unions) and provide health care for half the population; the national INSSJP (popularly known as PAMI) covers nearly all of the five million senior citizens.[322]

There are more than 153,000 hospital beds, 121,000 physicians and 37,000 dentists (ratios comparable to developed nations).[323][324] The relatively high access to medical care has historically resulted in mortality patterns and trends similar to developed nations': from 1953 to 2005, deaths from cardiovascular disease increased from 20% to 23% of the total, those from tumors from 14% to 20%, respiratory problems from 7% to 14%, digestive maladies (non-infectious) from 7% to 11%, strokes a steady 7%, injuries, 6%, and infectious diseases, 4%. Causes related to senility led to many of the rest. Infant deaths have fallen from 19% of all deaths in 1953 to 3% in 2005.[323][325]

The availability of health care has also reduced infant mortality from 70 per 1000 live births in 1948[326] to 12.1 in 2009[323] and raised life expectancy at birth from 60 years to 76.[326] Though these figures compare favorably with global averages, they fall short of levels in developed nations and in 2006, Argentina ranked fourth in Latin America.[324]

Education

Main article: Education in Argentina

Faculty of Law of the University of Buenos Aires

The Argentine education system consists of four levels.[327] An initial level for children between 45 days to 5 years old, with the last two years[328] being compulsory. An elementary or lower school mandatory level lasting 6 or 7 years.[R] In 2010 the literacy rate was 98.07%.[329] A secondary or high school mandatory level lasting 5 or 6 years.[R] In 2010 38.5% of people over age 20 had completed secondary school.[330] A higher level, divided in tertiary, university and post-graduate sub-levels. in 2013 there were 47 national public universities across the country, as well as 46 private ones.[331]

In 2010 7.1% of people over age 20 had graduated from university.[330] The public universities of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, La Plata, Rosario, and the National Technological University are some of the most important. The Argentine state guarantees universal, secular and free-of-charge public education for all levels.[S] Responsibility for educational supervision is organized at the federal and individual provincial states. In the last decades the role of the private sector has grown across all educational stages.

Urbanization

See also: List of cities in Argentina by population and List of cities in Argentina

Argentina is highly urbanized, with 92% of its population living in cities:[332] the ten largest metropolitan areas account for half of the population. About 3 million people live in the city of Buenos Aires, and including the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area it totals around 13 million, making it one of the largest urban areas in the world.[333] The metropolitan areas of Córdoba and Rosario have around 1.3 million inhabitants each.[333] Mendoza, San Miguel de Tucumán, La Plata, Mar del Plata, Salta and Santa Fe have at least half a million people each.[333]

The population is unequally distributed: about 60% live in the Pampas region (21% of the total area), including 15 million people in Buenos Aires province. The provinces of Córdoba and Santa Fe, and the city of Buenos Aires have 3 million each. Seven other provinces have over one million people each: Mendoza, Tucumán, Entre Ríos, Salta, Chaco, Corrientes and Misiones. With 64.3 inhabitants per square kilometre (167/sq mi), Tucumán is the only Argentine province more densely populated than the world average; by contrast, the southern province of Santa Cruz has around 1.1/km2 (2.8/sq mi).[334]

 vte

Largest cities or towns in Argentina

(2021 INDEC metro area estimate)[335]

Rank Name Province Municipal pop. Rank Name Province Pop.

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Córdoba

Córdoba 1 Buenos Aires (Autonomous city) 3,003,000 11 Resistencia Chaco 418,000 Rosario

Rosario

Mendoza

Mendoza

2 Córdoba Córdoba 1,577,000 12 Santiago del Estero Santiago del Estero 407,000

3 Rosario Santa Fe 1,333,000 13 Corrientes Corrientes 384,000

4 Mendoza Mendoza 1,036,000 14 Posadas Misiones 378,000

5 San Miguel de Tucumán Tucumán 909,000 15 San Salvador de Jujuy Jujuy 351,000

6 La Plata Buenos Aires 909,000 16 Bahía Blanca Buenos Aires 317,000

7 Mar del Plata Buenos Aires 651,000 17 Neuquén Neuquén 313,000

8 Salta Salta 647,000 18 Paraná Entre Ríos 283,000

9 San Juan San Juan 542,000 19 Formosa Formosa 256,000

10 Santa Fe Santa Fe 540,000 20 Comodoro Rivadavia Chubut 243,000

Culture

Main article: Culture of Argentina

See also: List of Argentines

Sun of May on the first Argentine coin, 1813

Argentina is a multicultural country with significant European influences. Modern Argentine culture has been largely influenced by Italian, Spanish and other European immigration from France, Russia, United Kingdom, among others. Its cities are largely characterized by both the prevalence of people of European descent, and of conscious imitation of American and European styles in fashion, architecture and design.[336] Museums, cinemas, and galleries are abundant in all the large urban centres, as well as traditional establishments such as literary bars, or bars offering live music of a variety of genres although there are lesser elements of Amerindian and African influences, particularly in the fields of music and art.[337] The other big influence is the gauchos and their traditional country lifestyle of self-reliance.[338] Finally, indigenous American traditions have been absorbed into the general cultural milieu. Argentine writer Ernesto Sabato has reflected on the nature of the culture of Argentina as follows:

With the primitive Hispanic American reality fractured in La Plata Basin due to immigration, its inhabitants have come to be somewhat dual with all the dangers but also with all the advantages of that condition: because of our European roots, we deeply link the nation with the enduring values of the Old World; because of our condition of Americans we link ourselves to the rest of the continent, through the folklore of the interior and the old Castilian that unifies us, feeling somehow the vocation of the Patria Grande San Martín and Bolívar once imagined.

— Ernesto Sabato, La cultura en la encrucijada nacional (1976)[339]

Literature

Main article: Argentine literature

Mosaic image showing the four photographs

Four of the most influential Argentine writers. Top-left to bottom-right: Julio Cortázar, Victoria Ocampo, Jorge Luis Borges, and Adolfo Bioy Casares.

Although Argentina's rich literary history began around 1550,[340] it reached full independence with Esteban Echeverría's El Matadero, a romantic landmark that played a significant role in the development of 19th century's Argentine narrative,[341] split by the ideological divide between the popular, federalist epic of José Hernández' Martín Fierro and the elitist and cultured discourse of Sarmiento's masterpiece, Facundo.[342]

The Modernist movement advanced into the 20th century including exponents such as Leopoldo Lugones and poet Alfonsina Storni;[343] it was followed by Vanguardism, with Ricardo Güiraldes's Don Segundo Sombra as an important reference.[344]

Jorge Luis Borges, Argentina's most acclaimed writer and one of the foremost figures in the history of literature,[345] found new ways of looking at the modern world in metaphor and philosophical debate and his influence has extended to authors all over the globe. Short stories such as Ficciones and The Aleph are among his most famous works. He was a friend and collaborator of Adolfo Bioy Casares, who wrote one of the most praised science fiction novels, The Invention of Morel.[346] Julio Cortázar, one of the leading members of the Latin American Boom and a major name in 20th century literature,[347] influenced an entire generation of writers in the Americas and Europe.[348]

A remarkable episode in Argentine literary history is the social and literarial dialectica between the so-called Florida Group, named this way because its members used to meet together at the Richmond Cafeteria at Florida street and published in the Martin Fierro magazine, like Jorge Luis Borges, Leopoldo Marechal, Antonio Berni (artist), among others; versus the Boedo Group of Roberto Arlt, Cesar Tiempo, Homero Manzi (tango composer), that used to meet at the Japanese Cafe and published their works with the Editorial Claridad, with both the cafe and the publisher located at Boedo Avenue.

Other highly regarded Argentine writers, poets and essayists include Estanislao del Campo, Eugenio Cambaceres, Pedro Bonifacio Palacios, Hugo Wast, Benito Lynch, Enrique Banchs, Oliverio Girondo, Ezequiel Martínez Estrada, Victoria Ocampo, Leopoldo Marechal, Silvina Ocampo, Roberto Arlt, Eduardo Mallea, Manuel Mujica Láinez, Ernesto Sábato, Silvina Bullrich, Rodolfo Walsh, María Elena Walsh, Tomás Eloy Martínez, Manuel Puig, Alejandra Pizarnik, and Osvaldo Soriano.[349]

Music

Main article: Music of Argentina

Photograph of Mercedes Sosa by Annemarie Heinrich

Tango, a Rioplatense musical genre with European and African influences,[350] is one of Argentina's international cultural symbols.[351] The golden age of tango (1930 to mid-1950s) mirrored that of jazz and swing in the United States, featuring large orchestras like those of Osvaldo Pugliese, Aníbal Troilo, Francisco Canaro, Julio de Caro and Juan d'Arienzo.[352] After 1955, virtuoso Astor Piazzolla popularized Nuevo tango, a subtler and more intellectual trend for the genre.[352] Tango enjoys worldwide popularity nowadays with groups like Gotan Project, Bajofondo and Tanghetto.

Argentina developed strong classical music and dance scenes that gave rise to renowned artists such as Alberto Ginastera, composer; Alberto Lysy, violinist; Martha Argerich and Eduardo Delgado, pianists; Daniel Barenboim, pianist and symphonic orchestra director; José Cura and Marcelo Álvarez, tenors; and to ballet dancers Jorge Donn, José Neglia, Norma Fontenla, Maximiliano Guerra, Paloma Herrera, Marianela Núñez, Iñaki Urlezaga and Julio Bocca.[352]

A national Argentine folk style emerged in the 1930s from dozens of regional musical genres and went on to influence the entirety of Latin American music. Some of its interpreters, like Atahualpa Yupanqui and Mercedes Sosa, achieved worldwide acclaim. The romantic ballad genre included singers of international fame such as Sandro de América. Tenor saxophonist Leandro "Gato" Barbieri and composer and big band conductor Lalo Schifrin are among the most internationally successful Argentine jazz musicians.

Argentine rock developed as a distinct musical style in the mid-1960s, when Buenos Aires and Rosario became cradles of aspiring musicians. Founding bands like Los Gatos, Sui Generis, Almendra and Manal were followed by Seru Giran, Los Abuelos de la Nada, Soda Stereo and Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota, with prominent artists including Gustavo Cerati, Litto Nebbia, Andrés Calamaro, Luis Alberto Spinetta, Charly García, Fito Páez and León Gieco.[352]

A dance and a musical genre popular at present is Cachengue, a subgenre of Argentine cumbia and reggaeton spreading in popularity in nearby countries such as Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, and Bolivia.[353]

Theatre and cinema

Main articles: Theatre in Argentina and Cinema of Argentina

Andy Muschietti, director of It, the highest-grossing horror film of all-time[354][355]

Buenos Aires is one of the great theatre capitals of the world,[356] with a scene of international caliber centered on Corrientes Avenue, "the street that never sleeps", sometimes referred to as an intellectual Broadway in Buenos Aires.[357] Teatro Colón is a global landmark for opera and classical performances; its acoustics are considered among the world's top five.[358][T]

The Argentine film industry has historically been one of the three most developed in Latin American cinema, along with those produced in Mexico and Brazil.[359][360] Started in 1896; by the early 1930s it had already become Latin America's leading film producer, a place it kept until the early 1950s.[361] The world's first animated feature films were made and released in Argentina, by cartoonist Quirino Cristiani, in 1917 and 1918.[362]

Argentine films have achieved worldwide recognition: the country has won two Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, for The Official Story (1985) and The Secret in Their Eyes (2009). In addition, Argentine composers Luis Enrique Bacalov and Gustavo Santaolalla have been honored with Academy Awards for Best Original Score, and Armando Bó and Nicolás Giacobone shared in the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for 2014. Also, the Argentine French actress Bérénice Bejo received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2011 and won the César Award for Best Actress and won the Best Actress award in the Cannes Film Festival for her role in the film The Past.[363] Argentina also has won seventeen Goya Awards for Best Spanish Language Foreign Film, being by far the most awarded country in Latin America with twenty-four nominations. Many other Argentine films also have been acclaimed by international critique. In 2013 about 100 full-length motion pictures were being created annually.[364]

Visual arts and architecture

See also: Argentine painting and Architecture of Argentina

Las Nereidas Font by Lola Mora

Some of the best-known Argentine painters are Cándido López and Florencio Molina Campos (Naïve style); Ernesto de la Cárcova and Eduardo Sívori (Realism); Fernando Fader (Impressionism); Pío Collivadino, Atilio Malinverno and Cesáreo Bernaldo de Quirós (Postimpressionism); Emilio Pettoruti (Cubism); Julio Barragán (Concretism and Cubism) Antonio Berni (Neofigurativism); Roberto Aizenberg and Xul Solar (Surrealism); Gyula Košice (Constructivism); Eduardo Mac Entyre (Generative art); Luis Seoane, Carlos Torrallardona, Luis Aquino, Alfredo Gramajo Gutiérrez (Modernism); Lucio Fontana (Spatialism); Tomás Maldonado, Guillermo Kuitca (Abstract art); León Ferrari, Marta Minujín (Conceptual art); Gustavo Cabral (Fantasy art), and Fabián Pérez (Neoemotionalism).[vague]

In 1946 Gyula Košice and others created The Madí Movement in Argentina, which then spread to Europe and the United States, where it had a significant impact.[365] Tomás Maldonado was one of the main theorists of the Ulm Model of design education, still highly influential globally. Other Argentine artists of worldwide fame include Adolfo Bellocq, whose lithographs have been influential since the 1920s, and Benito Quinquela Martín, the quintessential port painter, inspired by the immigrant-bound La Boca neighbourhood. Internationally laureate sculptors Erminio Blotta, Lola Mora and Rogelio Yrurtia authored many of the classical evocative monuments of the Argentine cityscape.[citation needed]

The colonization brought the Spanish Baroque architecture, which can still be appreciated in its simpler Rioplatense style in the reduction of San Ignacio Miní, the Cathedral of Córdoba, and the Cabildo of Luján. Italian and French influences increased at the beginning of the 19th century with strong eclectic overtones that gave the local architecture a unique feeling.[366]

Mass media

Main article: Communications in Argentina

Headquarters of the Channel 7, the first television station in the country

The print media industry is highly developed in Argentina, with more than two hundred newspapers. The major national ones include Clarín (centrist, Latin America's best-seller and the second most widely circulated in the Spanish-speaking world), La Nación (centre-right, published since 1870), Página/12 (leftist, founded in 1987), La Voz del Interior (centre, founded in 1904),[367] and the Argentinisches Tageblatt (German weekly, liberal, published since 1878).[368]

Argentina began the world's first regular radio broadcasting on 27 August 1920, when Richard Wagner's Parsifal was aired by a team of medical students led by Enrique Telémaco Susini in Buenos Aires' Teatro Coliseo.[369] By 2002 there were 260 AM and 1150 FM registered radio stations in the country.[370]

The Argentine television industry is large, diverse and popular across Latin America, with many productions and TV formats having been exported abroad. Since 1999 Argentines enjoy the highest availability of cable and satellite television in Latin America,[371] as of 2014 totaling 87.4% of the country's households, a rate similar to those in the United States, Canada and Europe.[372]

By 2011 Argentina also had the highest coverage of networked telecommunications among Latin American powers: about 67% of its population had internet access and the ratio of mobile phone subscriptions to population was 137.2%.[373][better source needed]

Cuisine

Main article: Argentine cuisine

Table with a cut of Argentine beef, wine, sauces and spices

Argentine beef as asado

Besides many of the pasta, sausage and dessert dishes common to continental Europe, Argentines enjoy a wide variety of Indigenous and Criollo creations, including empanadas (a small stuffed pastry), locro (a mixture of corn, beans, meat, bacon, onion, and gourd), humita and mate.[374] In various localities of Argentina, this dish is consumed as a beefmelt.

The country has the highest consumption of red meat in the world,[375] traditionally prepared as asado, the Argentine barbecue. It is made with various types of meats, often including chorizo, sweetbread, chitterlings, and blood sausage.[376]

Common desserts include facturas (Viennese-style pastry), cakes and pancakes filled with dulce de leche (a sort of milk caramel jam), alfajores (shortbread cookies sandwiched together with chocolate, dulce de leche or a fruit paste), and tortas fritas (fried cakes)[377]

Argentine wine, one of the world's finest,[378] is an integral part of the local menu. Malbec, Torrontés, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Chardonnay are some of the most sought-after varieties.[379]

Sport

Main article: Sport in Argentina

Footballer Lionel Messi, eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, is the current captain of the Argentina national football team.

