Argentina national football team records and statistics
This is a list of statistical records for the Argentina national football team .
Individual records
As of 15 July 2024 [ 1] [ 2]
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.
Top goalscorers
Top assisters
World Cup winning captains
Daniel Passarella in 1978
Caps
Most capped player overall: 187 – Lionel Messi , 2005 – present
Most FIFA World Cup tournaments played: 5 – Lionel Messi in 2006 , 2010 , 2014 , 2018 and 2022
Most FIFA World Cup appearances made: 26 – Lionel Messi
Most FIFA World Cup appearances made as captain: 19 – Lionel Messi
Most CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup qualification appearances made: 65 – Lionel Messi
Most Copa América tournaments played: 7 – Lionel Messi in 2007 , 2011 , 2015 , 2016 , 2019 , 2021 and 2024
Most Copa América appearances made: 39 – Lionel Messi
Youngest player: Diego Maradona , 16 years, 120 days old against Hungary on 27 February 1977
Youngest player to reach 100 caps: Lionel Messi , 27 years, 361 days old against Jamaica on 20 June 2015
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[ 3]
Youngest player to appear in a FIFA World Cup match as captain: Lionel Messi , 22 years, 363 days old against Greece on 22 June 2010
Oldest player: Ángel Labruna , 39 years, 260 days old against Czechoslovakia at the 1958 FIFA World Cup on 15 June 1958
Goals
Most goals scored: 109 – Lionel Messi , 2005–[ 4]
Most goals scored in competitive matches: 58 – Lionel Messi
Most goals scored in international friendlies: 51 – Lionel Messi
Youngest goalscorer: Diego Maradona , 18 years, 7 months and 4 days old against Scotland on 2 June 1979[ 5]
Youngest player to score in a FIFA World Cup match: Lionel Messi , 18 years, 357 days old against Serbia and Montenegro on 16 June 2006[ 6]
Oldest goalscorer: Ángel Labruna , 38 years, 282 days old against Brazil on 7 July 1957
Most hat-tricks scored in all international competitions, including friendlies: 9 – Lionel Messi [ 7]
Most goals scored in a single match: 5 – Juan Marvezzi against Ecuador on 16 February 1941,[ 8] Lionel Messi against Estonia on 5 June 2022[ 9]
Most goals scored in a calendar year: 18 – Lionel Messi in 2022[ 10]
Most direct free kick goals scored in all international competitions, including friendlies: 11 – Lionel Messi
Most FIFA World Cup tournaments scored in: 4 – Lionel Messi in 2006 , 2014 , 2018 and 2022
Most goals scored at the FIFA World Cup : 13 – Lionel Messi [ 11]
Most goals scored at one FIFA World Cup : 8 – Guillermo Stabile in 1930
Most hat-tricks scored at the FIFA World Cup : 2 – Gabriel Batistuta
Most goals scored in FIFA World Cup finals : 2 – Mario Kempes in 1978 and Lionel Messi in 2022
Most goals scored in CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup qualification matches: 31 – Lionel Messi [ 12]
Most goals scored in one CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup qualification campaign: 10 – Lionel Messi in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
Most direct free kick goals scored in CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup qualification matches: 4 – Juan Román Riquelme and Lionel Messi [ 12]
Most Copa América tournaments scored in: 6 – Lionel Messi in 2007 , 2015 , 2016 , 2019 , 2021 and 2024 [ 13]
Most goals scored at the Copa América : 17 – Norberto Méndez
Most goals scored at one Copa América : 9 – Humberto Maschio in 1957
Most direct free kick goals scored at the Copa América : 4 – Lionel Messi
Most assists provided in all international competitions, including friendlies: 55 – Lionel Messi [ 14]
Most FIFA World Cup tournaments assisted in: 5 – Lionel Messi in 2006 , 2010 , 2014 , 2018 and 2022 [ 15]
Most assists provided at the FIFA World Cup : 8 – Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi [ 16]
Most Copa América tournaments assisted in: 7 – Lionel Messi in 2007 , 2011 , 2015 , 2016 , 2019 , 2021 and 2024
Most assists provided at the Copa América : 18 – Lionel Messi
Most assists provided at one Copa América : 5 – Lionel Messi in 2021
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 .[ 17]
World Cup top goalscorer
Guillermo Stábile in 1930 and Mario Kempes in 1978 were both the top-scoring players at their respective World Cups.[ 18]
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 .[ 19]
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 .[ 19]
Manager records
Most appearances
Guillermo Stábile : 127[ 20] Guillermo coached Argentina in 123 matches which made him among the few coaches who were in charge of more than 100 international matches. While still with the national team, he led them to victories in the South American Championship in 1941 , 1945 , 1946 , 1947 , 1955 , and 1957 .[ 21]
Competitive record
Champions Runners-up Third place Tournament played fully or partially on home soil
FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup record
Qualification record
Year
Round
Position
*
Squad
1930
Runners-up
2nd
5
4
0
1
18
9
Squad
Qualified as invitees
1934
Round of 16
9th
1
0
0
1
2
3
Squad
Qualified automatically
1938
Withdrew
Withdrew
1950
1954
1958
Group stage
13th
3
1
0
2
5
10
Squad
4
3
0
1
10
2
1962
Group stage
10th
3
1
1
1
2
3
Squad
2
2
0
0
11
3
1966
Quarter-finals
5th
4
2
1
1
4
2
Squad
4
3
1
0
9
2
1970
Did not qualify
4
1
1
2
4
6
1974
Second group stage
8th
6
1
2
3
9
12
Squad
4
3
1
0
9
2
1978
Champions
1st
7
5
1
1
15
4
Squad
Qualified as hosts
1982
Second group stage
11th
5
2
0
3
8
7
Squad
Qualified as defending champions
1986
Champions
1st
7
6
1
0
14
5
Squad
6
4
1
1
12
6
1990
Runners-up
2nd
7
2
3
2
5
4
Squad
Qualified as defending champions
1994
Round of 16
10th
4
2
0
2
8
6
Squad
8
4
2
2
9
10
1998
Quarter-finals
6th
5
3
1
1
10
4
Squad
16
8
6
2
23
13
2002
Group stage
18th
3
1
1
1
2
2
Squad
18
13
4
1
42
15
2006
Quarter-finals
6th
5
3
2
0
11
3
Squad
18
10
4
4
29
17
2010
Quarter-finals
5th
5
4
0
1
10
6
Squad
18
8
4
6
23
20
2014
Runners-up
2nd
7
5
1
1
8
4
Squad
16
9
5
2
35
15
2018
Round of 16
16th
4
1
1
2
6
9
Squad
18
7
7
4
19
16
2022
Champions
1st
7
4
2
1
15
8
Squad
17
11
6
0
27
8
2026
Qualification in progress
5
4
0
1
7
2
2030
Qualified as commemorative match hosts
Qualified as commemorative match hosts
2034
To be determined
To be determined
Total
3 Titles
88
47
17
24
152
101
—
158
90
42
26
269
137
*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out .
