Consistently ranked among the top 10 teams in the world, the Argentina national side is one of four sides to have won at least three World Cup titles.
Nicknamed La Albiceleste (The White and Sky Blues), the Argentines have played in six World Cup finals, won 16 Copa America titles, one Confederations Cup, and the U-23 team won gold at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
In addition to the team's success, Argentinian football is well-known through its superstars, most notably the late Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi.
Argentina have a massive rivalry with Brazil and, to a lesser extent, Uruguay. Throughout the years, they have also had memorable clashes with England and Germany.
The Argentina national team played their first-ever match in 1901, a 3-2 away win over Uruguay.
Their first official match came a year later and was another win over Uruguay. They exclusively played matches against other South American teams until 1928.
Argentina left the continent for the first time in 1928 to participate in the Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. They won three group games to reach the final before falling to Uruguay 2-1 and earning a silver medal.
They have played in 17 of the 21 World Cups, qualifying for all the tournaments except for the 1970 edition.
Argentina didn't have to travel far for the inaugural FIFA World Cup as neighbours Uruguay were the hosts in 1930. They swept through the group stage with 1-0, 6-3 and 3-1 wins against France, Mexico and Chile, respectively.
In the semi-finals, they beat the United States 6-1 but fell to Uruguay 4-2 in the final. Guillermo Stabile scored eight of Argentina's 18 goals in the first World Cup, including one hat-trick and a pair of braces.
The 1934 World Cup in Italy didn't have a group stage and started at the round of 16. Argentina fell to Sweden 3-2 and swiftly returned home.
After World War II, Argentina qualified for the 1950 World Cup in Brazil but withdrew along with Ecuador and Peru because of a dispute with the Brazilian Football Confederation. They also withdrew from the 1954 tournament on political grounds.
After a 24-year absence, Argentina returned to the World Cup in 1958 with Stabile as manager. He had led Argentina to seven South American Championships between 1937 and 1957, but didn't have success at the tournament hosted in Sweden.
Argentina were knocked out in the group stage after suffering a 6-1 loss to Czechoslovakia.
The 1962 World Cup in Chile didn't go much better with a 1-0 win over Bulgaria, a 0-0 draw against Hungary and a 3-1 defeat to England. This meant that for the second straight World Cup, Argentina failed to make the knockout round.
They made amends by qualifying for the 1974 World Cup with two decisive wins over Bolivia and Paraguay.
The trip to Germany didn't go well though, with a 3-2 loss to Poland, a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands and a 2-1 defeat to bitter rivals Brazil. Their only win in six games was a 4-1 victory against Haiti.
Even though manager Cesar Luis Menotti didn't select 17-year-old Diego Maradona, success finally came in 1978 as the Argentines hosted the World Cup.
They beat Hungary and France in the group stage before falling to Italy but still advancing. In the second round they drew 0-0 against Brazil, beat Poland 2-0 and overcame Peru 6-0 to progress to the final.
Mario Kempes then had his third multi-goal game of the tournament as Argentina beat the Netherlands 3-1 after extra-time to lift the cup for the first time.
Maradona finally made his World Cup debut in Spain in 1982 but Argentina lost their first game 1-0 to Belgium.
Maradona scored two goals in the 4-1 win over Hungary and Argentina advanced with a 2-0 win over El Salvador. Losses to Italy (2-1) and Brazil (3-1) in Barcelona ended Argentina's tournament in the second group stage.
The 1986 World Cup in Mexico belonged to Maradona and Argentina, who were coached by Carlos Bilardo.
Jorge Valdano scored twice in a 3-1 win over South Korea, Maradona scored in the 1-1 draw against Italy and Valdano scored again in a 2-0 win over Bulgaria.
Argentina beat Uruguay 1-0 in the round of 16, setting the stage for a quarter-final showdown with England at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
The first goal of the game became infamously known as 'The Hand of God' goal as the officials missed Maradona punching the ball past England keeper Peter Shilton as they both rose for an aerial challenge.
There was no controversy about his second strike though, which is often referred to as 'The Goal of the Century'.