Pato is the national sport,[380] an ancient horseback game locally originated in the early 1600s and predecessor of horseball.[381][382]

The most popular sport is football. Along with Brazil and France, the men's national team is the only one to have won the most important international triplet: World Cup, Confederations Cup, and the Olympic Gold Medal. It has also won 15 Copas América, 7 Pan American Gold Medals and many other trophies.[383] Alfredo Di Stéfano, Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi are among the best players in the game's history.[384]

The country's women's field hockey team Las Leonas, is one of the world's most successful with four Olympic medals, two World Cups, a World League and seven Champions Trophy.[385] Luciana Aymar is recognized as the best female player in the history of the sport,[386] being the only player to have received the FIH Player of the Year Award eight times.[387]

Basketball is a very popular sport. The men's national team is the only one in the FIBA Americas zone that has won the quintuplet crown: World Championship, Olympic Gold Medal, Diamond Ball, Americas Championship, and Pan American Gold Medal. It has also conquered 13 South American Championships, and many other tournaments.[388] Emanuel Ginóbili, Luis Scola, Andrés Nocioni, Fabricio Oberto, Pablo Prigioni, Carlos Delfino and Juan Ignacio Sánchez are a few of the country's most acclaimed players, all of them part of the NBA.[385] Argentina hosted the Basketball World Cup in 1950 and 1990.

Rugby is another popular sport in Argentina. As of 2017, the men's national team, known as 'Los Pumas' has competed at the Rugby World Cup each time it has been held, achieving their highest-ever result in 2007 when they came third. Since 2012, the Los Pumas have competed against Australia, New Zealand & South Africa in The Rugby Championship, the premier international Rugby competition in the Southern Hemisphere. Since 2009 the secondary men's national team known as the 'Jaguares' has competed against the US, Canada, and Uruguay first teams in the Americas Rugby Championship, which Los Jaguares have won six out of eight times it has taken place.

Argentine Polo Open Championship

Argentina has produced some of the most formidable champions for boxing, including Carlos Monzón, the best middleweight in history;[389] Pascual Pérez, one of the most decorated flyweight boxers of all times; Horacio Accavallo, the former WBA and WBC world flyweight champion; Víctor Galíndez, as of 2009, record holder for consecutive world light heavyweight title defenses and Nicolino Locche, nicknamed "The Untouchable" for his masterful defense; they are all inductees into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.[390]

Tennis has been quite popular among people of all ages. Guillermo Vilas is the greatest Latin American player of the Open Era,[391] while Gabriela Sabatini is the most accomplished Argentine female player of all time—having reached number 3 in the WTA ranking,[392] are both inductees into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.[393] Argentina has won the World Team Cup four times, in 1980, 2002, 2007 and 2010 and has reached the semifinals of the Davis Cup 7 times in the last 10 years, losing the finals against Russia in 2006 and Spain in 2008 and 2011; the Argentine team also played the final in 1981, where they lost against the United States. The national squad won the 2016 Davis Cup.

Argentina reigns undisputed in polo, having won more international championships than any other country and been seldom beaten since the 1930s.[394] The Argentine Polo Championship is the sport's most important international team trophy. The country is home to most of the world's top players, among them Adolfo Cambiaso, the best in Polo history.[395]

Historically, Argentina has had a strong showing within auto racing. Juan Manuel Fangio was a five-time Formula One world champion under four different teams, winning 102 of his 184 international races, and is widely ranked as the greatest driver of all time.[396] Other distinguished racers were Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Juan Gálvez, José Froilán González and Carlos Reutemann.[397]

he Argentina national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Argentina) represents Argentina in men's international football and is administered by the Argentine Football Association, the governing body for football in Argentina.

Nicknamed La Albiceleste ('The White and Sky Blue'), they are the reigning world champions, having won the most recent World Cup in 2022, earning their third star shown by the team's crest. Overall, Argentina has appeared in a World Cup final six times, a record equaled by Italy and surpassed only by Brazil and Germany. Argentina played in the first ever final in 1930, which they lost 4–2 to Uruguay. The following final appearance came 48 years later, in 1978, when the team captained by Daniel Passarella defeated the Netherlands 3–1 in extra time, becoming world champions for the first time. Captained by Diego Maradona, Argentina won their second World Cup eight years later, in 1986, with a 3–2 final victory over West Germany. They reached the final once more under the guidance of Maradona, in 1990, but were ultimately beaten 1–0 by West Germany. A few decades later, Argentina, led by Lionel Messi made their fifth final appearance in 2014, losing to Germany 1–0 after extra time. In 2022, again captained by Messi, they were crowned world champions for the third time, the fourth-most of any country, beating France 4–2 on penalties, following a 3–3 draw after extra time.

The team's World Cup–winning managers are César Luis Menotti in 1978, Carlos Bilardo in 1986 and Lionel Scaloni in 2022. Since the Golden Ball for the tournament's best player was officially awarded by FIFA in 1982, Argentina players have won it three times: Maradona in 1986 and Messi in 2014 and 2022. Argentines Guillermo Stábile in 1930 and Mario Kempes in 1978 were the top-scoring players at their respective World Cups.

Argentina has also been very successful in the Copa América, winning it 15 times, a record shared with Uruguay, most recently winning the 2021 edition. The team won the inaugural FIFA Confederations Cup in 1992. Argentina is the most successful team in the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions, having won it twice, in 1993 and 2022. Argentina is known for having rivalries with Brazil, Uruguay, England, Germany and the Netherlands.[10][11] As of 2024, Argentina holds the record for most official titles won by a men's national team with 22. Individually for Argentina, Lionel Messi is the all-time most-capped player with 180 games and the highest goalscorer with 106 goals. As of April 2024, Argentina ranks 1st in the FIFA Men's World Ranking.[12]

History

Main article: History of the Argentina national football team

Further information: Football in Argentina

The first ever match Argentina played was against Uruguay on 20 June 1902.[note 1] The game, which was the first international for both sides, was held in Montevideo, and Argentina won 6–0.[3][6] During the first years of its existence, Argentina only played friendly matches against other South American teams. The reasons for this varied, including long travel times between countries and the interruption due to World War I.[14]

La Albiceleste has appeared in World Cup finals six times, including the first ever final on 30 July 1930, which they lost 4–2 to Uruguay. Argentina won their next final on 25 June 1978, beating the Netherlands 3–1. Eight years later, in 1986, Argentina led by Diego Maradona won their second title with a 3–2 victory over West Germany. Under the guidance of Maradona, they reached the final again, in 1990, but ultimately lost 1–0 to West Germany, by a much-disputed penalty. Led by Lionel Messi, Argentina reached the final in 2014, where they were beaten 1–0 by Germany in extra time. In 2022, again under the captaincy of Messi, Argentina won their third World Cup, beating France 4–2 on penalties, following a 3–3 draw after extra time.[15] The team's World Cup–winning managers are César Luis Menotti in 1978, Carlos Bilardo in 1986 and Lionel Scaloni in 2022.

Argentina has also been very successful in the South American Football Championship, the Copa América, winning it 15 times, a record it shares with Uruguay; they were crowned champions most recently in 2021. The team also won the inaugural FIFA Confederations Cup in 1992 and the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions in 1993 and 2022.

In March 2007, Argentina reached the top of the FIFA Men's World Ranking for the first time.[16]

Home stadium

Estadio Monumental, a frequent venue for Argentina

Argentina plays most of its home matches at River Plate's stadium, Estadio Monumental, in Buenos Aires,[17][18] although the team also uses various other venues frequently, such as Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades[19][20] and Boca Juniors' stadium, La Bombonera.[20] Those venues, along with Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes and Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario,[21] were used for the 2022 World Cup qualification.[22] Additionally, Argentina played some matches at Rosario Central's stadium, Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, during their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign.[23][24][25]

GEBA Stadium was the first stadium Argentina used for its home matches; that includes the Copa Newton match against Uruguay held on 13 September 1908,[26] which has a historic significance for being the first time Argentina wore the light blue and white-striped jersey in an official game, which has since then been the defining uniform up to the present day.[27] GEBA was also used for the Copa Centenario Revolución de Mayo, the first competition held between South American national teams, considered the predecessor of Copa América, organised by the Argentine Football Association (AFA) in 1910. Most recently, Argentina played at GEBA on 19 October 1919, winning the Copa Premier Honor Argentino after a 6–1 victory over Uruguay.[28]

Furthermore, Estadio Sportivo Barracas is also considered a memorable venue for Argentina; the stadium was commonly used by Argentina from 1920 to 1932. Playing at the stadium for La Albiceleste on 2 October 1924, forward Cesáreo Onzari scored directly from a corner kick, the first such incident in football, when Argentina beat Uruguay 2–1; such goals are now often referred as Olympic goals due to the fact that Uruguay had just won the 1924 Olympic title.[29][30][31] Sportivo Barracas was later demolished after 1936.[32]

Team image

Kit

The classic light blue and white-striped jersey first worn on 2 July 1908 in a friendly match at São Paulo.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Argentina national football team kits.

The first kit ever worn by Argentina, in their official debut against Uruguay in 1902, included a light blue shirt.[33][34] On 2 July 1908, Argentina debuted a shirt with light blue vertical stripes on a white jersey, which they used when they played a side formed of Campeonato Paulista players at Velódromo Paulistano;[35] they used the jersey in an official game against Uruguay on 13 September 1908, and the striped jersey has remained as the definitive kit for Argentina ever since then.[27] The team's away kits have been in dark blue shades, with the colours of shorts and socks varying from time to time.[36]

Argentina has also sported other kits; on 3 June 1919 in Rio de Janeiro, playing against Brazil, Argentina wore a light blue kit, similar to that of Uruguay, out of respect for Roberto Chery, a substitute goalkeeper for Uruguay, who had collapsed and died during a match against Chile at the 1919 South American Championship;[37][38] the game between Argentina and Brazil was organised by the Brazilian Football Confederation for the benefit of Chery's relatives. At the 1958 World Cup, Argentina wore the yellow jersey of Swedish club IFK Malmö against West Germany, as the team had arrived in Sweden without an away kit.

Blue has always been the usual away color. In the image, Diego Maradona celebrating his goal of the century v England in 1986.

At the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, the then manager, Carlos Bilardo, asked the team's kit supplier, Le Coq Sportif, for lighter blue shirts for their quarter-final against England in three days, but they could not be provided. Then, a member of the coaching staff scoured the shops of Mexico City for 38 plain shirts, which were transformed with an improvised version of the AFA emblem embroidered on the shirts[39] and silvery American football numbers ironed to the backs.[40]

Sporting the makeshift jerseys, Argentina beat England on 22 June, with Diego Maradona scoring his famous "Hand of God goal".[41][42] Afterwards, the shirt became a symbol of the occasion and an important collector's item.[43]

At the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Argentina debuted a black away kit;[44] and at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, they wore a purple away kit in a competitive game for the first time.[45][46]

Kit suppliers

Some of Argentina's historic jerseys exhibited in 2022

Kit supplier Period Ref.

United Kingdom St. Margaret 1901–1924 [47]

Argentina Gath & Chaves 1925–1934 [47][48]

(no data for the 1935–1957 period)

Argentina Industria Lanús 1958–1963 [49][47]

Argentina Noceto Sports 1964–1965 [50][51][47]

Argentina Sportlandia 1966 [52][47]

Argentina Industria Lanús 1967–1974 [52][47]

Germany Adidas 1974–1979 [48][53]

France Le Coq Sportif 1980–1989 [48][54]

Germany Adidas 1990–1998 [53][55]

United States Reebok 1999–2001 [56]

Germany Adidas 2001–present [53]

Crest

The AFA emblem that was added to playing kits in 1976

Argentina has used the logo of the Argentine Football Association as its emblem since it was first worn at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden; the logo was added to the team's jackets, but not the shirts.[39] The emblem was not used on jerseys until 16 November 1976, when Argentina played the Soviet Union at Estadio Monumental. At the beginning, the crest used did not include a laurel wreath,[57] which was first added for the 1982 World Cup.[39]

As a respected and common practice,[58] two stars were added above the crest in 2004, symbolising Argentina's World Cup titles in 1978 and 1986.[57] In 2022, a third star was added after Argentina were crowned world champions for the third time.[59]

Results and fixtures

Main article: Argentina national football team results (2020–present)

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

15 JuneFriendly Argentina 2–0 Australia Beijing, China

19 JuneFriendly Indonesia 0–2 Argentina Jakarta, Indonesia

7 September2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Argentina 1–0 Ecuador Buenos Aires, Argentina

12 September2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Bolivia 0–3 Argentina La Paz, Bolivia

12 October2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Argentina 1–0 Paraguay Buenos Aires, Argentina

17 October2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Peru 0–2 Argentina Lima, Peru

16 November2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Argentina 0–2 Uruguay Buenos Aires, Argentina

21 November2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Brazil 0–1 Argentina Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

2024

22 MarchFriendly Argentina 3–0 El Salvador Philadelphia, United States

26 MarchFriendly Argentina 3–1 Costa Rica Los Angeles, United States

9 JuneFriendly Argentina v Ecuador Chicago, United States

14 JuneFriendly Guatemala v Argentina Landover, United States

20 June2024 Copa América Argentina v Canada Atlanta, United States

25 June2024 Copa América Chile v Argentina East Rutherford, United States

29 June2024 Copa América Argentina v Peru Miami Gardens, United States

5 September2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Argentina v Chile Argentina

10 September2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Colombia v Argentina Barranquilla, Colombia

10 October2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Venezuela v Argentina Venezuela

15 October2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Argentina v Bolivia Argentina

14 November2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Paraguay v Argentina Asunción, Paraguay

19 November2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Argentina v Peru Argentina

Coaching staff

Position Name

Manager Argentina Lionel Scaloni

Assistant manager Argentina Pablo Aimar

Argentina Roberto Ayala

Assistant coach Argentina Walter Samuel

Assistant coach (analyst) Argentina Matías Manna

Goalkeeping coach Argentina Martín Tocalli

Fitness coach Argentina Luis Martín

Manager history

Main article: List of Argentina national football team managers

Sources:[62][63][64][65]

Argentina Pedro Calomino (1921)[note 2]

Argentina Ángel Vázquez (1924–1925)

Spain José Lago Millán (1927–1928)

Argentina Francisco Olazar (1929)

Argentina Francisco Olazar & Argentina Juan J. Tramutola (1929–1930)

Italy Felipe Pascucci (1934)

Argentina Manuel Seoane (1935–1937)

Argentina Ángel Fernández Roca (1937–1939)

Argentina Guillermo Stábile (1939–1958)

Argentina José Manuel Moreno (1959)

Argentina Guillermo Stábile (1960)

Argentina Victorio Spinetto (1960–1961)

Argentina José D'Amico (1962)

Argentina Juan Carlos Lorenzo (1962)

Argentina Néstor Rossi (1962)

Argentina Jim López (1962)

Argentina Horacio A. Torres (1963–1964)

Argentina José D'Amico (1964)

Argentina José María Minella (1964–1965)

Argentina Osvaldo Zubeldía (1965)

Argentina Juan Carlos Lorenzo (1966)

Argentina Jim López (1967)

Argentina Carmelo Faraone (1967)

Argentina Renato Cesarini (1967–1968)

Argentina José María Minella (1968)

Argentina Humberto Maschio (1968–1969)

Argentina Adolfo Pedernera (1969)

Argentina Juan José Pizzuti (1970–1972)

Argentina Omar Sívori (1972–1973)

Argentina Vladislao Cap (1974)

Argentina César Menotti (1974–1982)

Argentina Carlos Bilardo (1983–1990)

Argentina Alfio Basile (1990–1994)

Argentina Daniel Passarella (1994–1998)

Argentina Marcelo Bielsa (1998–2004)

Argentina José Pékerman (2004–2006)

Argentina Alfio Basile (2006–2008)

Argentina Diego Maradona (2008–2010)

Argentina Sergio Batista (2010–2011)

Argentina Alejandro Sabella (2011–2014)

Argentina Gerardo Martino (2014–2016)

Argentina Edgardo Bauza (2016–2017)

Argentina Jorge Sampaoli (2017–2018)

Argentina Lionel Scaloni (2018–present)

Players

See also: List of Argentina international footballers

Current squad

The following 29 players were named in the squad for friendlies against Ecuador and Guatemala on 9 and 14 June 2024, respectively.[67]

Caps and goals are correct as of 26 March 2024, after the match against Costa Rica.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club

