Argentina Team Profile – 2010 FIFA World Cup

Argentina – The country, the football

The Argentine Republic, popularly known as Argentina, is among the top 10 largest territories in the world. Having 23 provinces – and a self-directed city (Buenos Aires) – Argentina is the biggest land among Spanish-speaking countries, with an estimated total area of 2,766,890 km2.
The South American giant country ranks 33rd in the world when it comes to reckoning the population, as its inhabitants are said to surpass the number of 40,000,000. InArgentina, freedom of religion is a characteristic granted by their Constitution; but however, Roman Catholicism seems to be the major religion, being practiced by over 70% ofArgentina’s residents.
Like almost everywhere on the planet, football appears to be Argentina’s favorite sport, and their love for the game might partly come from the fact that their national football team – known as the Albicelestes (White and Sky blue), or La Selección – is one of the most successful teams in the world.
Over the years, the Albicelestes have been bettering their name in football, winning 25 major international titles; nevertheless, their two best moments in their history were certainly in 1978 and in 1986, when they brought home their two only FIFA World Cup trophies.
Now, several years later, Argentine football fans can have a deep breath, as their players have already qualified for the South African 2010 FIFA World Cup, but what a dramatic qualification it was! In any case, they totally know that what is ahead of them is much more important than what they have experienced previously.

Argentina – The road to the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals

The South American qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa went on through round-by-round fixtures, consisting of 10 teams battling it out for tickets to the finals. The 4 top teams were promised an automatic place in the tournament’s group stages, whereas the 5th placed team was destined to face the 4th placed team from the CONCACAF qualification in a two-legged play-off.
Obviously, Argentina knew that this was not a joke, and that therefore, their best was needed for their own sake.
Beneficially, the Albicelestes started their campaign in the World Cup qualifiers on a good note, defeating Chile 2-0 in Buenos Aires, thanks to a double from Riquelme.
Argentina’s wonder kid Lionel Messi then got his first goal of the qualification in his country’s next 2-0 victory, this time against Venezuela, away from home.
The South American giants were however shocked by Colombia, who beat them 2-1 in the 4th Round, despite having won 3-0 against Bolivia earlier on in the 3rd Round.
Soon after, there were fears in the hearts of Argentine supporters, giving that their side had resumed their run in the qualifiers by having 4 more winless games; being incapable of imposing theirselves over Ecuador, Brazil, Paraguay, and Peru.
Lionel Messi and Aguero finally came to the rescue of the Albicelestes in the 9th Round, powering Argentina to a 2-1 home victory against Uruguay, before Chile humbled them 1-0 at the Estadio Nacional, in Santiago.
Following Argentina’s unsatisfying campaign in the South American qualifiers ahead of the World Cup, there were speculations whether the Albicelestes would really make it the tournament’s finals in South Africa.
In November 2008, legend and former Argentina player Diego Maradona was named as the new Argentina coach, and in truth, his introduction as a manager was not only the start of a new life for him, but also the beginning of an unforgettable story for the team.
The Albicelestes had a wonderful first match result under Diego Armando Maradona, crushing Venezuela 4-0 with 3 goals coming from Tévez, Rodríguez and Agüero, afterLionel Messi had scored his side’s opener in his number 10 jersey which had been assigned to him for the first time ever in his career.
The Argentines were looking forward to obtaining more great results in their upcoming matches; however, they were astonishingly trounced 6-1 by Bolivia away fromhome in Round 12.
3 more losses in their next 4 games highly jeopardized the Albicelestes chances of participating in the 2010 FIFA World Cup; yet, dramatic victories in their last 2 qualifying games against Peru and Uruguay saw them secure the fourth and last automatic place (from the CONMEBOL zone) in the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals with 28 points.
Result of qualifiers:
Round 1: Argentina 2-0 Chile
Round 2: Venezuela 0-2 Argentina
Round 3: Argentina 3-0 Bolivia
Round 4: Colombia 2-1 Argentina
Round 5: Argentina 1-1 Ecuador
Round 6: Brazil 0-0 Argentina
Round 7: Argentina 1-1 Paraguay
Round 8: Peru 1-1 Argentina
Round 9: Argentina 2-1 Uruguay
Round 10: Chile 1-0 Argentina
Round 11: Argentina 4-0 Venezuela
Round 12: Bolivia 6-1 Argentina
Round 13: Argentina 1-0 Colombia
Round 14: Ecuador 2-0 Argentina
Round 15: Argentina 1-3 Brazil
Round 16: Paraguay 1-0 Argentina
Round 17: Argentina 2-1 Peru
Round 18: Uruguay 0-1 Argentina

Argentina – 2010 FIFA World Cup group stage

Despite their poor form during the South American World Cup qualifiers, Argentina still managed to land in Pot 1 ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup’s final draw.

 

Argentina is often observed as one of the most likely teams to reach a FIFA World Cup final, but in reality, how great have they been in their football history? Below is the record of the Albicelestes in the tournament:

2010: Qualified as participants
2006, 1998, 1966: Quarterfinals
2002, 1962, 1958, 1934: Round 1
1994: Round of 16
1990, 1930: Second Place
1986, 1978: Champions
1982, 1974: Round 2