Argentina Olympic
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Albicelestes
(White and Sky blue)
AssociationArgentine Football Association
ConfederationCONMEBOL (South America)
Head coachJavier Mascherano
CaptainNehuén Pérez
Most capsJavier Mascherano (20)
Top scorerDomingo Tarasconi
Adolfo Gaich
(9)
Home stadiumEstadio Monumental
FIFA codeARG
First colours
Second colours
First international
Argentina 11–2 United States 
(Amsterdam, Netherlands; 29 May 1928)
Biggest win
 Argentina 14–0 Canary Islands 
(Las Palmas, Spain; 14 November 2019)
Biggest defeat
 Brazil 3–0 Argentina 
(Bucaramanga, Colombia; 9 February 2020)
 Japan 3–0 Argentina 
(Kitakyushu, Japan; 29 March 2021)
Olympic Games
Appearances10 (first in 1928)
Best result Gold medalist (2004, 2008)
Pan American Games
Appearances15 (first in 1951)
Best result Gold medalist (1951, 1955, 1959, 1975, 1995, 2003, 2019)

The Argentina Olympic football team (Argentina U-23 since 1992) represents Argentina in international football competitions during Olympic Games and Pan American Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Argentine Football Association (AFA).

The first participation of Argentina in Olympic tournaments was in 1928, when the team was runner-up to champions Uruguay at the Games held in Amsterdam. By those times, rules stated that only amateur squads could compete,[1][2] so Argentina (and also Uruguay) played with senior players so football was still not professional in those countries by then.[3]

Argentina would not participate in Olympic Games until 1960 when the squad did a discrete performance finishing 7th. The team contested the competition with youth amateur players. After the IOC allowed professional players to participate (but with an age limit of 23 years old) Argentina returned in 1996 when the squad won their second silver medal after losing to Nigeria in the final. In 2004 and coached by Marcelo Bielsa, Argentina won their first gold medal with Carlos Tévez being also the top scorer with 8 goals. Four years later Argentina won their second gold medal in Beijing taking revenge from Nigeria with a 1–0 win in the final.

History

First participation

The team that won the Silver Medal at the 1928 Olympics

Argentina took part for the first time in the 1928 Olympic Games held in the Netherlands. Although the Olympics were restricted to amateur teams only, Argentina competed with its senior squad so football was not professional in the country until 1931.[1] The team advanced to the final after defeating United States with a thrashing 11–2 in the first round, and Belgium (6–3) in the second. In the semi-finals, the national team smashed Egypt by 6–0 to qualify for the final against Uruguay.

The first match ended in a 1–1 tie so a second game had to be played three days later. In the decisive match, Uruguay won the tournament after defeating Argentina 2–1, winning the Gold Medal. The Argentine line-up was Bossio, Bidoglio, Paternóster, Médice, Monti, Evaristo, Carricaberri, Tarasconi, Ferreira, Perduca, Orsi. Tarasconi was also the topscorer of the competition with 11 goals.[4]

1932–84: few participations

In 1932 no football tournament was held, restarting the activities in 1936 (where Argentina did not take part), being interrupted due to World War II until 1948. Because of an agreement between FIFA and the IOC, only amateur players were allowed to play in the football tournaments from then on.

Argentina returned to football competition in the 1960 games held in Rome. The squad was eliminated in the first round after a 3–2 loss to Denmark, although the team won its successive games against Tunisia (2–1) and Poland (2–0). Argentina placed second to Denmark.[5]

Argentina's next participation was at the 1964 Summer Olympics organized by Tokyo, where the team finished in the last position of the group after a 1–1 draw with Ghana and a 2–3 loss to Japan.[6] Since then, Argentina had a long absence from the games, not having taken part in the 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980 and 1984 Olympics.

1988–92

The national team returned for the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul. The changes made by the IOC since 1984 (where Argentina did not participate) allowed the squad to include professional players in their lists,[2] some of them with several years playing in Primera División, such as Luis Islas, Pedro Monzón, Néstor Fabbri, Darío Siviski and Jorge Comas, among others. In the group stage, Argentina tied 1–1 to the United States, then beat South Korea by 2–1, finishing second to the Soviet Union and qualifying to the next stage. In the quarter-finals, Argentina lost to Brazil 2–1, being eliminated from the competition.[7]