Maradona beat nearly the entire England team with his run from midfield before slotting the ball past Shilton for a 2-0 lead. Argentina went on to win the game 2-1, with Gary Lineker scoring late on for England.
Maradona scored two more goals in a 2-0 semi-final win over Belgium, increasing his tournament tally to five. In the final against West Germany, Jose Luis Brown and Valdano built a 2-0 lead.
West Germany clawed one back before Jorge Burruchaga scored the game-clincher in the 83rd minute. To go with Argentina's cup win, Maradona lifted the Golden Ball.
Argentina were upset by Cameroon 1-0 in the opener of the 1990 World Cup in Italy but bounced back to advance from the group stage. They beat rivals Brazil 1-0 in the round of 16 and survived against Yugoslavia in a penalty shootout in the quarter-finals.
Claudio Caniggia scored to tie the semi-final game against hosts Italy and Maradona converted the final penalty kick in a 4-3 shootout win.
But Argentina ran out of gas in the final, suffering a 1-0 loss to West Germany in a rematch of the 1986 showpiece.
Diego Maradona, Argentina, 2008
Maradona returned four years later but the 1994 World Cup in the United States didn't go well.
It started well enough, Gabriel Batistuta netted a hat-trick and Maradona scored in a 4-0 win over Greece, they followed that with a 2-1 win over Nigeria. Then they imploded.
Maradona was sent home after failing a drug test and without their talisman they lost 2-0 to Bulgaria in the final group game. In the round of 16, they were upset 3-2 by Romania and were sent packing.
The expulsion from USA '94 brought a sour end to Maradona's 17-year international career, he finished with 34 goals from 91 games.
Batistuta scored another hat-trick at the 1998 World Cup in France as Argentina beat Jamaica 5-0. They didn't concede a goal in the group stage and survived a penalty shootout against England in the round of 16 after a 2-2 draw.
Argentina beat Mexico in the round of 16 but lost in a penalty shootout to Germany in the quarter-finals. The 2010 World Cup in South Africa also ended in the quarter-finals against Germany, this time with a 4-0 defeat.
Argentina enjoyed a strong run at the 2014 World Cup in neighbouring Brazil. Messi tallied four goals in the group stage with at least one goal in each of the three wins.
After a 1-0 round-of-16 victory over Switzerland, Argentina beat Belgium 1-0 courtesy of Gonzalo Higuain's fifth career World Cup goal. Sergio Romero saved two penalties as Argentina won a semi-final shootout against the Netherlands after a 0-0 draw.
The 2018 World Cup in Russia didn't go well from the start as Argentina drew 1-1 against Iceland and lost 3-0 against Croatia.
Messi scored in a 2-1 win over Nigeria to assure qualification to the knockout round, but Argentina were sent packing by France with a 4-3 defeat in the round of 16.
As a result of their Copa success, Argentina were pitted against Italy - the European Championship winners - in the 2022 Finalissima. Argentina stormed to a 3-0 win, with Lionel Messi scoring one.
That put them in a perilous position but a 2-0 win over Mexico, followed by a 2-0 success against Poland ensured Lionel Scaloni's men made it through as Group C winners.
Paired against Australia in the last 16, Argentina took control as Messi put them ahead in the first half, with Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez adding a second after the restart. It ought to have been a comfortable ending but Enzo Fernandez's own goal made things interesting, with goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez required to produce a last-gasp save to prevent extra time and earn a 2-1 win.
The last-eight tussle with the Netherlands has to go down as the match of the tournament as it was a classic World Cup encounter, full of drama and plotlines.
Again, it looked like an easy night's work for Argentina as Nahuel Molina's opener and a Messi penalty put them 2-0 up with 75 minutes gone. But that was just the beginning of an ill-tempered story as former Burnley striker Wout Weghorst got one back for the Netherlands and then in the 11th minute of stoppage time he scored again to force extra time.
There were no more goals in the additional period, just plenty of bad blood between the two sides. Martinez was the hero for Argentina in the penalty shoot-out, saving efforts from Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis. There were some unsavoury scenes at the end as Argentina goaded their beaten opponents, with Denzel Dumfries sent off for the Dutch as he retaliated.