1 GK Franco Armani 16 October 1986 (age 37) 19 0 Argentina River Plate

12 GK Gerónimo Rulli 20 May 1992 (age 32) 4 0 Netherlands Ajax

23 GK Emiliano Martínez 2 September 1992 (age 31) 37 0 England Aston Villa

2 DF Lucas Martínez Quarta 10 May 1996 (age 28) 12 0 Italy Fiorentina

3 DF Nicolás Tagliafico 31 August 1992 (age 31) 57 1 France Lyon

4 DF Gonzalo Montiel 1 January 1997 (age 27) 24 1 England Nottingham Forest

6 DF Germán Pezzella 27 June 1991 (age 32) 40 3 Spain Real Betis

8 DF Marcos Acuña 28 October 1991 (age 32) 56 0 Spain Sevilla

13 DF Cristian Romero 27 April 1998 (age 26) 30 3 England Tottenham Hotspur

19 DF Nicolás Otamendi 12 February 1988 (age 36) 111 6 Portugal Benfica

25 DF Lisandro Martínez 18 January 1998 (age 26) 16 0 England Manchester United

26 DF Nahuel Molina 6 April 1998 (age 26) 37 1 Spain Atlético Madrid

DF Leonardo Balerdi 26 January 1999 (age 25) 2 0 France Marseille

DF Valentín Barco 23 July 2004 (age 19) 1 0 England Brighton & Hove Albion

5 MF Leandro Paredes 29 June 1994 (age 29) 60 5 Italy Roma

7 MF Rodrigo De Paul 24 May 1994 (age 30) 62 2 Spain Atlético Madrid

14 MF Exequiel Palacios 5 October 1998 (age 25) 28 0 Germany Bayer Leverkusen

16 MF Giovani Lo Celso 9 April 1996 (age 28) 50 3 England Tottenham Hotspur

18 MF Guido Rodríguez 12 April 1994 (age 30) 29 1 Spain Real Betis

20 MF Alexis Mac Allister 24 December 1998 (age 25) 25 2 England Liverpool

24 MF Enzo Fernández 17 January 2001 (age 23) 21 4 England Chelsea

MF Valentín Carboni 5 March 2005 (age 19) 1 0 Italy Monza

9 FW Julián Álvarez 31 January 2000 (age 24) 29 7 England Manchester City

10 FW Lionel Messi (captain) 24 June 1987 (age 36) 180 106 United States Inter Miami

11 FW Ángel Di María (vice-captain) 14 February 1988 (age 36) 138 30 Portugal Benfica

15 FW Nicolás González 6 April 1998 (age 26) 32 5 Italy Fiorentina

17 FW Alejandro Garnacho 1 July 2004 (age 19) 5 0 England Manchester United

21 FW Ángel Correa 9 March 1995 (age 29) 24 3 Spain Atlético Madrid

22 FW Lautaro Martínez 22 August 1997 (age 26) 56 22 Italy Inter Milan

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up for the team in the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up

GK Walter Benítez 19 January 1993 (age 31) 1 0 Netherlands PSV Eindhoven v.  Costa Rica, 26 March 2024

GK Juan Musso 6 May 1994 (age 30) 2 0 Italy Atalanta v.  Brazil, 21 November 2023

DF Nehuén Pérez 24 June 2000 (age 23) 2 0 Italy Udinese v.  Costa Rica, 26 March 2024

DF Nicolás Valentini 6 April 2001 (age 23) 0 0 Argentina Boca Juniors v.  Costa Rica, 26 March 2024

DF Marcos Senesi 10 May 1997 (age 27) 1 0 England Bournemouth v.  El Salvador, 22 March 2024 INJ

DF Pablo Maffeo 12 July 1997 (age 26) 0 0 Spain Mallorca v.  Brazil, 21 November 2023

DF Francisco Ortega 19 March 1999 (age 25) 0 0 Greece Olympiacos v.  Brazil, 21 November 2023

DF Facundo Medina 28 May 1999 (age 25) 3 0 France Lens v.  Peru, 17 October 2023

DF Juan Foyth 12 January 1998 (age 26) 18 0 Spain Villarreal v.  Paraguay, 12 October 2023 INJ

DF Marco Pellegrino 18 July 2002 (age 21) 0 0 Italy Milan v.  Paraguay, 12 October 2023 at U23

DF Lucas Esquivel 14 October 2001 (age 22) 0 0 Brazil Athletico Paranaense v.  Paraguay, 12 October 2023 at U23

MF Facundo Buonanotte 23 December 2004 (age 19) 2 0 England Brighton & Hove Albion v.  Costa Rica, 26 March 2024

MF Thiago Almada 26 April 2001 (age 23) 4 1 United States Atlanta United v.  Paraguay, 12 October 2023 at U23

MF Carlos Alcaraz 30 November 2002 (age 21) 0 0 Italy Juventus v.  Paraguay, 12 October 2023 at U23

MF Facundo Farías 28 August 2002 (age 21) 0 0 United States Inter Miami v.  Paraguay, 12 October 2023 at U23

MF Bruno Zapelli 17 May 2002 (age 22) 0 0 Brazil Athletico Paranaense v.  Paraguay, 12 October 2023 at U23

FW Paulo Dybala 15 November 1993 (age 30) 38 3 Italy Roma v.  El Salvador, 22 March 2024 INJ

FW Lucas Ocampos 11 July 1994 (age 29) 12 2 Spain Sevilla v.  Brazil, 21 November 2023

FW Lucas Beltrán 29 March 2001 (age 23) 0 0 Italy Fiorentina v.  Peru, 17 October 2023

FW Alan Velasco 27 July 2002 (age 21) 0 0 United States FC Dallas v.  Ecuador, 7 September 2023 at U23

FW Giovanni Simeone 5 July 1995 (age 28) 6 1 Italy Napoli v.  Indonesia, 19 June 2023

COV Withdrew from the squad due to quarantine or infection by COVID-19

INJ Withdrew due to injury

PRE Preliminary squad

RET Retired from the national team

SUS Suspended

U23 Selected at the Argentina national under-23 football team

Individual records and achievements

Main article: Argentina national football team records and statistics

As of 22 March 2024[68]

Players in bold are still active with Argentina.

Most-capped players

Lionel Messi is Argentina's most-capped player ever and also its all-time top scorer.

Rank Player Caps Goals Career

1 Lionel Messi 180 106 2005–present

2 Javier Mascherano 147 3 2003–2018

3 Javier Zanetti 145 5 1994–2011

4 Ángel Di María 138 30 2008–present

5 Roberto Ayala 115 7 1994–2007

6 Nicolás Otamendi 111 6 2009–present

7 Diego Simeone 104 11 1988–2002

8 Sergio Agüero 101 41 2006–2021

9 Oscar Ruggeri 97 7 1983–1994

10 Sergio Romero 96 0 2009–2018

Top goalscorers

Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career

1 Lionel Messi (list) 106 180 0.59 2005–present

2 Gabriel Batistuta (list) 56 78 0.72 1991–2002

3 Sergio Agüero 41 101 0.41 2006–2021

4 Hernán Crespo 35 64 0.55 1995–2007

5 Diego Maradona (list) 34 91 0.37 1977–1994

6 Gonzalo Higuaín 31 75 0.41 2009–2018

7 Ángel Di María 30 138 0.21 2008–present

8 Luis Artime 24 25 0.96 1961–1967

9 Leopoldo Luque 22 45 0.49 1975–1981

Lautaro Martínez 22 56 0.39 2018–present

Daniel Passarella 22 70 0.31 1976–1986

World Cup-winning captains

World Cup winning captains of Argentina

Daniel Passarella in 1978

Diego Maradona in 1986

Lionel Messi in 2022

Year Player Caps Goals

1978 Daniel Passarella 70 22

1986 Diego Maradona 91 34

2022 Lionel Messi 180 106

Caps

Most capped player overall: 180, Lionel Messi, 2005 – present

Most FIFA World Cups played: 5, Lionel Messi[69]

Most FIFA World Cup appearances made: 26, Lionel Messi

Most FIFA World Cup matches played as captain: 19, Lionel Messi

Most Copa America appearances made: 34, Lionel Messi

Youngest player: Diego Maradona, 16 years, 120 days old against Hungary on 27 February 1977

Youngest player to appear in a FIFA World Cup match: Lionel Messi, 18 years, 357 days old against Serbia and Montenegro on 16 June 2006[70]

Oldest player: Ángel Labruna, 39 years, 260 days old against Czechoslovakia at the 1958 FIFA World Cup on 15 June

Goals

Most goals scored: 106, Lionel Messi, 2005–[71]

Youngest goalscorer: Diego Maradona, 18 years, 7 months and 4 days old in 1979 against Scotland[72]

Youngest player to score in a FIFA World Cup match: Lionel Messi, 18 years and 358 days, against Serbia and Montenegro in 2006[73]

Oldest goalscorer: Martín Palermo, 36 years and 7 months old in 2010 against Greece[74]

Most goals scored in a single match: 5 – Manuel Seoane in 1925, Juan Marvezzi in 1941,[citation needed] Lionel Messi in 2022[75]

Most goals scored in a calendar year: 18 – Lionel Messi in 2022[76]

Most goals scored at FIFA World Cup matches : 13 – Lionel Messi[77]

Most goals scored at CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup Qualification matches: 31 – Lionel Messi[78]

Most assists provided in all international competitions, including friendlies: 56 – Lionel Messi

Most direct free kick goals at CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup Qualification matches: 4 – Juan Roman Riquelme and Lionel Messi[78]

Manager records

Most games coached: 127, Guillermo Stábile.[79] During his tenure, he won the South American Championship six times with Argentina, in 1941, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1955 and 1957.[80]

World Cup awards and achievements

World Cup Golden Ball

The World Cup Golden Ball has been given by FIFA to the best player at the World Cup since 1982; Argentina players have won it thrice; Maradona in 1986 and Messi in 2014 and 2022.[81]

World Cup top goalscorer

Guillermo Stábile in 1930 and Mario Kempes in 1978 were both the top-scoring players at their respective World Cups.[82]

World Cup Golden Glove

The best goalkeeper at the World Cup is awarded the FIFA World Cup Golden Glove. In 2022 this award was won by Emiliano Martínez.[83]

World Cup Young Player Award

The best player at the World Cup who is no older than 21 during the calendar year of the tournament is awarded the FIFA World Cup Young Player Award. In 2022 this award was won by Enzo Fernández.[83]

Competitive record

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place     Tournament played fully or partially on home soil  

FIFA World Cup

Main article: Argentina at the FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record Qualification record

Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA

Uruguay 1930 Runners-up 2nd 5 4 0 1 18 9 Squad Qualified as invitees

Italy 1934 Round of 16 9th 1 0 0 1 2 3 Squad Qualified automatically

France 1938 Withdrew Withdrew

Brazil 1950

Switzerland 1954

Sweden 1958 Group stage 13th 3 1 0 2 5 10 Squad 4 3 0 1 10 2

Chile 1962 Group stage 10th 3 1 1 1 2 3 Squad 2 2 0 0 11 3

England 1966 Quarter-finals 5th 4 2 1 1 4 2 Squad 4 3 1 0 9 2

Mexico 1970 Did not qualify 4 1 1 2 4 6

West Germany 1974 Second group stage 8th 6 1 2 3 9 12 Squad 4 3 1 0 9 2

Argentina 1978 Champions 1st 7 5 1 1 15 4 Squad Qualified as hosts

Spain 1982 Second group stage 11th 5 2 0 3 8 7 Squad Qualified as defending champions

Mexico 1986 Champions 1st 7 6 1 0 14 5 Squad 6 4 1 1 12 6

Italy 1990 Runners-up 2nd 7 2 3 2 5 4 Squad Qualified as defending champions

United States 1994 Round of 16 10th 4 2 0 2 8 6 Squad 8 4 2 2 9 10

France 1998 Quarter-finals 6th 5 3 1 1 10 4 Squad 16 8 6 2 23 13

South Korea Japan 2002 Group stage 18th 3 1 1 1 2 2 Squad 18 13 4 1 42 15

Germany 2006 Quarter-finals 6th 5 3 2 0 11 3 Squad 18 10 4 4 29 17

South Africa 2010 Quarter-finals 5th 5 4 0 1 10 6 Squad 18 8 4 6 23 20

Brazil 2014 Runners-up 2nd 7 5 1 1 8 4 Squad 16 9 5 2 35 15

Russia 2018 Round of 16 16th 4 1 1 2 6 9 Squad 18 7 7 4 19 16

Qatar 2022 Champions 1st 7 4 2 1 15 8 Squad 17 11 6 0 27 8

Canada Mexico United States 2026 Qualification in progress 5 4 0 1 7 2

Morocco Portugal Spain 2030 Qualified as commemorative match hosts Qualified as commemorative match hosts

Saudi Arabia 2034 To be determined To be determined

Total 3 Titles 18/22 88 47 17 24 152 101 — 158 90 42 26 269 137

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Copa América

Main article: Argentina at the Copa América

South American Championship / Copa América record

Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Squad

Argentina 1916 Runners-up 2nd 3 1 2 0 7 2 Squad

Uruguay 1917 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 0 1 5 3 Squad

Brazil 1919 Third place 3rd 3 1 0 2 7 7 Squad

Chile 1920 Runners-up 2nd 3 1 2 0 4 2 Squad

Argentina 1921 Champions 1st 3 3 0 0 5 0 Squad

Brazil 1922 Fourth place 4th 4 2 0 2 6 3 Squad

Uruguay 1923 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 0 1 6 6 Squad

Uruguay 1924 Runners-up 2nd 3 1 2 0 2 0 Squad

Argentina 1925 Champions 1st 4 3 1 0 11 4 Squad

Chile 1926 Runners-up 2nd 4 2 1 1 14 3 Squad

Peru 1927 Champions 1st 3 3 0 0 15 4 Squad

Argentina 1929 Champions 1st 3 3 0 0 9 1 Squad

Peru 1935 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 0 1 8 5 Squad

Argentina 1937 Champions 1st 6 5 0 1 14 5 Squad

Peru 1939 Withdrew

Chile 1941 Champions 1st 4 4 0 0 10 2 Squad

Uruguay 1942 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 1 1 21 6 Squad

Chile 1945 Champions 1st 6 5 1 0 22 5 Squad

Argentina 1946 Champions 1st 5 5 0 0 17 3 Squad

Ecuador 1947 Champions 1st 7 6 1 0 28 4 Squad

Brazil 1949 Withdrew

Peru 1953

Chile 1955 Champions 1st 5 4 1 0 18 6 Squad

Uruguay1956 Third place 3rd 5 3 0 2 5 3 Squad

Peru 1957 Champions 1st 6 5 0 1 25 6 Squad

Argentina 1959 Champions 1st 6 5 1 0 19 5 Squad

Ecuador 1959 Runners-up 2nd 4 2 1 1 9 9 Squad

Bolivia 1963 Third place 3rd 6 3 1 2 15 10 Squad

Uruguay 1967 Runners-up 2nd 5 4 0 1 12 3 Squad

1975 Group stage 5th 4 2 0 2 17 4 Squad

1979 Group stage 8th 4 1 1 2 7 6 Squad

1983 Group stage 6th 4 1 3 0 5 4 Squad

Argentina 1987 Fourth place 4th 4 1 1 2 5 4 Squad

Brazil 1989 Third place 3rd 7 2 3 2 2 4 Squad

Chile 1991 Champions 1st 7 6 1 0 16 6 Squad

Ecuador 1993 Champions 1st 6 2 4 0 6 4 Squad

Uruguay 1995 Quarter-finals 5th 4 2 1 1 8 6 Squad

Bolivia 1997 Quarter-finals 6th 4 1 2 1 4 3 Squad

Paraguay 1999 Quarter-finals 8th 4 2 0 2 6 6 Squad

Colombia 2001 Withdrew

Peru 2004 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 1 1 16 6 Squad

Venezuela 2007 Runners-up 2nd 6 5 0 1 16 6 Squad

Argentina 2011 Quarter-finals 7th 4 1 3 0 5 2 Squad

Chile 2015 Runners-up 2nd 6 3 3 0 10 3 Squad

United States 2016 Runners-up 2nd 6 5 1 0 18 2 Squad

Brazil 2019 Third place 3rd 6 3 1 2 7 6 Squad

Brazil 2021 Champions 1st 7 5 2 0 12 3 Squad

United States 2024 Qualified

Total 15 Titles 43/47 202 127 42 33 474 182 —

FIFA Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup record

Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Squad

Saudi Arabia 1992 Champions 1st 2 2 0 0 7 1 Squad

Saudi Arabia 1995 Runners-up 2nd 3 1 1 1 5 3 Squad

Saudi Arabia 1997 Did not qualify

Mexico 1999

South Korea Japan 2001

France 2003

Germany 2005 Runners-up 2nd 5 2 2 1 10 10 Squad

South Africa 2009 Did not qualify

Brazil 2013

Russia 2017

Total 1 Title 3/10 10 5 3 2 22 14 —

CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions

CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions record

Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA

France 1985 Did not qualify

Argentina 1993 Champions 1st 1 0 1 0 1 1

England 2022 Champions 1st 1 1 0 0 3 0

Total 2 Titles 2/3 2 1 1 0 4 1

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Olympic team

For Olympic records, see Argentina national under-23 football team.

Head-to-head record

Main article: Argentina national football team records and statistics

Below is a result summary of all matches Argentina has played against FIFA recognised teams.[84]

As of 26 March 2024

  Positive record   Neutral record   Negative record

Opponents Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %

 Includes matches against  West Germany.

 Includes matches against  Soviet Union.

 Includes matches against  Yugoslavia.

Rivalries

Brazil

Main article: Argentina–Brazil football rivalry

Argentina and Brazil have a fierce rivalry which is one of the oldest in South America.[90] Games between the two teams, even those that are only friendly matches, are often marked by notable and controversial incidents. The rivalry has also been referred to as the "Battle of the Americas." FIFA has described it as the "essence of football rivalry".[91] According to CNN, this rivalry ranked second on their top 10 list of international football rivalries—only below the ancient England–Scotland football rivalry.[92]

The rivalry has extended to comparisons between Pelé and Diego Maradona.[93][94] Some of their countrymen also feature regularly in such debates. The next most notable pair are perhaps Garrincha (Brazilian)[95] and Alfredo Di Stéfano (Argentine).[96] The most dominant figures from the two countries in the modern game are Neymar (Brazilian) and Lionel Messi (Argentine). Both Pelé and Maradona have declared Neymar and Messi their respective "successors".[97][98]

England

Main article: Argentina–England football rivalry

With a rivalry stemming from the 1966 World Cup and intensified by the Falklands War of 1982, Argentina and England have had numerous confrontations in World Cup tournaments. Among them was the quarter-final match in 1986, where Diego Maradona scored two goals against England. The first was a handball, but was ruled legal by the referee. The second, scored minutes later, saw Maradona passing five England outfield players before scoring, and is often described as one of, if not the greatest goal in football history.

