Argentina National Football Team

The Argentina national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Argentina) represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association (AFA), the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro Sabella. The team is currently third in the FIFA World Rankings.

La Selección (national team), also known as the Albicelestes (sky blue and whites), has appeared in four World Cup finals, including the first final in 1930, which they lost 4–2 to Uruguay. Argentina won in their next final in 1978, beating the Netherlands 3–1. Argentina, led by Diego Maradona won again in 1986, a 3–2 victory over West Germany. Their most recent World Cup final was in 1990, which they lost 1–0 to Germany by a much disputed penalty. Argentina's World Cup winning managers are César Luis Menotti in 1978, and Carlos Bilardo in 1986.

Argentina has been very successful in the Copa América, winning it fourteen times and also winning the 'extra' South American Championships in 1941, 1945 and 1946. The team also won the FIFA Confederations Cup and the Kirin Cup, both in 1992, and an Argentine team (with only three players of over 23 years of age included in the squad) won the Olympics football tournaments in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.

Argentina has twice won the FIFA World Cup, in 1978 and 1986. Argentina has also won the Copa América (top continental competition) 14 times, the FIFA Confederations Cup in 1992 and the Olympic tournament in 2004 and 2008.

Argentina and France are the only two national teams that have won the three most important men's titles recognized by FIFA: the World Cup, the Confederations Cup, and the Olympic tournament. They have both also won their respective continental championship (Copa América for Argentina, and UEFA European Football Championship for France).

Argentina is known for having rivalries with Brazil, Uruguay, Germany and England due to historic occurrences with one another throughout Football history.

Argentina also won six of the 14 football competitions at the Pan American Games, winning in 1951, 1955, 1959, 1971, 1995 and 2003.

In March 2007, Argentina reached the top of the FIFA World Rankings for the first time.

Read more about Argentina National Football Team:  History, Kit History, Managers, Results and Fixtures, Gallery, Facts

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