Since the 1992 edition, the IOC stated that all football players should be under 23 years old, beyond they were professional or not. Coached by Alfio Basile, Argentina went to play the qualification tournament with experienced players such as Diego Simeone, Diego Latorre, Antonio Mohamed, Fernando Gamboa and Leonardo Astrada, who had also won the Copa América one year before.[8] Nevertheless, Argentina failed to qualify for the games, finishing 3rd. in group B after Paraguay and Colombia therefore being eliminated in first round.[9]

Since the 1996 Games, the IOC allowed squads to include a maximum of three over-23 players in their rosters.[2][10]

Return to podium

Argentina came back to the competition in the 1996 edition held in Atlanta, United States. For the first time in the history of the Olympics, the IOC allowed football representatives to register a maximum of three above-23 players. The Argentine players registered under that condition were Diego Simeone, José Chamot and Roberto Sensini. Former senior team captain Daniel Passarella was the manager.

The national team debuted with a 3–1 victory over the United States, then tied to Portugal and Tunisia, both 1–1, to finish first the group and qualify for the second round. In the quarter-finals, Argentina trashed Spain 4–0 which allowed the team to pass to the semi-finals, where it defeated Portugal 2–0. After 66 years since the first final played in Amsterdam, Argentina reached its second Olympic final. The match was played on 3 August 1996 and Argentina lost to Nigeria 2–3.[11] The line-up for the final was: Cavallero; Javier Zanetti, Roberto Ayala, Roberto Sensini, José Chamot; Christian Bassedas, Matías Almeyda, Ariel Ortega, Hugo Morales; Claudio López and Hernán Crespo. Other players squad players included Carlos Bossio, Marcelo Gallardo and Marcelo Delgado.[12] In the next edition of the Games, 2000, Argentina did not participate.

First gold

Carlos Tevez, key player and top scorer (8 goals) in 2004, when Argentina won its first gold medal

The 2004 Summer Olympics were held in Athens and Argentina returned to the competition after the absence in Sydney. The squad, managed by Marcelo Bielsa, won the gold medal for the first time in its history. Before playing the final, Argentina won all the games in the first round, thrashing Serbia and Montenegro 6–0 then defeating Tunisia and Australia. Argentina finished first in the group with no goals conceded. In the quarter-finals, Argentina smashed Costa Rica 4–0, reaching the semi-finals against Italy which it beat 3–0. Argentina played the final against Paraguay on 28 August 2004, winning not only the game (1–0) but the gold medal as well.

Argentina won the competition with an astounding campaign, winning the six matches played, with no goals allowed during the tournament. The team also totaled 17 goals (2.83 per match). The line-up for the final was: Germán Lux; Fabricio Coloccini, Roberto Ayala, Gabriel Heinze; Lucho González, Javier Mascherano, Kily González, Andrés D'Alessandro, Carlos Tevez; Mauro Rosales and César Delgado. The most notable player of the tournament was Tevez, who finished as topscorer with eight goals.[13][14]

Second gold

Lionel Messi during the Argentina v Brazil match in 2008, when the team won its second gold medal

The 2008 Summer Olympics were held in Beijing where Argentina, coached by former World Champion Sergio Batista, won their second consecutive gold medal. The squad debuted with a 2–1 victory over the Ivory Coast, then defeating Australia (1–0) and Serbia (2–0). In the knockout stage, Argentina eliminated the Netherlands (aet) by 2–1, thrashed Brazil by 3–0 and won the gold medal in the final match against Nigeria, 1–0.

Argentina won all the matches played (six), scoring 11 goals with only two conceded. Some of the most notable players of the tournament were Lionel Messi, Sergio Agüero, Ángel Di María, Éver Banega, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Fernando Gago and Pablo Zabaleta, who would all play for the senior team in successive years.

The three over-23 years players were Juan Román Riquelme, Javier Mascherano and Nicolás Pareja.

2012–present

Anthony Lozano scores the goal for Honduras during the match where Argentina was eliminated in 2016

Argentina failed to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London. The 2011 South American U-20 Championship qualified the top two teams for the Olympics. Argentina failed to qualify in the final stage, finishing 3rd. after Brazil and Uruguay.

For the 2016 competition held in Rio de Janeiro, most of the players called up for the squad were not given permission to play by their respective clubs, including Paulo Dybala, Mauro Icardi, Matías Kranevitter, Luciano Vietto, Ramiro Funes Mori and goalkeeper Augusto Batalla, among others.[15] After the resignation of Gerardo Martino as coach, Julio Olarticoechea (who was the Argentina U-20 coach) was appointed to take over the team.[16]

At Rio 2016, the squad debuted with a 2–0 loss to Portugal, then defeating Algeria 2–1. In the last fixture of group stage, Argentina drew 1–1 with Honduras, which caused the squad finished third in the group, not enough to qualify for the next round.[17] Some of Argentina's players were Ángel Correa, Jonathan Calleri and Cristian Pavón.