The nations were paired together in the Round of 16 at the 1998 World Cup, won by Argentina on penalties, and again at the group stage in 2002, England winning 1–0 through a penalty by David Beckham who had been sent off in the tie four years earlier.

Germany

Diego Maradona and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge prior to the 1986 World Cup final between Argentina and West Germany

Argentina has played Germany in seven FIFA World Cup matches including three FIFA World Cup finals: In 1986 Argentina won 3–2, but in 1990 it was the Germans who were the victors by a 1–0 scoreline.

In 1958 they met for the first time in the group stage, where Argentina suffered a 1–3 loss to defending champions West Germany.[99] In 1966 both again faced each other in the group stage which ended in a scoreless draw.[100] In 2006, they met in the quarter-finals; Argentina lost on penalties after a 1–1 draw, which was followed by a brawl on the pitch involving several players.[101][102] They met again at the same stage in 2010, this time ending with a 4–0 victory for Germany. They played each other for the third consecutive World Cup in the Brazil 2014 event's final, where Argentina was defeated in extra time by a score of 1–0.

Uruguay

Main article: Argentina–Uruguay football rivalry

Argentina has a long-standing rivalry with its neighbour, that came into existence from the early South American Championships, the 1928 Summer Olympics and the first World Cup final, held in 1930.

Argentina and Uruguay hold the record for most international matches played between two countries.[3] The two teams have faced each other 197 times since 1902. The first match between Argentina and Uruguay was also the first official international match to be played outside the United Kingdom.[note 5]

Mexico

Main article: Argentina–Mexico football rivalry

Argentina has a minor rivalry with Mexico, which developed in the 1990s. The rivalry is considered one-sided as a number of Argentines do not consider Mexico as rivals. Although the first official match between both nations came in the 1930 FIFA World Cup where Argentina beat Mexico 6–3 in the group stage, the rivalry emerged during the late twentieth century, especially after the 1993 Copa América final, where Argentina beat Mexico 2–1.[104][105][106] That was the first time a non-CONMEBOL nation played in a Copa América final, and the first final played between both sides.[107]

The rivalry has continued in club competitions, where Argentine and Mexicans first met in 1968 Copa Interamericana. The rivalry between both nations at club level increased during the late 1990s, when Mexican clubs were invited to participate in Copa Libertadores, where they played memorable matches against Boca Juniors.[108]

During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, some Mexican and Argentine fans had a fight in Doha prior to the match between both sides, among great animosity.[109] Both supporters fought again inside Lusail Stadium after the match that Argentina won 2–0, giving Argentina a chance to qualify and forcing Mexico to win against Saudi Arabia to qualify, which ended with Argentina and Poland qualifying and Mexico being eliminated alongside Saudi Arabia.[110]

This sense of rivalry is more keenly felt by Mexican supporters and media, since Argentines do not consider Mexico rivals like Brazil, Germany, Uruguay or England.

Nigeria

A recurrent rivalry developed from the 1990s between Argentina and Nigeria, based not on geographical proximity, long-term battles for honours or factors outside football, but due to the frequency of significant matches between them.[111][112][113][114][115][116] This has included five World Cup group games, all won by Argentina by a single goal margin: 2–1 in 1994, 1–0 in 2002, 1–0 in 2010, 3–2 in 2014 and 2–1 in 2018. The fixture is the most common in the competition's history involving an African nation,[117] and has occurred in five of the six tournaments for which Nigeria has qualified. The sides also met in the 1995 King Fahd Cup (the predecessor to the Confederations Cup) as champions of their respective continents, drawing 0–0.

Below full international level, their Olympic teams also faced off in the gold medal match in 1996 (3–2 to Nigeria), and 2008 (1–0 to Argentina). The final of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship was also played between them; both Argentina goals in their 2–1 win were scored by Lionel Messi, who would go on to find the net for the senior team in the 2014[118] and 2018[119] World Cup fixtures.

The sense of rivalry is more keenly felt on the Nigerian side, as Argentina has won almost all of their encounters, so they do not consider Nigeria a rival like Brazil, England, Uruguay or Germany, in contrast to the West Africans who remain keen to finally overcome a more illustrious foe.[112]

Netherlands

Main article: Argentina–Netherlands football rivalry

Considered by sports media to be two historically great teams,[120] the Argentines and Dutch have developed an intense rivalry. They have met ten times in total, including six times during the World Cup.[121][122][123]

The two teams first met on 26 May 1974 in an international friendly, won by the Netherlands 4–1. Their most high-profile matchup occurred in the 1978 World Cup final which was won by Argentina.[124] One of the most recent and intense meetings happened in the 2022 World Cup, a 2–2 draw where Argentina advanced on penalties, in what is known as the Battle of Lusail.[125][126]

Honours

Senior team

FIFA World Cup

1st place, gold medalist(s) Champions (3): 1978, 1986, 2022

2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-up (3): 1930, 1990, 2014

FIFA Confederations Cup

1st place, gold medalist(s) Champions (1): 1992

2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-up (2): 1995, 2005

South American Championship / Copa América

1st place, gold medalist(s) Champions (15): 1921, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1937, 1941, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1991, 1993, 2021

2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-up (14): 1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1935, 1942, 1959, 1967, 2004, 2007, 2015, 2016

3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Third place (5): 1919, 1956, 1963, 1989, 2019

CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions

1st place, gold medalist(s) Champions (2): 1993, 2022

Panamerican Championship

1st place, gold medalist(s) Champions (1): 1960

2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-up (1): 1956

Olympics Games

2nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver Medal (1): 1928

Friendly

1st place, gold medalist(s) Newton Cup[note 6] (17): 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1916, 1918, 1924, 1927, 1928, 1937, 1942, 1945, 1957, 1973, 1975, 1976 (record)

1st place, gold medalist(s) Lipton Cup[note 6] (18): 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1913, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1928, 1937, 1942, 1945, 1957, 1962, 1968, 1976, 1992 (record)

1st place, gold medalist(s) Copa Premier Honor Argentino (7): 1909, 1911, 1913, 1914,1918, 1919, 1980 (record)

1st place, gold medalist(s) Copa Centenario Revolución de Mayo[note 7] (1): 1910

1st place, gold medalist(s) Copa Premier Honor Uruguayo (5): 1915, 1916, 1917, 1923, 1924

1st place, gold medalist(s) Copa Juan Mignaburu[note 6] (5): 1935, 1936, 1938, 1940, 1943 (record)

1st place, gold medalist(s) Copa Héctor Rivadavia Gómez[note 6] (3): 1935, 1936, 1943 (record)

1st place, gold medalist(s) Roca Cup[note 8] (4): 1923, 1939, 1940, 1971 (shared)[127]

1st place, gold medalist(s) Superclásico de las Américas[note 8] (2): 2017, 2019

1st place, gold medalist(s) Nations' Cup[note 9] (1): 1964

1st place, gold medalist(s) Kirin Cup[note 10] (2): 1992, 2003

1st place, gold medalist(s) Copa Times of India (1): 2011[128]

1st place, gold medalist(s) San Juan Cup (1): 2019[129]

Awards

FIFA Team of the Year

Winners (3): 2007, 2016, 2023

FIFA World Cup Fair Play Trophy

Winners (1): 1978

Copa América Fair Play Trophy

Winners (1): 2016

Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year

Winners (1): 2023

World Soccer World Team of the Year

Winners (2): 1986, 2022

Gazzetta Sports World Team of the Year

Winners (2): 1978, 1986

Guerin Sportivo Team of the Year

Winners (1): 1986

AIPS Team of the Year

Winners (2): 2022,[130] 2023[131]

Unofficial Football World Championships

Winners (64)

Chronology of titles

Host nation Tournament Year No.

Argentina Argentina Copa América 1921 1st

1925 2nd

Peru Peru 1927 3rd

Argentina Argentina 1929 4th

1937 5th

Chile Chile 1941 6th

1945 7th

Argentina Argentina 1946 8th

Ecuador Ecuador 1947 9th

Chile Chile 1955 10th

Peru Peru 1957 11th

Argentina Argentina 1959 12th

Costa Rica Costa Rica Panamerican Championship 1960 13th

Argentina Argentina World Cup 1978 14th

Mexico Mexico 1986 15th

Chile Chile Copa América 1991 16th

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia Confederations Cup 1992 17th

Argentina Argentina CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions 1993 18th

Ecuador Ecuador Copa América 1993 19th

Brazil Brazil 2021 20th

England England CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions 2022 21st

Qatar Qatar World Cup 2022 22nd

Summary

Senior competition 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Total

World Cup 3 3 0 6

Copa América 15 14 5 34

Confederations Cup 1 2 0 3

Panamerican Championship 1 1 0 2

CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions 2 0 0 2

Olympics Games 0 1 0 1

Total 22 21 5 48

See also

icon Association football portal

flag Argentina portal

List of Argentina international footballers

Argentina national under-23 football team

Argentina national under-20 football team

Argentina national under-17 football team

Vamos, vamos, Argentina

Association football is the most popular sport in Argentina and part of the culture in the country.[3] It is the one with the most players (2,658,811 total, 331,811 of which are registered and 2,327,000 unregistered; with 3,377 clubs and 37,161 officials, all according to FIFA)[1] and is the most popular recreational sport, played from childhood into old age.[4] The percentage of Argentines that declare allegiance to an Argentine football club is about 90%.[5]

Football was introduced to Argentina in the later half of the 19th century by the British immigrants in Buenos Aires. The first Argentine league was contested in 1891, making it the fifth-oldest recognised league of a FIFA member (after England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Netherlands).[6] The Argentine Football Association (AFA) was formed in 1893 and is the eighth-oldest in the world.

The Argentina national team is one of the eight to have won the FIFA World Cup, having done so in 1978, 1986, and 2022, while being runner-up in 1930, 1990 and 2014. Argentina has also won the top continental tournament, the Copa América, 15 times, and the FIFA Confederations Cup in 1992. It also holds the record for having more official titles than any other nation with 22. The nation's Olympic representative has won two Gold Medals (in 2004 and 2008), while the under-20 team has won a record six U-20 World Cups. At club level, Argentine teams have won the most Intercontinental Cups (9) and the most Copa Libertadores (25).

Women's football has a national league since 1991, the Campeonato de Fútbol Femenino. In turn, the female national representative qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 2007 and won their first Campeonato Sudamericano Femenino (top continental competition) in 2006.

In futsal, Argentina were FIFUSA/AMF Futsal World Cup champions in 1994 and 2019.[7] They also compete in the FIFA code of futsal, where they finished champions in 2016, runner-up in 2021 and fourth place in 2004.[8] The team also won the FIFA Futsal Copa América in 2003, 2015 and 2022.[8] Moreover, Argentina was world champion in futsal for the visually impaired in 2002 and 2006, and also won the Gold Medal at the IBSA World Blind Games 2015, a Silver Medal (2004) and two Bronze (2008 and 2016) in the Paralympic Games, three runner-up world championships (1998, 2000 and 2014), three championships of the Copa América (1999, 2005, 2017), three Silver Medals in the Parapan American Games (2007, 2011, 2015) and two runners-up of the Copa América (2009 and 2013).

Argentina also compete in the beach football World Cup, where their best finish was third in 2001.[9]

History

The beginning

The first football match played in Argentina, as covered by The Standard, June 1867

Recovering from an oppressive dictatorship spanning from 1829 to 1852, Argentine leaders aspired to reconstruct their nation's reputation as a symbol of progress and democracy. Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, a highly influential intellectual and former president of Argentina, argued in favour of emulating the path taken by Western Europe and the United States.[10] By 1867, there was a large British community in Buenos Aires. Most of them had established themselves in Argentina coming from the United Kingdom as managers and workers of the British-owned railway companies that operated in Argentina. British citizens founded social and sports clubs where they could practise their sports, such as bowls, cricket, football, golf, horse riding, rugby union and tennis amongst others.

The Buenos Aires Cricket Club Ground in Palermo, Buenos Aires held the first football match on 20 June 1867; on the left, the BACC clubhouse in 1868; on the right, location of the field in Palermo, from an 1895 map

Two English immigrants, Thomas and James Hogg, organized a meeting on 9 May 1867 in Buenos Aires where the Buenos Aires Football Club was founded. The club was given permission by the Buenos Aires Cricket Club to make use of the cricket field in Parque Tres de Febrero, Palermo, Buenos Aires, on the site now occupied by the Galileo Galilei planetarium. The first recorded football match in Argentina took place on this pitch on 20 June 1867,[11] being covered by English language daily newspaper The Standard. This newspaper, published in Argentina, was the first one to cover football matches in the country.[12] That first match, originally scheduled for May 25 in La Boca, had to be postponed due to bad weather.[13]

The match started at 12.30 and was played between two teams of British merchants, the White Caps and the Red Caps. (In the 19th century, it was common practice for teams to be distinguished by caps rather than shirts). The teams consisted of eight players each as the organisers were unable to find more players for the match. The line-ups were: Thomas Hogg, James Hogg, William Forrester, T. B. Smith, J. W. Bond, E. S. Smith, J. Rabsbottom and N. H. Smith (one team); William Heald, T. R. Best, U. Smith, H. J. Barge, H. Willmont, R. M. Ramsay, J. Simpson and W. Boschetti (second team). The team led by Hogg won 4–0, according to The Standard newspaper published on June 23.[14] The match played was a blend of both association and rugby footballs, with no goals on the field. The use of hands was also allowed.[15][13]

The first chronicle of a football match written in Spanish was published by local newspaper El Nacional on September 11, 1880. The chronicle referred to a "foot-ball" match played in a cricket field in Montevideo between an Uruguayan-Argentine combined vs a British team. The attendance was estimated in 1,000 people. Nevertheless, it is unclear what form of "football" was played due to the number of players on the field (15 per side).[16]

Team of Southern Railway Athletic Club, with Alexander Watson Hutton as one of its players, 1888

The "Southern Railway Athletic Club" (not related with the British railway company) might have been the first organised team under the "Association" rules, according to The Standard, that published a chronicle describing the existence of that team, with records of a match played at Lanús A.C. field in 1888. The chronicle also named Alexander Watson Hutton as one of the GSRFC players. The early matches of the team, in fact, were against Buenos Aires English High School.[17]

First league and development

The so-called "father of Argentine football" was a Glaswegian schoolteacher Alexander Watson Hutton, who first taught football at St Andrew's School in Buenos Aires in the early 1880s. On 4 February 1884,[18] he founded the Buenos Aires English High School, where he continued to instruct the pupils in the game.[19] In 1891, the "Association Argentine Football League" was established by F.L. Wooley, with Alex Lamont of St. Andrew's Scots School as one of its members.[12] The AAFL was the first football league outside of the British Isles.[20] Five clubs competed but only one season was ever played.

In this early period, a number of football clubs were set up by the employees of the various British-owned railway companies in Argentina and a number of these teams have survived to the present day, including Ferro Carril Oeste, Ferrocarril Midland, Rosario Central and Talleres.

A new league with the same name as its predecessor, was formed on 21 February 1893. It eventually became the Argentine Football Association (AFA). In these early days of football in Argentina, nearly all of the players and officials were expatriate Britons or of British extraction and the oldest football clubs in Argentina like Rosario Central, Newell's Old Boys and Quilmes were all founded by British expatriates.

Team of Alumni (in white shirt) before playing English club Southampton in Buenos Aires, 26 June 1904. Southampton was the first foreign club to tour Argentina, then followed by several British teams

The most successful and admired team of this early period was Alumni, founded by graduates and students of Watson Hutton's English High School. Like all of the early clubs, it was composed mainly of British players.

Towards the end of the 19th century, the game became increasingly popular amongst other European immigrants, especially Italians.

Most of the early clubs had a policy of excluding the local creole population. The backlash against this policy at Quilmes Athletic Club resulted in the formation of Argentino de Quilmes in 1899, the first of many Argentine clubs for Argentine players. The name Argentino or Argentinos has remained popular in Argentine football. The most famous team with the name is Argentinos Juniors who won the Copa Libertadores in 1985.