La Albiceleste booked their place in a second World Cup final in three editions as a Messi masterclass earned them an easy 3-0 win over Croatia in the semi-final.
After 63 matches and a thrilling month of action, the finale was the wildest conclusion anyone could have imagined.
Messi converted his effort in the shootout having opened the scoring with a first-half penalty that was quickly complemented by Angel Di Maria's fine goal against meek France, only for Kylian Mbappe to spark them to life.
But this was Messi's final. This was Messi's tournament - one that ended with him lifting the trophy aloft at the same ground where his side had suffered a humiliating loss to Saudi Arabia just 26 days earlier.
The 35-year-old's fifth and final appearance on this stage ended in glory as he captained them to their first World Cup triumph since the late, great Diego Maradona did so in 1986.
Argentina sealed a record-breaking 16th trophy with a 1-0 win over Colombia in Miami in early July 2024.
The tournament’s top scorer Lautaro Martinez scored the only goal in the second period of extra-time, moments before Angel Di Maria left the pitch for the final time after announcing his international retirement.
Victory completed a hat-trick of major trophies for Argentina as they defended their Copa America either side of the World Cup title they won in 2022.
They were forced to play much of the second half and extra-time without Messi, who hobbled off with what appeared to be an ankle injury and watched on in tears from the bench.
Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament with Colombia’s James Rodriguez selected as best player of the tournament.
The final kicked off an hour and 20 minutes late after security closed gates at the Hard Rock Stadium, one of the sites for the 2026 World Cup, after fans attempted to enter the stadium without tickets.
Brazil beat Argentina 3-1 in 1982, while Argentina shut out their rivals 1-0 in 1990 in the round of 16.
Argentina had never lost to Brazil in a South America/Copa America Championship final until 2004. They triumphed over their neighbours in eight championship games to lift the trophy on each occasion.
All this changed in 2004 and Brazil beat Argentina again in the 2005 Confederations Cup final and the 2007 Copa America final too.
However, Argentina gained a measure of revenge at the Copa America in 2021, beating hosts Brazil 1-0 in the final.
Angel Di Maria scored the only goal of the game to hand Lionel Messi his first major honour with Argentina.
It also ended a 28-year trophy drought for the country.
The most prolific goalscorer in Argentina's history is Messi, who has scored over 105 goals in more than 180 games.
Gabriel Batistuta scored 56 goals in 78 games between 1991 and 2002, while Sergio Aguero has 41 goals in 101 games. Hernan Crespo notched 35 times in 64 games and Diego Maradona found the net 34 times in his 91 appearances.
Messi is the most capped player of all-time, with defender Javier Mascherano second on 147 caps between 2003 and 2018. He surpassed the mark set by defender Javier Zanetti (143) between 1994 and 2011.
Guillermo Stabile holds the team record for most goals at a single World Cup with eight in 1930, and Batistuta leads the team with the most career World Cup goals with 10.
Pep Guardiola hopes that Julian Alvarez finds "happiness" at Atletico Madrid and has thanked the Argentine for his professionalism despite not always getting his wish of regular first-team football during his time at Manchester City.
West Ham are set to confirm the signings of Borussia Dortmund striker Niclas Fullkrug and Argentina midfielder Guido Rodriguez soon with both players undergoing medicals.
France and Argentina players and staff clashed on the pitch at full-time as the hosts edged a bad-tempered match 1-0 in Bordeaux to reach the Olympic semi-finals.
Chelsea's Wesley Fofana has cleared Enzo Fernandez of racism allegations, saying he isn't racist and has accepted the Argentinian's apology.
Football at the Paris Olympics 2024 continues on Tuesday as Group B comes to a dramatic conclusion with all four sides level on three points.
Reece James has said the racism issue around Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez might be a "problem" in the dressing room.
Football at the Paris 2024 Olympics gets underway on Wednesday as Argentina, Spain and France kick off their campaigns and we’ve compiled an opening day acca.