In Tokyo 2020, Argentina debuted in group C with a 2–0 loss to Australia, then beating Egypt 1–0. The team tied 1–1 to Spain, finishing third in the group and failing to qualify to the next stage. Fernando Batista was the head coach. Like the previous edition in Rio, several clubs denied their players to play for Argentina, some examples were Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero, Exequiel Palacios, Lautaro Martínez, Julián Álvarez, Lisandro Martínez, Nicolás Domínguez, Nicolás González, and Nahuel Molina (went on vacation after playing the 2020 Copa América); on the other hand, footballers playing for teams outside Argentine were not also allowed to play, such as Matías Zaracho, Nicolás Capaldo, Juan Foyth, Marcos Senesi, and Leonardo Balerdi. The large list of players denied also included over-23 players Carlos Izquierdoz, Enzo Pérez, Ángel Correa, Nacho Fernández, Sebastián Driussi, Agustín Marchesín, and Juan Musso.[18]

Team image

Nicknames

The Argentina national under-23 football team has been known or nicknamed as the "Albicelestes (White and Sky blue)".

Home stadium

Argentina play its home matches on the Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti.

Rivalries

Brazil

The Argentina and Brazil national football teams are sporting rivals.

Results and fixtures

  Win   Draw   Loss

2021

26 March 2021 Saison Card Cup Japan  0–1  Argentina Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan
19:00 UTC+9 Report
(JFA)

Report
(JFA)
Stadium: Ajinomoto Stadium
Attendance: 8,416
Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)
8 June 2021 Pre-Olympic Match Week Denmark  1–2  Argentina Marbella, Spain
16:00 CEST Stadium: Marbella Football Center
11 June 2021 Pre-Olympic Match Week Saudi Arabia  0–2  Argentina Marbella, Spain
16:00 CEST Stadium: Marbella Football Center

Players

Current squad

The following players were called-up for the training sessions to be held in September 2023 FIFA window.[19]

  • Caps and goals correct as of 28 July 2021.
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Leandro Brey (2002-09-21) 21 September 2002 Argentina Boca Juniors
1GK Facundo Sanguinetti (2001-03-01) 1 March 2001 Argentina Banfield
1GK Joaquín Blázquez (2001-01-28) 28 January 2001 Argentina Platense

2DF Santiago Simón (2002-06-13) 13 June 2002 Argentina River Plate
2DF Gonzalo Luján (2001-04-27) 27 April 2001 Argentina San Lorenzo
2DF Julián Malatini (2001-05-31) 31 May 2001 Argentina Defensa y Justicia
2DF Marco Di Cesare (2002-01-30) 30 January 2002 Argentina Argentinos Juniors
2DF Kevin Lomónaco (2002-01-08) 8 January 2002 Argentina Tigre
2DF Nicolás Valentini (2001-04-06) 6 April 2001 Argentina Boca Juniors

3MF Kevin Zenón (2001-07-30) 30 July 2001 Argentina Unión de Santa Fe
3MF Cristian Medina (2002-06-01) 1 June 2002 Argentina Boca Juniors
3MF Juan Ignacio Nardoni (2002-07-14) 14 July 2002 Argentina Racing
3MF Rodrigo Villagra (2001-02-14) 14 February 2001 Argentina Talleres
3MF Juan Sforza (2002-02-14) 14 February 2002 Argentina Newell's Old Boys
3MF Pablo Solari (2001-03-22) 22 March 2001 Argentina River Plate
3MF Lautaro Giaccone (2001-02-01) 1 February 2001 Argentina Rosario Central

4FW Luciano Gondou (2001-06-22) 22 June 2001 Argentina Argentinos Juniors
4FW Abiel Osorio (2002-06-13) 13 June 2002 Argentina Vélez Sarsfield
4FW Pedro de la Vega (2001-02-07) 7 February 2001 Argentina Lanús
4FW Santiago Pierotti (2001-04-03) 3 April 2001 Argentina Colón