British football clubs tours over South America contributed to the spread and develop of football in Argentina during the first years of the 20th century. The first club to tour on the country was Southampton F.C. in 1904 who were captained by George Molyneaux. They beat the Buenos Aires High School Alumni team 3-0 with Molyneaux remarking 'how far the Argentines were ahead of their European counterparts in France and Denmark.'[21] Several other teams came afterwards (mainly from England although some Scotland clubs also visited South America) until 1929 with Chelsea F.C. being the last team to tour.[22]

British teams were considered the best in the world by then, and some of them served as inspiration to establish football clubs in Argentina, helped by the immigration of British citizens that had arrived to work for British companies (mostly in railway construction). Belgrano A.C., Rosario A.C., Alumni and Quilmes are some examples of clubs established by British immigrants to South America.[12][23]

Consolidation

The early years of the 20th century saw a large number of new clubs formed; by 1907, there were over 300 teams in Argentina.[24] Most of the major clubs were created around this period; they played in the national amateur tournament or in local championships. By this time, matches had a considerable attendance and as the popularity of the game increased the British influence on the game waned. In 1911, Alumni folded and by 1912 the Association was renamed in Spanish as the Asociación Argentina de Football, although the tradition of giving the clubs English names continued for many years.

During the early 20th century, many new football leagues were started in cities across Argentina as the popularity of the game spread out from Greater Buenos Aires, these include Rosario (with the establishment of Liga Rosarina in 1905), Córdoba (1912), Santa Fe (1913), Tucumán (1919), San Luis (1920) and Salta (1921).

Although the city of Rosario did not have an organised league, since 1900 the football squads of Rosario A.C. and Rosario Central had taken part of the first international tournament in South America, the Tie Cup, played by teams of Rosario, Buenos Aires and Uruguay leagues.[25] Rosario A.C. became the first Rosarian team to win an international competition after winning the cup in 1902, defeating legendary Alumni 2–1 in the playoff match. The squad would win two cups else, in 1904 (beating Uruguayan CURCC 3–2) and 1905 (winning over CURCC again by 4–3) editions, totalling three championships in six years.[26]

Teams from Rosario had also participated in the first National Cups organised by the Argentine Football Association, such as Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires,[27] (which Newell's Old Boys and Rosario Central would later win in 1911 and 1916 respectively)[28]

The first official match played by the Argentina national team took place on 16 May 1901 against Uruguay, a 3–2 win for Argentina.[29] This game marked the beginning of the Argentina and Uruguay football rivalry.

The first trophy won by Argentina was the Copa Lipton in 1905. They won their first tournament in 1910 (Copa Centenario de la Revolución de Mayo) which was contested between Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Chile. Victories and defeats on the soccer field are sometimes seen as symbolic of the country's broader triumphs and challenges.

In 1916, Argentina competed in the first Copa América which was won by Uruguay. Argentina would win the tournament for the first time in 1921, and have gone on to win it a total of 15 times.

During the 1920s decade, Huracan was a strong competitor, winning most of the annual championships, as Racing Club did during the 1910s. To mention a tradition, the Huracán footballers and fans used to meet at the historical Japanese Cafe.

In 1928, Argentina Olympic football team competed at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, where they finished runners-up to Uruguay. Two years later, they competed in the first FIFA World Cup, again finishing runners up to hosts Uruguay.

Following two seasons of disrupted play due to mass cancellation and suspension of matches and the mid-season withdrawal of teams in the 1929,[30] and 1930,[31] 18 teams decided to form a breakaway professional league for the 1931 season.[32] The amateur league carried on in parallel until it folded in 1934 with many of the teams joining the new professional second division[33] The creation of the professional league helped curb the exodus of Argentine talent to high paying European football clubs. The 1934 World Cup Italy national team championship side featured several Oriundo in the squad composed of Argentine-born players such as Raimundo Orsi, Enrique Guaita, and Luis Monti who also played for Argentina in the 1930 World Cup.

In 1964, Independiente became the first Argentine club to win the Copa Libertadores, Argentine clubs have won the competition a total of 25 times.[34]

In 1967, Racing became the first Argentine team to win the Intercontinental Cup. Argentine clubs have won the tournament a record 9 times.[35]

In 1978, Argentina hosted the World Cup, where the team defeated the Netherlands 3–1 after extra time in the final to win their first World Cup.

In 1979, a young Diego Maradona was part of the Argentina under-20 team which won the FIFA Under-20 World Cup. Argentina have gone on to win a record six U-20 World Cups.[36]

Soccer has been intertwined with national identity in many countries, including Argentina. The sport serves as a reflection of national pride, and the success or failure of the national team often mirrors the socio-political climate of the time. Political leaders, such as Perón, recognized the potential of soccer as a tool for promoting nationalism and unity among the population.[37] In the article “Argentine Soccer and Political Power, 1930-1946,” Arkhurst explores how the Argentine government, particularly during Perón's rule, utilized soccer to further political agendas and cultivate a sense of national identity. This could involve examining how political power influenced soccer policies, team selections, or the portrayal of the sport in the media.[37] Historical events, such as the infamous "Dirty War" and the military junta's use of the 1978 World Cup for political purposes, underscore the complex relationship between soccer and politics. The World Cup became a powerful propaganda tool for the government. The authorities utilized the success of the national team to convey an image of normalcy and stability, downplaying the grim reality of the political situation at home. The Argentine victory in the 1978 World Cup final against the Netherlands was strategically exploited by the military junta. The celebration of the triumph was intended to symbolize not only athletic achievement but also political success and control.[37]

In 1982, due to an uncertain political atmosphere and an extremely unstable government with multiple presidents over the span of a short time, most football clubs were lacking the money to keep top domestic players. 1982 saw a whole slew of players leave Argentina for Europe: players like Diego Maradona, Mario Kempes (who had already played in Spain and had briefly returned to Argentina), Daniel Passarella and many others leave for Spain, France, Italy or England.

In 1986, Argentina would win their second World Cup in the 1986 World Cup, where the team defeated to Germany 3–2.

In 1995, Rosario Central became the first club not based in Buenos Aires or Greater Buenos Aires to win an international cup recognised by FIFA, the Conmebol Cup. Argentine clubs have won the tournament a record three times.[38]

In 2004, the Argentina Olympic football team won Gold at the Athens Olympic games; they defended their title in 2008 to become the first team to defend the Olympic football title since Hungary in 1968.[39]

In 2022, Argentina won the World Cup for the third time, beating France 4–2 on penalties following a 3–3 draw after extra time.[40]

Clubs

League system

Main article: Argentine football league system

Around 326 registered football clubs play in the Argentine Football Association (AFA) league system, which is organized in a pyramid of seven leagues divided from the third level between clubs directly affiliated to AFA (es) and clubs indirectly affiliated to AFA (es). In the branch of clubs indirectly affiliated to AFA below the fourth level, there are 250 other Regional Leagues that are affiliated with AFA and compete for the right to enter the league system at the lowest tier.

The Primera División is the highest level of club football in Argentina. It was founded in 1891 as an amateur competition, becoming professional in 1931 with a league by 18 teams which were dissatisfied with the amateur system they were participating on until 1930. This group of 18 founding members of the present league included nearly all of the most prominent clubs of those times, unified by the idea that full and compulsory amateurism was no longer sustainable (many of those teams are still today among the most popular clubs in Argentina). For many years, the only winners were the so-called "big five"[41] (Boca Juniors, Independiente, Racing Club, River Plate and San Lorenzo de Almagro). This dominance was finally broken in 1967 by Estudiantes de La Plata. Since then, ten other teams have won the championship, resulting in a total of 28 teams having been champions of Argentina as of 2021. River Plate has won the most championships with 38. The only teams outside the Buenos Aires and Greater Buenos Aires to have won the championship are Rosario Central and Newell's Old Boys from Rosario and Estudiantes and Gimnasia y Esgrima from La Plata.

Below the second division, Primera Nacional, the league system is regionalized with three divisions for clubs directly affiliated to AFA (es) of Buenos Aires, Greater Buenos Aires and twenty one clubs from the cities of Rosario, Santa Fe, La Plata, Zarate, Campana, Luján, Junín, General Rodríguez, Cañuelas, Pilar and Mercedes; and two divisions for clubs indirectly affiliated to AFA (es) that cover the rest of the country. Even below these seven leagues, Argentine football is regionalized into almost 250 Regional Leagues, which consist of teams that participate in championships and tournaments organized by the Consejo Federal del Fútbol Argentino (es) (CFFA), internal organ of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), to obtain the right to enter the Torneo Regional Federal Amateur, established in 2018.

League championships

Main article: Argentine Primera División

The Primera División has been using different formats for its championships, from a double round-robin tournament (1891 to 1966) to a single round-robin that would become the standard in Latin America, the Apertura and Clausura. In the particular case of Argentina, the Apertura was contested in the second half of the calendar year, and the Clausura was played in the first half of the following year (in order to synchronize the seasons with those of the European football). Different formats used also included the organization of Metropolitano and Nacional championships, that lasted from 1967 to 1985.

As of 2024 season, the Argentine Primera División league is made up of 28 teams, with a championship organized in a single round-robin schedule, resulting in a total of 27 rounds per team. Six teams from Argentina are eligible to play the Copa Libertadores, four from the league championship and the rest from the Copa Argentina and Copa de la Liga Profesional. The following six teams in the general table of the league championship are eligible to play the Copa Sudamericana.

From 1891 to date, River Plate is the most winning team with 38 domestic championships, followed by Boca Juniors with 35 titles. Racing holds the third position with 18 titles.

Domestic cups

Main article: List of Argentine football national cups

Since the creation of the first league in 1891, several cups have been played in Argentine apart from the main competition, the Primera División. The first cup held in the country was the Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires; first contested in 1905, it was played until 1936.[42]

As of the present, four domestic cups are held in Argentina: the Copa Argentina, that includes teams of all divisions of Argentine football, and the Supercopa Argentina –contested by the reigning champions of Primera División and Copa Argentina, organised by the AFA. The third and fourth one are the Copa de la Liga Profesional and Trofeo de Campeones, both organised by the Liga Profesional de Fútbol body. The annual football match was played for the first time in 2019, being played by the champions of Primera División and Copa de la Superliga Argentina respectively.

The Copa Campeonato, originally awarded to Primera División champion, is the oldest trophy of Argentine football,[43] having been established in 1896, three year after the AFA was created,[44] and played without interruption until 1926.[45] The Cup received several names, such as "Championship Cup", "Copa Campeonato", "Challenge Cup" and "Copa Alumni",[46] due to the association offered legendary team Alumni to keep the Cup definitely for having won it three consecutive times (1900–02), but the club from Belgrano declined the honour to keep the trophy under dispute.[43][47]

All those competitions, although not considered league tournaments, are regarded as official titles.

Rivalries

Main article: Football rivalries in Argentina

There are many local rivalries in Argentine football. The most important is the Superderby, which is contested between Argentina's two most popular[48] and successful[41] teams, Buenos Aires rivals River Plate and Boca Juniors. The English newspaper The Observer put the superclásico (name in Spanish) at the top of their list of "The 50 Sporting Things You Must Do Before You Die".[49]

The second-most important rivalry in Argentine football is the Avellaneda derby, which is contested between Independiente and Racing, the third- and fourth-most popular and third- and fourth-most successful teams of the country (respectively), both from the city of Avellaneda (located next to Buenos Aires, into it metropolitan area). Other important derbies include the derby between Huracán and San Lorenzo de Almagro (has no particular denomination), the Rosario derby (between Newell's Old Boys and Rosario Central), the La Plata derby (between Estudiantes de La Plata and Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata), the West derby (between Ferro Carril Oeste and Vélez Sarsfield), the derby between Atlanta and Chacarita Juniors (formerly denominated "Villa Crespo derby"), the Santa Fe derby (between Colón and Unión), the North Zone derby (between Platense and Tigre), the Cordoba derby (between Belgrano and Talleres), the derby between Instituto and Racing de Córdoba (has no particular denomination) and the Tucuman derby (between San Martín and Atlético Tucumán).

Style of play

See also: Creole football

Circumstances allowed the wide development of a special style, called "pasture football", little regulated, often massive, without coaches, captains or parents. This includes a variety of soccer games, from more or less formal matches, to mass informal matches such as "el picado", or games such as "goal-goal-enter", the "loco", the "run", the " center-goal ", the" cañito-la liga ", the" football-tennis ", the" coca-cola ", the" head ", and so on. These conditions promoted a game based fundamentally on improvisation and individual skill in handling the ball, the so-called "art of dribbling" (dribbling), and the short pass, as well as a more physical and violent defensive game, with resource systematic to the old law of British premodern football, "hacking" or trip, known in the Río de la Plata as "ax".[50]

Clubs at international competitions

Further information: Qualifying method of Copa Libertadores in Argentina

The first international club competition was organized by both, Argentine and Uruguayan associations, with the establishment of Tie Cup or "Copa de Competencia Chevallier Boutell" in 1900. The tournament was held until 1919. Several competitions between teams from both countries followed, being the last the Copa Aldao, which last edition was played in 1955.

The most successful Argentine club on the international stage is Boca Juniors. The club has won a total of 22 international titles.[51] Three of its wins are the Intercontinental Cup titles of 1977, 2000 and 2003.[52]

Independiente has won the most important continental title on the most occasions, its seven Copa Libertadores titles is a record, as is its feat of winning the title on four consecutive occasions (1972–75).[53] Also, Independiente was the most successful club on international cups by more than twenty years. These achievements earned them the nickname of Rey de Copas (King of Cups).

A number of other Argentine clubs have won the Copa Libertadores, including Estudiantes de La Plata and River Plate (four times each; Estudiantes in 1968, 1969, 1970, 2009 and River Plate in 1986, 1996, 2015, 2018), Racing (1967), Argentinos Juniors (1985), Vélez Sarsfield (1994) and San Lorenzo (2014).

Some Argentine teams have won international titles without having won a Primera División title, such as Talleres de Córdoba that won the Copa CONMEBOL in 1999, Arsenal de Sarandí winning the Copa Sudamericana in 2007 (although the team then won a title, the 2012 Torneo Clausura) and Defensa y Justicia winning the Copa Sudamericana in 2020.

List of international competitions (1900–present)

Argentine clubs have taken part of the following international club competitions, in order of appearance:

Competition Years Organiser/s

Tie Cup 1900–1919 AFA / AUF

Copa de Honor Cousenier 1905–1920 AFA / AUF

Copa Aldao 1913–1955 AFA / AUF

Copa Libertadores 1960–present CONMEBOL

Intercontinental Cup 1960–2004 CONMEBOL / UEFA / FIFA

Copa Interamericana 1968–1998 CONMEBOL / CONCACAF

Intercontinental Supercup 1968–1970 CONMEBOL / UEFA

Supercopa Libertadores 1988–1997 CONMEBOL

Recopa Sudamericana 1989–present CONMEBOL

Copa Master de Supercopa 1992–1995 CONMEBOL

Copa Conmebol 1992–1999 CONMEBOL

Copa de Oro 1993–1996 CONMEBOL

Copa Mercosur 1998–2001 CONMEBOL

Copa Sudamericana 2002–present CONMEBOL

FIFA Club World Cup 2005–present FIFA

Suruga Bank Championship 2008–2019 CONMEBOL / J.League

Culture

The leaders wanted to find a way to bring all of the Argentines of separate neighbourhoods together to build a united national identity, and the solution was soccer. Soccer games could draw out the people of various neighbourhoods to the stadium, and conserve with different individuals. People of all social classes, the British, and workers, all came together through the game and forged an identity between all different groups.[10] The love of soccer evolved in Argentina, creating a sense of shared identity among them, and surpassed the leader's goal of unifying their citizens. It is a passion that unites people across social, economic and cultural divides. Football plays an important part in the life of many Argentines. Even those supporters who usually do not attend the matches watch them on television and comment on them the next day with friends and co-workers. When the Argentina national football team plays (especially during world cup matches), streets tend to look completely deserted as everyone is watching the match. Soccer is a form of cultural expression in Argentina. The way the game is played, celebrated, and discussed becomes a reflection of the national character. The chants, rituals, and traditions associated with soccer contribute to the unique cultural identity of Argentina.[54] Chants like, “ Vamos, vamos, Argentina!” push the pride of their national identity and, the song Ole Ole Ola talks about how they love being Argentinian and every day they wake up and love it even more. These are the most common chants mentioned by the Argentinians during soccer. After the victories in 1978 FIFA World Cup and 1986 FIFA World Cup, streets were flooded with people celebrating the championship, making it impossible not to become part of the celebration.

But before that in the 1920s is when the culture around Argentina's men's football team started and it had something this to do with the mass media boom during that time. With the mass media boom and having the first generation of immigrant children born, the Argentina government decided to use the Argentina's men's football team as way to establish a connection with them and the country so they could be proud of their nationality. So the media wrote that the team played so well and has created its nation team style and with its attention grabbing headlines reached a very wide audience. With this style it continued and by October 1924 it ranked third in Buenos Aires many daily's. By then end of the decade it was selling 300,000 copies a day. And their way of reporting on football had a big effect on these statistics. According to "National Identity in the Sports Pages: Football and the Mass Media in 1920s Buenos Aires" by Matthew B. Karush.

It was in 1986 when the figure of Diego Maradona exploded, becoming an icon not only of Argentine football but of football itself. In Argentina, Maradona became something resemblant of a god (see Maradonian Church), admired by fans of every club (even River Plate). He was the physical embodiment of pride in Argentina and, got the support from all his fellow Argentines and is admired by fans across the globe.

