Argentina national football team records and statistics

This is a list of statistical records for the Argentina national football team.

Individual records

As of 25 March 2025^[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.

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Lionel Messi	191	112	2005–present
2	Javier Mascherano	147	3	2003–2018
3	Ángel Di María	145	31	2008–2024
	Javier Zanetti	145	5	1994–2011
5	Nicolás Otamendi	125	7	2009–present
6	Roberto Ayala	115	7	1994–2007
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)	112	191	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	Lautaro Martínez	32	70	0.46	2018–present
7	Gonzalo Higuaín	31	75	0.41	2009–2018
	Ángel Di María	31	145	0.21	2008–2024
9	Luis Artime	24	25	0.96	1961–1967
10	Leopoldo Luque	22	45	0.49	1975–1981
	Daniel Passarella	22	70	0.31	1976–1986

Top assisters

Rank	Player	Assists	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Lionel Messi	58	191	0.3	2005–present
2	Ángel Di María	29	145	0.2	2008–2024
3	Diego Maradona	26	91	0.29	1977–1994
4	Ariel Ortega	21	88	0.24	1993–2010
5	Juan Román Riquelme	17	51	0.33	1997–2008
6	Giovani Lo Celso	16	61	0.26	2017–present
7	Sergio Agüero	15	101	0.15	2006–2021
8	Claudio López	12	55	0.22	1995–2003
	Juan Sebastián Verón	12	72	0.17	1996–2010
	Carlos Tevez	12	76	0.16	2004–2015

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	191	112

Caps

• Most capped player overall: 191 – 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: 69 – 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: 112 – Lionel Messi, 2005–^[4]
• Most goals scored in competitive matches: 61 – 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: 10 – 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 in all international competitions, including friendlies: 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: 34 – Lionel Messi^[12]
• Most goals scored in one CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup qualification campaign: 10 – Lionel Messi in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
• Most hat-tricks scored in CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup qualification matches: 3 – Lionel Messi
• 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: 58 – 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 assists provided in CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup qualification matches: 13 – Lionel Messi
• 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

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
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	Quarter-finals[a]	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	Qualified										14	10	1	3	26	8
2030	Qualified as commemorative match hosts										Qualified as commemorative match hosts
2034	To be determined										To be determined
Total	3 Titles	18/22	88	47	17	24	152	101	—		167	96	43	28	288	143

*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

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
1916	Runners-up	2nd	3	1	2	0	7	2	Squad
1917	Runners-up	2nd	3	2	0	1	5	3	Squad
1919	Third place	3rd	3	1	0	2	7	7	Squad
1920	Runners-up	2nd	3	1	2	0	4	2	Squad
1921	Champions	1st	3	3	0	0	5	0	Squad
1922	Fourth place	4th	4	2	0	2	6	3	Squad
1923	Runners-up	2nd	3	2	0	1	6	6	Squad
1924	Runners-up	2nd	3	1	2	0	2	0	Squad
1925	Champions	1st	4	3	1	0	11	4	Squad
1926	Runners-up	2nd	4	2	1	1	14	3	Squad
1927	Champions	1st	3	3	0	0	15	4	Squad
1929	Champions	1st	3	3	0	0	9	1	Squad
1935	Runners-up	2nd	3	2	0	1	8	5	Squad
1937	Champions	1st	6	5	0	1	14	5	Squad
1939	Withdrew
1941	Champions	1st	4	4	0	0	10	2	Squad
1942	Runners-up	2nd	6	4	1	1	21	6	Squad
1945	Champions	1st	6	5	1	0	22	5	Squad
1946	Champions	1st	5	5	0	0	17	3	Squad
1947	Champions	1st	7	6	1	0	28	4	Squad
1949	Withdrew
1953
1955	Champions	1st	5	4	1	0	18	6	Squad
1956	Third place	3rd	5	3	0	2	5	3	Squad
1957	Champions	1st	6	5	0	1	25	6	Squad
1959	Champions	1st	6	5	1	0	19	5	Squad
1959	Runners-up	2nd	4	2	1	1	9	9	Squad
1963	Third place	3rd	6	3	1	2	15	10	Squad
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
1987	Fourth place	4th	4	1	1	2	5	4	Squad
1989	Third place	3rd	7	2	3	2	2	4	Squad
1991	Champions	1st	7	6	1	0	16	6	Squad
1993	Champions	1st	6	2	4	0	6	4	Squad
1995	Quarter-finals	5th	4	2	1	1	8	6	Squad
1997	Quarter-finals	6th	4	1	2	1	4	3	Squad
1999	Quarter-finals	8th	4	2	0	2	6	6	Squad
2001	Withdrew
2004	Runners-up	2nd	6	4	1	1	16	6	Squad
2007	Runners-up	2nd	6	5	0	1	16	6	Squad
2011	Quarter-finals	7th	4	1	3	0	5	2	Squad
2015	Runners-up	2nd	6	3	3	0	10	3	Squad
2016	Runners-up	2nd	6	5	1	0	18	2	Squad
2019	Third place	3rd	6	3	1	2	7	6	Squad
2021	Champions	1st	7	5	2	0	12	3	Squad
2024	Champions	1st	6	5	1	0	9	1	Squad
Total	16 Titles	44/48	208	132	43	33	483	183	—

