"Pampas Eagles" Argentina is undoubtedly a unique team in world football, Maradona and Messi have given this football powerhouse a special "king color", the team has produced countless superstars in its history, Argentine players have unparalleled skills, often synonymous with dashing on the field.
Team overview
The Argentine national team has a long history and is one of the most successful in the world, having won 20 major national team competitions in its history, including 2 World Cups, 15 Copa America, 2 Olympic men's football titles and 1 Confederations Cup.
Argentina last won the title back in 1986. In Qatar 2022, Argentina will continue to attack the Hercules Cup, which has been absent for many years.
Best record in history
Argentina has won the World Cup twice in its history, and at the 1978 World Cup hosted in Argentina, Maradona led Argentina to the long-awaited World Cup title on his doorstep. At the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Maradona performed miracles, leaving the classics of "five in a row" and "hand of God", and led the team to the final victory.
Head coach – Lionel Scaloni
Argentina's current coach Lionel Scaloni was born on May 16, 1978, played as a right-back as a player, debuted in Newell Boys, Argentina, and reached the peak of his career in 1998 when he joined La Liga club A Coruña, and Scaloni also played in England and Italy.
In July 2019, Scaloni officially became the manager of the Argentina national team. In July 2021, Scaloni led Argentina to the Copa America title, and in October of the same year, he led Argentina to a 19-game unbeaten streak in official matches, the longest unbeaten run in the team's history in 65 years. Today, Argentina's unbeaten run in all competitions has come to 36 games after sweeping Argentina 5-0 in warm-up matches.
Star player - Messi
Messi is one of the greatest players on the planet, and in the eyes of Messi fans, this "one" can even be removed directly. There is no doubt that Messi represents an era, and he is Argentina's most legendary star after Maradona.
At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Argentina, known as the "Pampas Eagles", passed five levels and six to reach the final, which was the closest Messi had to the Hercules Cup, but the final result was known to everyone - Messi missed the best chance to win the cup. The Qatar World Cup will be Messi's last World Cup and his last chance to compete for the Hercules Cup.
During the World Cup cycle in Qatar, Messi has undergone a huge career change - joining Paris from Barca, and after a dormant period, Messi has gradually regained his form, which has also given fans hope for him and Argentina.
Di Maria
Looking at Argentina's current squad, there is no star who can match Messi in football, but if you look at age and seniority, Di Maria can be regarded as one, he and Messi have experienced many national team battles side by side. Winning the 2008 Olympic Games, winning the 2014 World Cup final, finishing second in the 2015 and 2016 Copa America, losing to France in the 2018 World Cup, and reaching the final winner in the 2021 Copa America are all key moments for Di Maria's national team.
Di Maria, who is 34 years old, admitted before the match that it would be his last World Cup. In the final dance, he will fight alongside Messi again, striving to have the strongest end of their national team careers.
Prospect and qualification situation
In this World Cup, Argentina is in Group C with Saudi Arabia, Poland and Mexico, and Argentina's only goal in the group stage is to qualify as the first place. For Argentina, who are strong offensively and defensively, winning the title is their ultimate goal.
Group Stage Schedule (Beijing Time)
22 November, 18:00, Argentina-Saudi Arabia
27 November 03:00 Argentina-Mexico
1 December 03:00 Argentina-Poland