Lionel Messi's success and talent on the soccer field contribute to a sense of pride and unity among Argentinians. His achievements, including leading Argentina to victory in international competitions, are celebrated as national triumphs, fostering a positive national identity.[55] His global popularity has turned him into a marketable figure, contributing to the commercialization of Argentine soccer. His endorsements, sponsorships, and branding extend beyond national borders, shaping Argentina's image on the international stage. Despite the growing popularity of women's soccer, gender dynamics within the sport still present challenges. Women's soccer historically received less attention, funding, and recognition compared to the men's game. Messi's influence can potentially contribute to addressing these disparities. Messi's role as a cultural ambassador through soccer contributes to the way Argentina is perceived globally. His influence extends beyond the sport, shaping narratives about the country's culture, resilience, and determination.

Supporters in Argentinian football stadiums operate under a key principle known as Aguante (Endurance)[clarification needed] which serves as a belief system that guides the behavior of those in attendance. Key values that make up aguante that scholars such as Eduardo Herrera have also claimed are central in the construction of Argentinian masculinity are courage, endurance, and fearlessness in physical confrontation.[56] Fans can showcase these values when they are at stadiums in three significant way which are always supporting your team with your participation in chants and jumping throughout the match, attending literally every match that your team plays regardless of the circumstances, and standing your ground in the face of opposition insults or when engaged in any physical altercations at the stadium.[56] It is under this principal of aguante that those in attendance of stadium matches in Argentina can be labeled under three broad categories which are hinchas (Fans), hinchinda militantes (militant fans), and espectadores (spectator).[56] Those who classified as Hinchas exhibit many of the qualities under the aguante principle and often go to many of their team's matches, while hinchinda militantes who are usually found behind the goals with their team colors strictly follow what is asked of them under aguante by attending every of their team's matches regardless of the weather or performance of the team.[56] The espectadores attend matches to enjoy the play of the game but do not weigh the principal of aguante close to heart compared the other two fan categories. Within the broad category of hinchinda militantes it is made up of la barra (supporters), la banda (the band), los pibes (the kids), and la pandilla (gang).[56] La Barra is the central figure within the hinchinda militantes because of the critical role these subgroups of fans have in shaping the atmosphere of the stadium during matches and lead under a hierarchical structure with a capo (boss) at the top who organizes and tropes(followers) who heed the direction/instructions of the capo.[56] The leadership of these organized subgroups of fans, which are mainly made up of men between the ages of 15–50 years old, are entirely driven by demonstrations of aguante and awarded additional benefits stemming from relationships with club executives that grant special privileges to these groups such as tickets or allowing them to bring in typically prohibited items into the stadium to stir energy and excitement for the football club during the match. The excitement and passion at stadiums are typically found to be instigated and sustained by the presence of the percussion and brass instrument brought in by barras groups. The typical percussion instruments that are brought in and played by members of the barras at stadiums are the bombo con platillo (bass drum), Brazilian surdo drums, redoblantes (snare drums), repiques, scrappers, tambourines, cowbells, and agogo bells.[56] The brass instruments that are typically played at stadiums by outside musicians hired by barras groups are trumpets, trombones, and euphoniums.[56] While the collective energy and synchronization incited by the music can create a sense of unity among attendants and supporters alike, ethnomusicological scholar Eduardo Herrera also believes that they can embolden individuals to normalize discriminatory behavior that they wouldn't otherwise do if they weren't in a crowd, which would explain some of the recorded derogatory language and violent behavior found in Argentinian stadiums.[56]

Argentine fans are not allowed to travel to see their teams in away matches, as they have been banned since 2013.[57]

Hinchas (supporters) create an emotional ambiance in many stadiums, singing and cheering loudly all game long, but since the away fan ban due to violence, the atmosphere in many stadia has become poorer, with goals for away teams greeted by silence and the disappearance of round trip chants between home and away fans, that provoked in each side to sing louder for show more passion.

Barra bravas (Argentine organized groups – like the English hooligan firms) also create occasional problems, usually in riots after the match.

Major football stadiums

Main article: List of football stadiums in Argentina

The major 50,000 plus capacity stadiums in the country are (in brackets, the owner/home team and its capacity): Mâs Monumental (River Plate – 84,567 spectators),[58][59][60] La Bombonera (Boca Juniors – 57,200),[61][62] Mario Kempes (owned by the Córdoba Province – 57,000),[63] Ciudad de La Plata (Buenos Aires Province – 53,000).[64]

Stadiums with 45,000 plus capacity include José Amalfitani (Vélez Sársfield – 49,540), Tomás Adolfo Ducó (Huracán – 48,314),[65] Pedro Bidegain (San Lorenzo – 47,964).[66] and Ciudad de Lanús (C.A. Lanús – 47,090),[67]

The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior men's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has been held every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, with the exception of 1942 and 1946 due to the Second World War. The reigning champions are Argentina, who won their third title at the 2022 tournament.[1]

The contest starts with the qualification phase, which takes place over the preceding three years to determine which teams qualify for the tournament phase. In the tournament phase, 32 teams compete for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over the course of about a month. The host nation(s) automatically qualify for the group stage of the tournament. The competition is scheduled to expand to 48 teams, starting with the 2026 tournament.

As of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, 22 final tournaments have been held since the event's inception in 1930, and a total of 80 national teams have competed. The trophy has been won by eight national teams. Brazil, with five wins, are the only team to have played in every tournament. The other World Cup winners are Germany and Italy, with four titles each; Argentina, with three titles; France and inaugural winner Uruguay, each with two titles; and England and Spain, with one title each.

The World Cup is the most prestigious association football tournament in the world, as well as the most widely viewed and followed single sporting event in the world.[2][3] The viewership of the 2018 World Cup was estimated to be 3.57 billion, close to half of the global population,[4][5] while the engagement with the 2022 World Cup was estimated to be 5 billion, with about 1.5 billion people watching the final match.[6]

Seventeen countries have hosted the World Cup, most recently Qatar, who hosted the 2022 event. The 2026 tournament will be jointly hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico, which will give Mexico the distinction of being the first country to host games in three World Cups.

History

Main article: History of the FIFA World Cup

Previous international competitions

The world's first international football match was a challenge match played in Glasgow in 1872 between Scotland and England.[7] The first international tournament for nations, the inaugural British Home Championship, took place in 1884 and included games between England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.[8] As football grew in popularity in other parts of the world at the start of the 20th century, it was held as a demonstration sport with no medals awarded at the 1900 and 1904 Summer Olympics; however, the International Olympic Committee has retroactively upgraded their status to official events, as well as the 1906 Intercalated Games.[9]

After FIFA was founded in 1904, it tried to arrange an international football tournament between nations outside the Olympic framework in Switzerland in 1906. These were very early days for international football, and the official history of FIFA describes the competition as having been unsuccessful.[10]

At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, football became an official Olympic sport. Planned by The Football Association (FA), England's football governing body, the event was for amateur players only and was regarded suspiciously as a show rather than a competition. Great Britain (represented by the England national amateur football team) won the gold medals. They repeated the feat at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm.[11]

With the Olympic event continuing to be a contest between amateur teams only, Sir Thomas Lipton organised the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy tournament in Turin in 1909. The Lipton tournament was a championship between individual clubs (not national teams) from different nations, each of which represented an entire nation. The competition is sometimes described as The First World Cup,[12] and featured the most prestigious professional club sides from Italy, Germany and Switzerland, but the FA of England refused to be associated with the competition and declined the offer to send a professional team. Lipton invited West Auckland, an amateur side from County Durham, to represent England instead. West Auckland won the tournament and returned in 1911 to successfully defend their title.[13] Prior to the Lipton competition, from 1876 to 1904, games that were considered to be the "football world championship" were meetings between leading English and Scottish clubs, such as the 1895 game between Sunderland A.F.C. and the Heart of Midlothian F.C., which Sunderland won.[14]

In 1914, FIFA agreed to recognise the Olympic tournament as a "world football championship for amateurs", and took responsibility for managing the event.[15] This paved the way for the world's first intercontinental football competition for nations, at the 1920 Summer Olympics, contested by Egypt and 13 European teams, and won by Belgium.[16] Uruguay won the next two Olympic football tournaments in 1924 and 1928. Those were also the first two open world championships, as 1924 was the start of FIFA's professional era, and is the reason why Uruguay is allowed to wear 4 stars.[17][18]

World Cups before World War II

FIFA president Jules Rimet convinced the confederations to promote an international football tournament

Due to the success of the Olympic football tournaments, FIFA, with President Jules Rimet as the driving force, again started looking at staging its own international tournament outside of the Olympics. On 28 May 1928, the FIFA Congress in Amsterdam decided to stage a world championship.[19] With Uruguay now two-time official football world champions and to celebrate their centenary of independence in 1930, FIFA named Uruguay as the host country of the inaugural World Cup tournament.[20]

The national associations of selected nations were invited to send a team, but the choice of Uruguay as a venue for the competition meant a long and costly trip across the Atlantic Ocean for European sides, especially in the midst of the Great Depression. As such, no European country pledged to send a team until two months before the start of the competition. Rimet eventually persuaded teams from Belgium, France, Romania, and Yugoslavia to make the trip.[20] In total, 13 nations took part: seven from South America, four from Europe, and two from North America.[21]

Estadio Centenario, the location of the first World Cup final in 1930 in Montevideo, Uruguay

The first two World Cup matches took place simultaneously on 13 July 1930, and were won by France and the United States, who defeated Mexico 4–1 and Belgium 3–0 respectively. The first goal in World Cup history was scored by Lucien Laurent of France.[22] In the final, Uruguay defeated Argentina 4–2 in front of 93,000 spectators in Montevideo, and became the first nation to win the World Cup.[23] After the creation of the World Cup, FIFA and the IOC disagreed over the status of amateur players; football was dropped from the 1932 Summer Olympics.[24][25] After the IOC and FIFA worked out their differences, Olympic football returned at the 1936 Summer Olympics, but was now overshadowed by the more prestigious World Cup.[24]

The issues facing the early World Cup tournaments were the difficulties of intercontinental travel, and war. Few South American teams were willing to travel to Europe for the 1934 World Cup and all North and South American nations except Brazil and Cuba boycotted the 1938 tournament. Brazil was the only South American team to compete in both. The 1942 and 1946 competitions, which Germany and Brazil sought to host,[26] were cancelled due to World War II.[27]

World Cups after World War II

The opening game of the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, shortly before the 1950 FIFA World Cup

The 1950 World Cup, held in Brazil, was the first to include British football associations. Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland had withdrawn from FIFA in 1920, partly out of unwillingness to play against the countries they had been at war with, and partly as a protest against foreign influence on football.[28] The teams rejoined in 1946 following FIFA's invitation.[29] The tournament also saw the return of 1930 champions Uruguay, who had boycotted the previous two World Cups. Uruguay won the tournament again after defeating the host nation Brazil, in the match called "Maracanazo" (Portuguese: Maracanaço).[30]

In the tournaments between 1934 and 1978, 16 teams competed in each tournament, except in 1938, when Austria was absorbed into Germany after qualifying, leaving the tournament with 15 teams, and in 1950, when India, Scotland, and Turkey withdrew, leaving the tournament with 13 teams.[31] Most of the participating nations were from Europe and South America, with a small minority from North America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. These teams were usually defeated easily by the European and South American teams. Until 1982, the only teams from outside Europe and South America to advance out of the first round were: United States, semi-finalists in 1930; Cuba, quarter-finalists in 1938; North Korea, quarter-finalists in 1966; and Mexico, quarter-finalists in 1970.

Expansion to 24 and 32 teams

Inside Soccer City in Johannesburg, South Africa, during a match at the 2010 FIFA World Cup

The tournament was expanded to 24 teams in 1982,[32] and then to 32 in 1998,[33] allowing more teams from Africa, Asia and North America to take part. Since then, teams from these regions have enjoyed more success, with several having reached the quarter-finals: Mexico, quarter-finalists in 1986; Cameroon, quarter-finalists in 1990; South Korea, finishing in fourth place in 2002; Senegal, along with USA, both quarter-finalists in 2002; Ghana, quarter-finalists in 2010; Costa Rica, quarter-finalists in 2014; and Morocco, finishing in fourth place in 2022. European and South American teams continue to dominate, e.g., the quarter-finalists in 1994, 1998, 2006 and 2018 were all from Europe or South America and so were the finalists of all tournaments so far.

Two hundred teams entered the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds. 198 nations attempted to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. A record 204 countries entered qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[34]

Expansion to 48 teams

In October 2013, Sepp Blatter spoke of guaranteeing the Caribbean Football Union's region a position in the World Cup.[35] In the edition of 25 October 2013 of the FIFA Weekly Blatter wrote that: "From a purely sporting perspective, I would like to see globalisation finally taken seriously, and the African and Asian national associations accorded the status they deserve at the FIFA World Cup. It cannot be that the European and South American confederations lay claim to the majority of the berths at the World Cup."[36] Those two remarks suggested to commentators that Blatter could be putting himself forward for re-election to the FIFA Presidency.[37]

Following the magazine's publication, Blatter's would-be opponent for the FIFA Presidency, UEFA President Michel Platini, responded that he intended to extend the World Cup to 40 national associations, increasing the number of participants by eight. Platini said that he would allocate an additional berth to UEFA, two each to the Asian Football Confederation and the Confederation of African Football, two shared between CONCACAF and CONMEBOL, and a guaranteed place for the Oceania Football Confederation.[38] Platini was clear about why he wanted to expand the World Cup. He said: "[The World Cup is] not based on the quality of the teams because you don't have the best 32 at the World Cup ... but it's a good compromise. ... It's a political matter so why not have more Africans? The competition is to bring all the people of all the world. If you don't give the possibility to participate, they don't improve."[38]

In October 2016, FIFA president Gianni Infantino stated his support for a 48-team World Cup in 2026.[39] On 10 January 2017, FIFA confirmed the 2026 World Cup will have 48 finalist teams.[40]

2015 FIFA corruption case

Main article: 2015 FIFA corruption case

By May 2015, the games were under a particularly dark cloud because of the 2015 FIFA corruption case, allegations and criminal charges of bribery, fraud and money laundering to corrupt the issuing of media and marketing rights (rigged bids) for FIFA games,[41] with FIFA officials accused of taking bribes totaling more than $150 million over 24 years. In late May, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a 47-count indictment with charges of racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy against 14 people. Arrests of over a dozen FIFA officials were made since that time, particularly on 29 May and 3 December.[42] By the end of May 2015, a total of nine FIFA officials and five executives of sports and broadcasting markets had already been charged on corruption. At the time, FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced he would relinquish his position in February 2016.[43]

On 4 June 2015, Chuck Blazer while co-operating with the FBI and the Swiss authorities admitted that he and the other members of FIFA's then-executive committee were bribed in order to promote the 1998 and 2010 World Cups.[44] On 10 June 2015, Swiss authorities seized computer data from the offices of Sepp Blatter.[45] The same day, FIFA postponed the bidding process for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in light of the allegations surrounding bribery in the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. Then-secretary general Jérôme Valcke stated, "Due to the situation, I think it's nonsense to start any bidding process for the time being."[46] On 28 October 2015, Blatter and FIFA VP Michel Platini, a potential candidate for presidency, were suspended for 90 days; both maintained their innocence in statements made to the news media.[47]

On 3 December 2015 two FIFA vice-presidents were arrested on suspicion of bribery in the same Zurich hotel where seven FIFA officials had been arrested in May.[48] An additional 16 indictments by the US Department of Justice were announced on the same day.[49]

Biennial World Cup proposition

A biennial World Cup plan was first proposed by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation at the 71st FIFA Congress on 21 May 2021 and prominently backed by former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger and national federations in Africa and Asia.[50] Continental confederations such as UEFA and CONMEBOL are not on board with the plan[51][52] but, in total, the idea is supported by 166 of the 210 member associations of FIFA.[53]

Other FIFA tournaments

BC Place in Vancouver hosting a 2015 Women's World Cup match

An equivalent tournament for women's football, the FIFA Women's World Cup, was first held in 1991 in China.[54] The women's tournament is smaller in scale and profile than the men's, but is growing; the number of entrants for the 2007 tournament was 120, more than double that of 1991.[55]

Men's football has been included in every Summer Olympic Games except 1896 and 1932. Unlike many other sports, the men's football tournament at the Olympics is not a top-level tournament, and since 1992, an under-23 tournament with each team allowed three over-age players.[56] Women's football made its Olympic debut in 1996.