Copa América
FIFA Confederations Cup
CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions
*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out .
Olympic Games
Pan American Games
Head-to-head record
Below is a result summary of all matches Argentina has played against FIFA recognised teams.[ 22]
As of 14 July 2024 after the match against Colombia .
Positive record
Neutral record
Negative record
See also
Notes
^ There is a dispute in the official count of matches. Many sources don´t count a few games played between the first team of Argentina against Brazilian State Selection teams, or matches played between the first team of Argentina or Brazil against a "B" team of the rival, so they would not be "International Class A" matches. Many sources say they are tied at 42, many others say Argentina leads by 1 match (40-39) and many others say Brazil leads by 2 matches (43-41). For more information, see the article Argentina-Brazil football rivalry .
^ A match against England on 17 May 1953 was abandoned, and the result declared void, hence the number of matches played is greater than the total of wins/draws/losses.
References
^ Mamrud, Roberto (12 May 2022). "Appearances for Argentina National Team" . Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 3 June 2022 .
^ Maverino, Silvio. "Messi, Di María y Maradona, los reyes de las asistencias" [Messi, Messi, Di María and Maradona, the kings of assists]. El Gráfico (in Spanish). ISSN 0017-291X . Archived from the original on 17 June 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024 .
^ "Lionel Messi's history at the World Cup: 2006 debut, 2010 Maradona pairing & 2014 final heartbreak | Goal.com" . Goal (website) . Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022 .
^ "Messi & Batistuta react as record changes hands" . FIFA. Archived from the original on 23 June 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2016 .
^ "Match Stats" . 22 June 2016. Archived from the original on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2016 .
^ Nalwala, Ali Asgar (24 November 2022). "Youngest goal-scorers in men's FIFA World Cup: Pele's landmark strike at 17!" . International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024 .
^ "Messi passes 100 goals for Argentina with hat-trick" . BBC Sport . 29 March 2023. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024 .
^ Tabeira, Martín (22 October 1999). "Southamerican Championship 1941" . RSSSF.com . Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2024 .
^ Maffei, Sergio (5 June 2022). "Con Messi la Selección vuela: ¡hizo cinco goles!" . ole.com.ar (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 17 June 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022 .
^ "Lionel Messi's incredible record-breaking year in numbers" . The Guardian . 10 December 2012. Archived from the original on 10 October 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2022 .
^ "Lionel Messi: A breakdown of his World Cup and career highlights" . Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2023 .
^ a b "IFFHS" . iffhs.com . Archived from the original on 20 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023 .
^ "Lionel Messi matches record with his goal in CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™ | CONMEBOL Copa América" . copaamerica.com . Retrieved 15 July 2024 .
^ "Who has the most assists in men's international football history? Lionel Messi, Neymar seek all-time FIFA record" . Sporting News . 21 June 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024 .
^ "Messi becomes first player to assist in five Fifa World Cups" . The Business Standard . 27 November 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2024 .
^ Matthews, Mark (4 March 2024). "Players with most assists in World Cup history" . GiveMeSport . Retrieved 14 July 2024 .
^ "World Cup Golden Ball: Full winners list & how best player award is decided" . Goal (website) . 18 December 2022. Archived from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022 .
^ "Final matches overview" (PDF) . Zürich, Switzerland: FIFA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2009. Retrieved 20 July 2014 .
^ a b "Mbappe pips Messi to Golden Boot" . FIFA. Archived from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2023 .
^ "Los 40 nombres que dirigieron la Selección Nacional" on AFA website (1924–2006 period listed)
^ Lewis, Rhett. "Argentina National Football Team: Known As The La Albiceleste" . History Of Soccer . Retrieved 19 September 2022 .
^ "World Football Elo Ratings" . eloratings.net . Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020 .
^ "El historial entre Argentina y Brasil, un relato de capítulos épicos" . FIFA.com . Fédération internationale de football association . 17 November 2023. Archived from the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024 .
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