Finalissima

Finalissima record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1985	Did not qualify
1993	Champions	1st	1	0	1	0	1	1
2022	Champions	1st	1	1	0	0	3	0
2026	Qualified
Total	2 Titles	2/3	2	1	1	0	4	1

*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

FIFA Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad
1992	Champions	1st	2	2	0	0	7	1	Squad
1995	Runners-up	2nd	3	1	1	1	5	3	Squad
1997	Did not qualify
1999
2001
2003
2005	Runners-up	2nd	5	2	2	1	10	10	Squad
2009	Did not qualify
2013
2017
Total	1 Title	3/10	10	5	3	2	22	14	—

Olympic Games

Olympic Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad
1896	No football tournament
1900	Only club teams participated
1904
1908	Did not participate
1912
1920
1924
1928	Silver medal	2nd	5	3	1	1	25	7	Squad
1932	No football tournament
1936	Did not participate
1948
1952
1956
1960	Quarter-finals	7th	3	2	0	1	6	4	Squad
1964	Group stage	10th	2	0	1	1	3	4	Squad
1968	Did not qualify
1972
1976
1980	Qualified but withdrew
1984	Did not qualify
1988	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	1	2	4	5	Squad
Since 1992	See Argentina national under-23 football team
Total	1 Silver medal	4/19	14	6	3	5	38	20	—

Pan American Games

Pan American Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1951	Gold medal	1st	4	4	0	0	16	2
1955	Gold medal	1st	6	5	1	0	23	7
1959	Gold medal	1st	6	5	1	0	20	4
1963	Silver medal	2nd	4	2	2	0	11	3
1967	Preliminary round	5th	3	1	1	1	7	3
1971	Gold medal	1st	8	6	2	0	13	4
1975	Bronze medal	3rd	6	5	1	0	19	1
1979	Bronze medal	3rd	5	4	1	0	9	0
1983	Preliminary round	5th	2	0	0	2	0	4
1987	Bronze medal	3rd	5	3	1	1	11	3
1991	Did not qualify
1995	Gold medal	1st	6	4	2	0	10	4
Since 1999	See Argentina national under-23 football team
Total	5 Gold medals	11/12	55	39	12	4	139	35

Head-to-head record

Below is a result summary of all matches Argentina has played against FIFA recognised teams.^[22]

As of 25 March 2025 after the match against  Brazil.