The FIFA Confederations Cup was a tournament held one year before the World Cup at the World Cup host nation(s) as a dress rehearsal for the upcoming World Cup. It is contested by the winners of each of the six FIFA confederation championships, along with the FIFA World Cup champion and the host country.[57] The first edition took place in 1992 and the last edition was played in 2017. In March 2019, FIFA confirmed that the tournament would no longer be active owing to an expansion of the FIFA Club World Cup in 2021.[58]

FIFA also organises international tournaments for youth football (FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIFA U-17 World Cup, FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup), club football (FIFA Club World Cup), and football variants such as futsal (FIFA Futsal World Cup) and beach soccer (FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup). The latter three do not have a women's version, although a FIFA Women's Club World Cup has been proposed.[59]

The FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is held biannually, including the year before each Women's World Cup. Both tournaments were awarded in a single bidding process on three occasions, with the U-20 tournament serving as a dress rehearsal for the larger competition each time (2010, 2014 and 2018).[60]

Trophy

Main article: FIFA World Cup Trophy

Jules Rimet trophy, awarded from 1930 to 1970

From 1930 to 1970, the Jules Rimet Trophy was awarded to the World Cup winning team. It was originally simply known as the World Cup or Coupe du Monde, but in 1946 it was renamed after the FIFA president Jules Rimet who set up the first tournament. In 1970, Brazil's third victory in the tournament entitled them to keep the trophy permanently. However, the trophy was stolen in 1983 and has never been recovered, apparently melted down by the thieves.[61]

The current trophy (held by Kylian Mbappé in 2018) was designed by Italian Silvio Gazzaniga and first awarded in 1974

After 1970, a new trophy, known as the FIFA World Cup Trophy, was designed. The experts of FIFA, coming from seven countries, evaluated the 53 presented models, finally opting for the work of the Italian designer Silvio Gazzaniga. The new trophy is 36 cm (14.2 in) high, made of solid 18 carat (75%) gold and weighs 6.175 kg (13.6 lb).[62]

The base contains two layers of semi-precious malachite while the bottom side of the trophy bears the engraved year and name of each FIFA World Cup winner since 1974.[62] The description of the trophy by Gazzaniga was: "The lines spring out from the base, rising in spirals, stretching out to receive the world. From the remarkable dynamic tensions of the compact body of the sculpture rise the figures of two athletes at the stirring moment of victory."[63]

This new trophy is not awarded to the winning nation permanently. World Cup winners retain the trophy only until the post-match celebration is finished. They are awarded a gold-plated replica rather than the solid gold original immediately afterwards.[64]

All members (players, coaches, and managers) of the top three teams receive medals with an insignia of the World Cup Trophy; winners' (gold), runners-up' (silver), and third-place (bronze). In the 2002 edition, fourth-place medals were awarded to hosts South Korea. Before the 1978 tournament, medals were only awarded to the eleven players on the pitch at the end of the final and the third-place match. In November 2007, FIFA announced that all members of World Cup-winning squads between 1930 and 1974 were to be retroactively awarded winners' medals.[65][66][67]

Since 2006, winners of the competition are also awarded the right to wear the FIFA Champions Badge, up until the time at which the winner of the next competition is decided.[68]

Format

Qualification

Main article: FIFA World Cup qualification

Since the second World Cup in 1934, qualifying tournaments have been held to thin the field for the final tournament.[69] They are held within the six FIFA continental zones (Africa, Asia, North and Central America and Caribbean, South America, Oceania, and Europe), overseen by their respective confederations. For each tournament, FIFA decides the number of places awarded to each of the continental zones beforehand, generally based on the relative strength of the confederations' teams.

The qualification process can start as early as almost three years before the final tournament and last over a two-year period. The formats of the qualification tournaments differ between confederations. Usually, one or two places are awarded to winners of intercontinental play-offs. For example, the winner of the Oceanian zone and the fifth-placed team from the Asian zone entered a play-off for a spot in the 2010 World Cup.[70] From the 1938 World Cup onwards, host nations receive automatic qualification to the final tournament. This right was also granted to the defending champions between 1938 and 2002, but was withdrawn from the 2006 FIFA World Cup onward, requiring the champions to qualify. Brazil, winners in 2002, were the first defending champions to play qualifying matches.[71]

Final tournament

For the various formats used in previous tournaments, see History of the FIFA World Cup § Evolution of the format.

The final tournament format since 1998 has had 32 national teams competing over the course of a month in the host nations. There are two stages: the group stage, followed by the knockout stage.[72]

In the group stage, teams compete within eight groups of four teams each. Eight teams are seeded, including the hosts, with the other seeded teams selected using a formula based on the FIFA World Rankings or performances in recent World Cups, and drawn to separate groups.[73] The other teams are assigned to different "pots", usually based on geographical criteria, and teams in each pot are drawn at random to the eight groups. Since 1998, constraints have been applied to the draw to ensure that no group contains more than two European teams or more than one team from any other confederation.[74]

Each group plays a round-robin tournament in which each team is scheduled for three matches against other teams in the same group. This means that a total of six matches are played within a group. The last round of matches of each group is scheduled at the same time to preserve fairness among all four teams.[75] The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage. Points are used to rank the teams within a group. Since 1994, three points have been awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss (before, winners received two points).

Considering six matches in a group each with three possible outcomes (win, draw, loss), there are 729 (= 36) possible final table outcomes for the 40 possible combinations of the four teams' points.[76] However, 14 of the 40 points combinations (or 207 of the 729 possible outcomes) lead to ties between the second and third places. In such case, the ranking among these teams is determined by:[77]

Greatest combined goal difference in all group matches

Greatest combined number of goals scored in all group matches

If more than one team remain level after applying the above criteria, their ranking will be determined as follows:

Greatest number of points in head-to-head matches among those teams

Greatest goal difference in head-to-head matches among those teams

Greatest number of goals scored in head-to-head matches among those teams

Fair play points, defined by the number of yellow and red cards received in the group stage:

Yellow card: minus 1 point

Indirect red card (as a result of a second yellow card): minus 3 points

Direct red card: minus 4 points

Yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points

If any of the teams above remain level after applying the above criteria, their ranking will be determined by the drawing of lots

The knockout stage is a single-elimination tournament in which teams play each other in one-off matches, with extra time and penalty shootouts used to decide the winner if necessary. It begins with the round of 16 (or the second round) in which the winner of each group plays against the runner-up of another group. This is followed by the quarter-finals, the semi-finals, the third-place match (contested by the losing semi-finalists), and the final.[72]

On 10 January 2017, FIFA approved a new format, the 48-team World Cup (to accommodate more teams), which was to consist of 16 groups of three teams each, with two teams qualifying from each group, to form a round of 32 knockout stage, to be implemented by 2026.[78] On 14 March 2023, FIFA approved a revised format of the 2026 tournament, which features 12 groups of four teams each, with the top 8 third-placed teams joining the group winners and runners-up in a new round of 32.[79][80]

Hosts

Main article: FIFA World Cup hosts

Selection process

A map of FIFA World Cup final hosts, 1930–2022. Green: once; dark green: twice; light green: planned

Early World Cups were given to countries at meetings of FIFA's congress. The locations were controversial because South America and Europe were by far the two centres of strength in football and travel between them required three weeks by boat. The decision to hold the first World Cup in Uruguay, for example, led to only four European nations competing.[81] The next two World Cups were both held in Europe. The decision to hold the second of these in France was disputed, as the South American countries understood that the location would alternate between the two continents. Both Argentina and Uruguay thus boycotted the 1938 FIFA World Cup.[82]

Since the 1958 FIFA World Cup, to avoid future boycotts or controversy, FIFA began a pattern of alternating the hosts between the Americas and Europe, which continued until the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The 2002 FIFA World Cup, hosted jointly by South Korea and Japan, was the first one held in Asia, and the first tournament with multiple hosts.[83] South Africa became the first African nation to host the World Cup in 2010. The 2014 FIFA World Cup was hosted by Brazil, the first held in South America since Argentina 1978,[84] and was the first occasion where consecutive World Cups were held outside Europe.[85]

Russian delegates celebrate being chosen as the host of the 2018 FIFA World Cup

The host country is now chosen in a vote by FIFA's Council. This is done under an exhaustive ballot system. The national football association of a country desiring to host the event receives a "Hosting Agreement" from FIFA, which explains the steps and requirements that are expected from a strong bid. The bidding association also receives a form, the submission of which represents the official confirmation of the candidacy. After this, a FIFA designated group of inspectors visit the country to identify that the country meets the requirements needed to host the event and a report on the country is produced. The decision on who will host the World Cup is usually made six or seven years in advance of the tournament. There have been occasions where the hosts of multiple future tournaments were announced at the same time, as was the case for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, which were awarded to Russia and Qatar, with Qatar becoming the first Middle Eastern country to host the tournament.[86][87]

For the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, the final tournament was rotated between confederations, allowing only countries from the chosen confederation (Africa in 2010, South America in 2014) to bid to host the tournament. The rotation policy was introduced after the controversy surrounding Germany's victory over South Africa in the vote to host the 2006 tournament. However, the policy of continental rotation did not continue beyond 2014, so any country, except those belonging to confederations that hosted the two preceding tournaments, can apply as hosts for World Cups starting from 2018.[88] This is partly to avoid a similar scenario to the bidding process for the 2014 tournament, where Brazil was the only official bidder.[89]

The 2026 FIFA World Cup was chosen to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, marking the first time a World Cup has been shared by three host nations.[90] The 2026 tournament will be the biggest World Cup ever held, with 48 teams playing 104 matches. Sixty matches will take place in the US, including all matches from the quarter-finals onward, while Canada and Mexico will host 10 games each.[90]

Selection results

Total of World Cup competitions hosted by each confederation (1930–2026)

Confederation and year in bold has an upcoming competition.

Confederation Total Hosts

Asian Football Confederation

(AFC) 2 2002:  South Korea,  Japan

2022:  Qatar

2034:  Saudi Arabia

Confederation of African Football

(CAF) 2 2010:  South Africa

2030:  Morocco

Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football

(CONCACAF) 4 1970:  Mexico

1986:  Mexico

1994:  United States

2026:  Canada,  Mexico,  United States

South American Football Confederation

(CONMEBOL) 5 1930:  Uruguay

1950:  Brazil

1962:  Chile

1978:  Argentina

2014:  Brazil

Oceania Football Confederation

(OFC) 0  

Union of European Football Associations

(UEFA) 12 1934:  Italy

1938:  France

1954:   Switzerland

1958:  Sweden

1966:  England

1974:  West Germany*

1982:  Spain

1990:  Italy

1998:  France

2006:  Germany*

2018:  Russia

2030:  Spain,  Portugal

Two competitions cancelled due to World War II 0 1942

1946

* West Germany was the host of the 1974 Cup, and (reunited) Germany host to the one in 2006

Performances

See also: Results of host nations in the FIFA World Cup

Six of the eight champions have won one of their titles while playing in their own homeland, the exceptions being Brazil, who finished as runners-up after losing the deciding match on home soil in 1950 and lost their semi-final against Germany in 2014, and Spain, which reached the second round on home soil in 1982. England (1966) won its only title while playing as a host nation. Uruguay (1930), Italy (1934), Argentina (1978), and France (1998) won their first titles as host nations but have gone on to win again, while Germany (1974) won their second title on home soil.[91][92]

Other nations have also been successful when hosting the tournament. Switzerland (quarter-finals 1954), Sweden (runners-up in 1958), Chile (third place in 1962), South Korea (fourth place in 2002), Russia (quarter-finals 2018), and Mexico (quarter-finals in 1970 and 1986) all have their best results when serving as hosts.[92][93] So far, South Africa (2010) and Qatar (2022) failed to advance beyond the first round.[94][95]

Attendance

See also: List of sports attendance figures

Year Hosts Venues/

Cities Total

attendance † Matches Average

attendance Highest attendances ‡

Number Venue Game(s)

1930 Uruguay 3/1 590,549 18 32,808 93,000 Estadio Centenario, Montevideo Uruguay 6–1 Yugoslavia, semi-final

1934 Italy 8/8 363,000 17 21,353 55,000 Stadio Nazionale PNF, Rome Italy 2–1 Czechoslovakia, final

1938 France 10/9 375,700 18 20,872 58,455 Olympique de Colombes, Paris France 1–3 Italy, quarter-final

1950 Brazil 6/6 1,045,246 22 47,511 173,850[96] Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Brazil 1–2 Uruguay, deciding match

1954   Switzerland 6/6 768,607 26 29,562 63,000 Wankdorf Stadium, Bern West Germany 3–2 Hungary, final

1958 Sweden 12/12 819,810 35 23,423 50,928 Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg Brazil 2–0 Soviet Union, group stage

1962 Chile 4/4 893,172 32 27,912 68,679 Estadio Nacional, Santiago Brazil 4–2 Chile, semi-final

1966 England 8/7 1,563,135 32 48,848 98,270 Wembley Stadium, London England 4–2 West Germany, final

1970 Mexico 5/5 1,603,975 32 50,124 108,192 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City Mexico 1–0 Belgium, group stage

1974 West Germany 9/9 1,865,753 38 49,099 83,168 Olympiastadion, Munich West Germany 1–0 Chile, group stage

1978 Argentina 6/5 1,545,791 38 40,679 71,712 Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires Italy 1–0 Argentina, group stage

1982 Spain 17/14 2,109,723 52 40,572 95,500 Camp Nou, Barcelona Argentina 0–1 Belgium, Opening match

1986 Mexico 12/11 2,394,031 52 46,039 114,600 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City Mexico 1–1 Paraguay, group stage

Argentina 3–2 West Germany, final

1990 Italy 12/12 2,516,215 52 48,389 74,765 San Siro, Milan West Germany 4–1 Yugoslavia, group stage

1994 United States 9/9 3,587,538 52 68,991 94,194 Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California Brazil 0–0 (3–2p) Italy, final

1998 France 10/10 2,785,100 64 43,517 80,000 Stade de France, Saint-Denis Brazil 0–3 France, final

2002 South Korea

 Japan 20/20 2,705,197 64 42,269 69,029 International Stadium, Yokohama, Japan Brazil 2–0 Germany, final

2006 Germany 12/12 3,359,439 64 52,491 72,000 Olympiastadion, Berlin Germany 1–1 (4–2p) Argentina, quarter-final

2010 South Africa 10/9 3,178,856 64 49,670 84,490 Soccer City, Johannesburg Spain 1–0 Netherlands, final

2014 Brazil 12/12 3,429,873 64 53,592 74,738 Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Germany 1–0 Argentina, final

2018 Russia 12/11 3,031,768 64 47,371 78,011 Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow France 4–2 Croatia, final

2022 Qatar 8/5 3,404,252 64 53,191 88,966 Lusail Stadium, Qatar Argentina 3–3 (4–2p) France, final

2026 Canada

 Mexico

 United States 16/16 104

2030[n 1] Morocco

 Portugal

 Spain

104

2034 Saudi Arabia 104

Overall 43,936,730 964 45,577 173,850[96] Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro (1950)

† Source: FIFA[97]

‡ The best-attended single match has been the final in 11 of the 21 World Cups as of 2018. Another match or matches drew more attendance than the final in 1930, 1938, 1958, 1962, 1970–1982, 1990, and 2006.

Broadcasting and promotion

A Coca-Cola bottle promoting the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan

The World Cup was first televised in 1954 and as of 2006 is the most widely viewed and followed sporting event in the world. The cumulative viewership of all matches of the 2006 World Cup was estimated to be 26.29 billion.[2] 715.1 million individuals watched the final match of the tournament, almost a ninth of the entire population of the planet. The 2006 World Cup draw, which decided the distribution of teams into groups, was watched by 300 million viewers.[98] The World Cup attracts major sponsors such as Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Adidas. For these companies and many more, being a sponsor strongly impacts their global brands. Host countries typically experience a multimillion-dollar revenue increase from the month-long event.

The governing body of the sport, FIFA, generated $4.8 billion in revenue from the 2014 tournament,[99] and $6.1 billion from the 2018 tournament.[100]

Manufactured by Adidas since the 1970 World Cup, official match balls displayed at FIFA headquarters in Zürich

Each FIFA World Cup since 1966 has its own mascot or logo. World Cup Willie, the mascot for the 1966 competition, was the first World Cup mascot.[101] World Cups feature official match balls specially designed for each tournament. After Slazenger produced the ball for the 1966 World Cup Adidas became the official supplier to FIFA.[102] Each World Cup also has an official song, which have been performed by artists ranging from Shakira to Will Smith.[103][104] Other songs, such as “Nessun dorma”, performed by The Three Tenors at four World Cup concerts, have also become identified with the tournament.[105]

Forming a partnership with FIFA in 1970, Panini published its first sticker album for the 1970 World Cup.[106] Since then, collecting and trading stickers and cards has become part of the World Cup experience, especially for the younger generation.[107] FIFA has licensed World Cup video games since 1986, sponsored by Electronic Arts.[106]

Results

See also: List of FIFA World Cup finals

Key

aet: result/match won after extra time

p: match won after penalty shoot-out

TBD: to be determined

Ed. Year Host Final Third-place play-off No. of

teams

Champion Score Runner-up Third Score Fourth

1 1930 Uruguay

Uruguay 4–2

Argentina

United States

– [n 2]

Yugoslavia 13

2 1934 Italy

Italy 2–1 (a.e.t.)

