Argentina at the World Cup.
The story
Argentina lost the very first World Cup final to neighbors Uruguay in 1930 and waited 48 years for their first title. The 1978 win in Buenos Aires under General Videla's regime is forever politically complicated; Mario Kempes scored twice in the final against the Netherlands. 1986 was Maradona's tournament in every meaningful sense — Hand of God, Goal of the Century, Golden Ball, and the trophy. The 36-year wait that followed ended in Qatar 2022, when Lionel Messi finally lifted the trophy after a 3-3 final, four penalties from Emiliano Martínez, and Mbappé's hat-trick in defeat. It is the only WC final to feature a hat-trick from the losing side.
Famous Argentina players
Diego Maradona · Mario Kempes · Daniel Passarella · Gabriel Batistuta · Lionel Messi · Ángel Di María.
See our full top-20 World Cup legends list for tournament-by-tournament impact.
Argentina in 2026
For Argentina's 2026 World Cup campaign — group, fixtures, results — see our World Cup 2026 hub, the group standings and the match schedule.
More from the World Cup category
- → World Cup category index
- → World Cup 2026 — live hub
- → All-time top scorers
- → Country rankings — all-time medals
- → Finals history (1930-2022)
- → Golden Ball winners
- → Golden Glove winners
- → World Cup records
- → Famous supporter groups
- → Player legends — top 20
- → Country histories (Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Italy, France, Uruguay, Spain, England)