  Positive record   Neutral record   Negative record

Opponents	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Albania	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4	100%
Algeria	1	1	0	0	4	3	+1	100%
Angola	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100%
Australia	9	7	1	1	16	8	+8	77.7%
Austria	2	1	1	0	6	2	+4	50%
Belarus	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0%
Belgium	5	4	0	1	12	4	+8	80%
Bolivia	43	31	5	7	116	36	+80	72%
Bosnia and Herzegovina	3	3	0	0	9	1	+8	100%
Brazil[note 1][23]	111	43	26	42	167	167	0	38.7%
Bulgaria	9	8	0	1	18	6	+12	88.8%
Cameroon	2	0	1	1	2	3	-1	0%
Canada	3	3	0	0	9	0	+9	100%
Chile	96	63	27	6	200	74	+126	65.6%
China	1	0	0	1	0	1	-1	0%
Colombia	42	21	11	10	73	41	+32	50%
Costa Rica	8	6	2	0	17	6	+11	75%
Croatia	6	3	1	2	8	7	+1	50%
Curaçao	1	1	0	0	7	0	+7	100%
Czechoslovakia	6	2	3	1	7	10	-3	33.3%
Denmark	2	0	1	1	1	3	-2	0%
East Germany	2	1	1	0	3	1	+2	50%
Ecuador	41	24	12	5	99	36	+63	58.5%
Egypt	2	2	0	0	8	0	+8	100%
El Salvador	3	3	0	0	7	0	+7	100%
England[note 2]	15	4	4	6	18	22	-4	28.5%
Estonia	1	1	0	0	5	0	+5	100%
France	13	6	4	3	18	14	+4	46.1%
Germany[b]	23	10	6	7	34	33	+1	43.4%
Ghana	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100%
Greece	2	2	0	0	6	0	+6	100%
Guatemala	4	4	0	0	17	1	+16	100%
Haiti	3	3	0	0	12	1	+11	100%
Honduras	3	3	0	0	7	1	+6	100%
Hong Kong	1	1	0	0	7	0	+7	100%
Hungary	7	5	1	1	15	6	+9	71.4%
Iceland	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0%
India	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100%
Indonesia	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100%
Iran	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	50%
Iraq	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4	100%
Israel	5	3	1	1	14	6	+8	60%
Italy	16	5	5	6	18	22	-4	31.2%
Ivory Coast	2	2	0	0	6	1	+5	100%
Jamaica	4	4	0	0	11	1	+10	100%
Japan	7	6	0	1	15	4	+11	85.7%
Libya	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	100%
Lithuania	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0%
Mexico	32	16	12	4	53	28	+25	50%
Morocco	2	2	0	0	4	1	+3	100%
Netherlands	10	1	5	4	8	15	-7	10%
Nicaragua	1	1	0	0	5	1	+4	100%
Nigeria	9	6	1	2	15	13	+2	66.6%
Northern Ireland	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	100%
Norway	2	0	0	2	1	3	-2	0%
Panama	3	3	0	0	10	1	+9	100%
Paraguay	108	56	35	17	219	113	+106	51.8%
Peru	56	37	14	5	110	45	+65	66%
Poland	12	7	2	3	20	12	+8	58.3%
Portugal	8	5	1	2	13	7	+6	62.5%
Qatar	2	2	0	0	5	0	+5	100%
Republic of Ireland	6	5	1	0	8	1	+7	83.3%
Romania	9	6	2	1	12	6	+6	66.6%
Russia[c]	13	4	7	2	13	11	+2	30.7%
Saudi Arabia	5	2	2	1	8	5	+3	40%
Serbia and Montenegro[d]	10	5	2	3	21	15	+6	50%
Scotland	4	2	1	1	5	3	+2	50%
Singapore	1	1	0	0	6	0	+6	100%
South Africa	2	1	1	0	3	1	+2	50%
South Korea	4	3	1	0	10	4	+6	75%
Slovakia	1	1	0	0	6	0	+6	100%
Slovenia	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100%
Spain	14	6	2	6	18	19	-1	42.8%
Sweden	3	1	1	1	6	6	0	33.3%
Switzerland	7	5	2	0	15	3	+12	71.4%
Trinidad and Tobago	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	100%
Tunisia	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100%
United Arab Emirates	1	1	0	0	5	0	+5	100%
United States	11	7	2	2	30	9	+21	63.6%
Uruguay	204	95	49	60	326	236	+90	46.5%
Venezuela	28	23	3	2	91	19	+72	84.8%
Wales	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	50%
Total (82)	1090	603	264	222	2061	1098	+963	55%

1. Last 8 held as second group stage.
2. Includes matches against  West Germany.
3. Includes matches against  Soviet Union.
4. Includes matches against  Yugoslavia.

See also

• Argentina–Brazil football rivalry
• Argentina–Uruguay football rivalry
• Argentina–England football rivalry

Notes

1. 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 that Argentina leads by 1 match (43-42), many others say that Argentina leads by 2 matches (41-39) and many others say Brazil leads by 1 match (43-42). For more information, see the article Argentina-Brazil football rivalry.
2. 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.