Czechoslovakia

Germany 3–2

Austria 16

3 1938 France

Italy 4–2

Hungary

Brazil 4–2

Sweden 15

– 1942 (Not held because of World War II)

– 1946

4 1950 Brazil

Uruguay 2–1 [n 3]

Brazil

Sweden 3–1 [n 3]

Spain 13

5 1954   Switzerland

West Germany 3–2

Hungary

Austria 3–1

Uruguay 16

6 1958 Sweden

Brazil 5–2

Sweden

France 6–3

West Germany 16

7 1962 Chile

Brazil 3–1

Czechoslovakia

Chile 1–0

Yugoslavia 16

8 1966 England

England 4–2 (a.e.t.)

West Germany

Portugal 2–1

Soviet Union 16

9 1970 Mexico

Brazil 4–1

Italy

West Germany 1–0

Uruguay 16

10 1974 West Germany

West Germany 2–1

Netherlands

Poland 1–0

Brazil 16

11 1978 Argentina

Argentina 3–1 (a.e.t.)

Netherlands

Brazil 2–1

Italy 16

12 1982 Spain

Italy 3–1

West Germany

Poland 3–2

France 24

13 1986 Mexico

Argentina 3–2

West Germany

France 4–2 (a.e.t.)

Belgium 24

14 1990 Italy

West Germany 1–0

Argentina

Italy 2–1

England 24

15 1994 United States

Brazil 0–0 (a.e.t.)

(3–2 p)

Italy

Sweden 4–0

Bulgaria 24

16 1998 France

France 3–0

Brazil

Croatia 2–1

Netherlands 32

17 2002 South Korea

 Japan

Brazil 2–0

Germany

Turkey 3–2

South Korea 32

18 2006 Germany

Italy 1–1 (a.e.t.)

(5–3 p)

France

Germany 3–1

Portugal 32

19 2010 South Africa

Spain 1–0 (a.e.t.)

Netherlands

Germany 3–2

Uruguay 32

20 2014 Brazil

Germany 1–0 (a.e.t.)

Argentina

Netherlands 3–0

Brazil 32

21 2018 Russia

France 4–2

Croatia

Belgium 2–0

England 32

22 2022 Qatar

Argentina 3–3 (a.e.t.)

(4–2 p)

France

Croatia 2–1

Morocco 32

23 2026 Canada

 Mexico

 United States 48

24 2030[n 1] Morocco

 Portugal

 Spain 48

25 2034 Saudi Arabia 48

Notes

 Opening three games hosts:

 Argentina

 Paraguay

 Uruguay

 There was no third place match in 1930; the two losing semi-finalists are ranked according to their overall records in the tournament.[108]

 The final stage in 1950 was a round-robin group of four teams. Coincidentally, one of the last two matches pitted together the top two teams (and the only two who could win the title), and the other was between the bottom two teams. Uruguay v Brazil is often considered the de facto final of the 1950 World Cup.[109][110]

In all, 80 nations have played in at least one World Cup.[a] Of these, eight national teams have won the World Cup,[115] and they have added stars to their badges, with each star representing a World Cup victory. Uruguay, however, chose to display four stars on their badge, representing their two gold medals at the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics, which are recognized by FIFA as World Championships, and their two World Cup titles in 1930 and 1950.

With five titles, Brazil are the most successful World Cup team and also the only nation to have played in every World Cup (22) to date.[116] Brazil were also the first team to win the World Cup for the third (1970), fourth (1994) and fifth (2002) time. Italy (1934 and 1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962) are the only nations to have won consecutive titles. West Germany (1982–1990) and Brazil (1994–2002) are the only nations to appear in three consecutive World Cup finals. Germany has made the most top-four finishes (13), medals (12), as well as the most finals (8).

Map of countries' best results

Teams reaching the top four

See also: FIFA World Cup records and statistics

Teams reaching the top four

Team Titles Runners-up Third place Fourth place Top 4

total

 Brazil 5 (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002) 2 (1950*, 1998) 2 (1938, 1978) 2 (1974, 2014*) 11

 Germany1 4 (1954, 1974*, 1990, 2014) 4 (1966, 1982, 1986, 2002) 4 (1934, 1970, 2006*, 2010) 1 (1958) 13

 Italy 4 (1934*, 1938, 1982, 2006) 2 (1970, 1994) 1 (1990*) 1 (1978) 8

 Argentina 3 (1978*, 1986, 2022) 3 (1930, 1990, 2014) 6

 France 2 (1998*, 2018) 2 (2006, 2022) 2 (1958, 1986) 1 (1982) 7

 Uruguay 2 (1930*, 1950) 3 (1954, 1970, 2010) 5

 England 1 (1966*) 2 (1990, 2018) 3

 Spain 1 (2010) 1 (1950) 2

 Netherlands 3 (1974, 1978, 2010) 1 (2014) 1 (1998) 5

 Hungary 2 (1938, 1954) 2

 Czech Republic2 2 (1934, 1962) 2

 Sweden 1 (1958*) 2 (1950, 1994) 1 (1938) 4

 Croatia 1 (2018) 2 (1998, 2022) 3

 Poland 2 (1974, 1982) 2

 Austria 1 (1954) 1 (1934) 2

 Portugal 1 (1966) 1 (2006) 2

 Belgium 1 (2018) 1 (1986) 2

 United States 1 (1930) 1

 Chile 1 (1962*) 1

 Turkey 1 (2002) 1

 Serbia3 2 (1930, 1962) 2

 Russia4 1 (1966) 1

 Bulgaria 1 (1994) 1

 South Korea 1 (2002*) 1

 Morocco 1 (2022) 1

* hosts

1 includes results representing West Germany between 1954 and 1990

2 includes results representing Czechoslovakia

3 includes results representing Yugoslavia and FR Yugoslavia

4 includes results representing the Soviet Union and CIS

Best performances by confederations

See also: FIFA World Cup results by confederation

South Koreans watching their nation on the big screens in Seoul Plaza during the 2002 World Cup when they became the first Asian country to reach the semi-finals

To date, the final of the World Cup has only been contested by teams from the UEFA (Europe) and CONMEBOL (South America) confederations. European nations have won twelve titles, while South American nations have won ten. Only three teams from outside these two continents have ever reached the semi-finals of the competition: United States (North, Central America and Caribbean) in 1930; South Korea (Asia) in 2002; and Morocco (Africa) in 2022. Only one Oceanian qualifier, Australia in 2006, has advanced to the second round, a feat they later reaccomplished in 2022.[b]

Brazil, Argentina, Spain and Germany are the only teams to win a World Cup hosted outside their continental confederation; Brazil came out victorious in Europe (1958), North America (1970 and 1994) and Asia (2002). Argentina won a World Cup in North America in 1986 and in Asia in 2022. Spain won in Africa in 2010. In 2014, Germany became the first European team to win in the Americas. Only on five occasions have consecutive World Cups been won by teams from the same continent; the longest streak of tournaments won by a single confederation is four, with the 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018 tournaments all won by UEFA teams (Italy, Spain, Germany, and France, respectively).

Total times teams qualified by confederation

Confederation AFC CAF CONCACAF CONMEBOL OFC UEFA Total

Teams 43 49 46 89 4 258 489

Top 16 9 11 15 37 1 99 172

Top 8 2 4 5 36 0 105 152

Top 4 1 1 1 23 0 62 88

Top 2 0 0 0 15 0 29 44

4th 1 1 0 5 0 15 22

3rd 0 0 1 3 0 18 22

2nd 0 0 0 5 0 17 22

1st 0 0 0 10 0 12 22

Records and statistics

Main article: FIFA World Cup records and statistics

See also: List of players who have appeared in the most FIFA World Cups, List of FIFA World Cup winning players, and List of FIFA World Cup winning managers

Argentina's Lionel Messi has played a record 26 World Cup matches across a joint-record five tournaments.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the first and only player to score in five tournaments.

Six players share the record for playing in the most World Cups; Mexico's Antonio Carbajal (1950–1966). Rafael Márquez (2002–2018), and Andrés Guardado (2006-2022); Germany's Lothar Matthäus (1982–1998); Argentina's Lionel Messi (2006–2022); and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (2006–2022) all played in five tournaments, with Ronaldo also being the first and only player to score in five tournaments.[117][118] Messi has played the most World Cup matches overall, with 26 appearances.[119] Brazil's Djalma Santos (1954–1962), West Germany's Franz Beckenbauer (1966–1974), and Germany's Philipp Lahm (2006–2014) are the only players to be named to three World Cup All-Star Teams.[120]

Miroslav Klose of Germany (2002–2014) is the all-time top scorer at the World Cup with 16 goals. He broke Ronaldo of Brazil's record of 15 goals (1998–2006) during the 2014 semi-final match against Brazil. West Germany's Gerd Müller (1970–1974) is third, with 14 goals.[121] The fourth-placed goalscorer, France's Just Fontaine, holds the record for the most goals scored in a single World Cup; all his 13 goals were scored in the 1958 tournament.[122]

Pelé is the only person to win the World Cup three times as a player.

In November 2007, FIFA announced that all members of World Cup-winning squads between 1930 and 1974 were to be retroactively awarded winners' medals.[65] This made Brazil's Pelé the only player to have won three World Cup winners' medals (1958, 1962, and 1970, although he did not play in the 1962 final due to injury),[123] with 20 other players who have won two winners' medals. Seven players have collected all three types of World Cup medals (winners', runner- ups', and third-place); five players were from West Germany's squad of 1966–1974: Franz Beckenbauer, Jürgen Grabowski, Horst-Dieter Höttges, Sepp Maier, and Wolfgang Overath (1966–1974), Italy's Franco Baresi (1982, 1990, 1994) and the most recent has been Miroslav Klose of Germany (2002–2014) with four consecutive medals.[124]

Brazil's Mário Zagallo, West Germany's Franz Beckenbauer and France's Didier Deschamps are the only people to date to win the World Cup as both player and head coach. Zagallo won in 1958 and 1962 as a player and in 1970 as head coach.[125] Beckenbauer won in 1974 as captain and in 1990 as head coach,[126] and Deschamps repeated the feat in 2018, after having won in 1998 as captain.[127] Italy's Vittorio Pozzo is the only head coach to ever win two World Cups (1934 and 1938).[128] All World Cup-winning head coaches were natives of the country they coached to victory.[129]

Among the national teams, Brazil has played the most World Cup matches (114), Germany appeared in the most finals (8), semi-finals (13), and quarter-finals (16), while Brazil has appeared in the most World Cups (22), has the most wins (76) and has scored the most goals (237).[130][131] The two teams have played each other twice in the World Cup, in the 2002 final and in the 2014 semi-final.[132]

Top goalscorers

Main article: FIFA World Cup top goalscorers

Individual

Players in bold are still active.

Miroslav Klose scored a record 16 goals across four World Cups.

Rank Player Goals Matches Goals per game

1 Germany Miroslav Klose 16 24 0.67

2 Brazil Ronaldo 15 19 0.84

3 West Germany Gerd Müller 14 13 1.08

4 France Just Fontaine 13 6 2.17

Argentina Lionel Messi 13 26 0.50

6 France Kylian Mbappé 12 14 0.86

Brazil Pelé 12 14 0.86

8 Hungary Sándor Kocsis 11 5 2.20

Germany Jürgen Klinsmann 11 17 0.65

10 Germany Helmut Rahn 10 10 1.00

Argentina Gabriel Batistuta 10 12 0.83

England Gary Lineker 10 12 0.83

Peru Teófilo Cubillas 10 13 0.77

Germany Thomas Müller 10 19 0.53

Poland Grzegorz Lato 10 20 0.50

Country

Rank National team Goals scored

1 Brazil 237

2 Germany 232

3 Argentina 152

4 France 136

5 Italy 128

6 Spain 108

7 England 104

8 Netherlands 96

9 Uruguay 89

10 Hungary 87

Awards

Main article: FIFA World Cup awards

At the end of each World Cup, awards are presented to the players and teams for accomplishments other than their final team positions in the tournament.

There are five post-tournament awards from the FIFA Technical Study Group:[133][134]

Diego Maradona (holding the World Cup) received the Golden Ball for best player at the 1986 World Cup.

the Golden Ball (named for its sponsor "Adidas Golden Ball") for best player, first awarded in 1982;

the Golden Boot (named for its sponsor "Adidas Golden Boot", formerly known as the "adidas Golden Shoe" from 1982 to 2006) for top goalscorer, first awarded in 1982;

the Golden Glove (named for its sponsor "Adidas Golden Glove", formerly known as the "Lev Yashin Award" from 1994 to 2006) for best goalkeeper, first awarded in 1994;

the FIFA Young Player Award (formerly known as the "Best Young Player Award" from 2006 to 2010) for best player under 21 years of age at the start of the calendar year, first awarded in 2006;

the FIFA Fair Play Trophy for the team that advanced to the second round with the best record of fair play, first awarded in 1970.

There is currently one award voted on by fans during the tournament.:

the Player of the Match (currently commercially termed "Budweiser Player of the Match", formerly known as the "Man of the Match" from 2002 to 2018) for outstanding performance during each match of the tournament, first awarded in 2002.

There are two awards voted on by fans after the conclusion of the tournament:

the Goal of the Tournament, (currently commercially termed "Hyundai Goal of the Tournament") for the fans' best goal scored during the tournament, first awarded in 2006;

the Most Entertaining Team during the World Cup final tournament, as determined by a poll of the general public.

One other award was given between 1994 and 2006:[135]

an All-Star Team comprising the best players of the tournament chosen by the FIFA Technical Study Group. From 2010 onwards, all Dream Teams or Statistical Teams are unofficial, as reported by FIFA itself.

World Cup Golden Ball Golden Boot Goals Golden Glove Clean sheets FIFA Young Player Award FIFA Fair Play Trophy

Uruguay 1930 Uruguay Not Awarded Argentina Guillermo Stábile 8 Not Awarded N/A Not Awarded Not Awarded

Italy 1934 Italy Czechoslovakia Oldřich Nejedlý 5

France 1938 France Brazil Leônidas 7

Brazil 1950 Brazil Brazil Ademir 8

Switzerland 1954 Switzerland Hungary Sándor Kocsis 11

Sweden 1958 Sweden France Just Fontaine 13 Brazil Pelé

Chile 1962 Chile Hungary Flórián Albert

Brazil Garrincha

Brazil Vavá

Soviet Union Valentin Ivanov

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Dražan Jerković

Chile Leonel Sánchez 4 Hungary Flórián Albert

England 1966 England Portugal Eusébio 9 West Germany Franz Beckenbauer

Mexico 1970 Mexico West Germany Gerd Müller 10 Peru Teófilo Cubillas Peru

West Germany 1974 West Germany Poland Grzegorz Lato 7 Poland Władysław Żmuda West Germany

Argentina 1978 Argentina Argentina Mario Kempes 6 Italy Antonio Cabrini Argentina

Spain 1982 Spain Italy Paolo Rossi Italy Paolo Rossi 6 France Manuel Amoros Brazil

Mexico 1986 Mexico Argentina Diego Maradona England Gary Lineker 6 Belgium Enzo Scifo Brazil

Italy 1990 Italy Italy Salvatore Schillaci Italy Salvatore Schillaci 6 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Robert Prosinečki England

United States 1994 United States Brazil Romário Russia Oleg Salenko

Bulgaria Hristo Stoichkov 6 Belgium Michel Preud'homme 2 Netherlands Marc Overmars Brazil

France 1998 France Brazil Ronaldo Croatia Davor Šuker 6 France Fabien Barthez 5 England Michael Owen England

 France

South KoreaJapan 2002 South Korea/Japan Germany Oliver Kahn Brazil Ronaldo 8 Germany Oliver Kahn 5 United States Landon Donovan Belgium

Germany 2006 Germany France Zinedine Zidane Germany Miroslav Klose 5 Italy Gianluigi Buffon 5 Germany Lukas Podolski Brazil

 Spain

South Africa 2010 South Africa Uruguay Diego Forlán Germany Thomas Müller 5 Spain Iker Casillas 5 Germany Thomas Müller Spain

Brazil 2014 Brazil Argentina Lionel Messi Colombia James Rodríguez 6 Germany Manuel Neuer 4 France Paul Pogba Colombia

Russia 2018 Russia Croatia Luka Modrić England Harry Kane 6 Belgium Thibaut Courtois 3 France Kylian Mbappé Spain

Qatar 2022 Qatar Argentina Lionel Messi France Kylian Mbappé 8 Argentina Emiliano Martínez 3 Argentina Enzo Fernández England

See also

icon Association football portal

List of FIFA World Cup finals

FIFA World Cup records and statistics

FIFA World Cup awards

FIFA U-20 World Cup

FIFA U-17 World Cup

FIFA Club World Cup

FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup

FIFA Futsal World Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup

List of association football competitions

Notes

 FIFA considers that the national team of Russia succeeds the Soviet Union, the national team of Serbia succeeds the Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montenegro, and the national teams of Czech Republic and Slovakia succeeds the Czechoslovakia.[111][112][113][114]

 Australia's qualification in 2006 was through the Oceanian zone as they were a member of the OFC member during qualifying. However, on 1 January 2006, they left the Oceania Football Confederation and joined the Asian Football Confederation. In 2022, they again reached the second round, albeit representing Asia.