Overage players in Olympic Games

Tournament Player 1 Player 2 Player 3
José Chamot (DF) Roberto Sensini (DF) Diego Simeone (MF)
Roberto Ayala (DF) Gabriel Heinze (DF) Kily González (MF)
Juan Román Riquelme (MF) Nicolás Pareja (DF) Javier Mascherano (MF)
Gerónimo Rulli (GK) Víctor Cuesta (DF) did not select
Jeremías Ledesma (GK) did not select

Competitive record

Olympic Games

Rules (Conmebol)
  • 1900–1904: club teams [1][2]
  • 1908–1984: amateur / youth national teams [n1 1][n1 2]
  • 1988: professional players who had not played in FIFA World Cup [20]
  • 1992: u-23 national teams [2][10]
  • 1996–present: u-23 national teams (with three 'no age limit' players allowed, after an agreement between FIFA and OIC)[2][10]
Notes
  • The 1928 edition was played with the Senior squad
  • As no tournament was held in 1932, no records are included
Olympic Games record
Year Host Round Pos. Pld. W D L GF GA Squad
1928Silver medalists2nd place, silver medalist(s)5311258Squad
1936did not participate [21]
1948did not participate
1952did not participate
1956did not participate
1960Group stage7th320164Squad
1964Group stage10th201134Squad
1968did not participate [n1 3]
1972did not qualify
1976did not qualify
1980qualified, but did not participate [n1 4]
1984
 USA
did not participate [n1 3]
1988Quarter finals8th411245Squad
1992did not qualify
1996Silver medalists2nd place, silver medalist(s)6321136Squad
2000did not qualify
2004Gold medalists1st place, gold medalist(s)6600170Squad
2008Gold medalists1st place, gold medalist(s)6600112Squad
2012did not qualify
2016Group stage11th311134Squad
2020Group stage10th311123Squad
Total9/212–2–03823119036
Notes
  1. the 1924 and 1932 editions were co-organised by FIFA)[1][10]
  2. Countries from Eastern Europe competed with professional players.[10]
  3. 1 2 Argentina did not contest the CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament either.
  4. Although Argentina had qualified to the Games and the COA had also announced the participation, any athlete from the country attended the Olympics. Venezuela replaced Argentina at the competition.[22]

CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament

CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament record
Year Host Pos. Pld. W D L GF GA
1960
 Peru
1st place, gold medalist(s)6600256
1964
 Peru
1st place, gold medalist(s)5500111
1968did not participate
19713rd place, bronze medalist(s)715176
19763rd place, bronze medalist(s)521278
19801st place, gold medalist(s)6510132
1984 Ecuadordid not participate
1987 Bolivia2nd place, silver medalist(s)733182
1992 Paraguay5421143
1996 Argentina2nd place, silver medalist(s)7610213
2000 Brazil3rd place, bronze medalist(s)7313129
2004 Chile1st place, gold medalist(s)7520168
2020 Colombia1st place, gold medalist(s)7601148
Total5-2-3684415913856

Pan American Games

Rules (Conmebol)
  • 1951–1983: Amateur senior teams
  • 1987–1995: Youth teams
  • 1999: U-23 teams
  • 2003: U-20 teams
  • 2007: U-17 teams plus 3 no-age-limit players
  • 2011–present: U-22 teams plus 3 no-age-limit players [23]
Pan American Games record
Year Host Round Pos. Pld. W D L GF GA Squad
1951Gold medalists1st place, gold medalist(s)4400162
1955Gold medalists1st place, gold medalist(s)6510237
1959Gold medalists1st place, gold medalist(s)6510204
1963Silver medalists2nd place, silver medalist(s)4220113
1967Group stage ?311173
1971Gold medalists1st place, gold medalist(s)541072
1975Bronze medalists3rd place, bronze medalist(s)6310191
1979Bronze medalists3rd place, bronze medalist(s)541090
1983Group stage200204
1987Bronze medalists3rd place, bronze medalist(s)330090
1991did not participate because of a Conmebol boycott
1995Gold medalists1st place, gold medalist(s)5301104
1999Canada Winnipegdid not qualify
2003Dominican Republic Santo DomingoGold medalists [n2 1]1st place, gold medalist(s)5500105
2007Brazil Rio de JaneiroGroup stage [n2 2]9th302113
2011Mexico GuadalajaraSilver medalists2nd place, silver medalist(s)531162Squad
2015Canada Torontodid not qualify
2019Peru LimaGold medalists1st place, gold medalist(s)5401146Squad
2023Chile Santiagodid not qualify
Total15/197-2-3654313516642
Notes
  1. CONMEBOL teams (included Argentina) played with U-20 squads.[24]
  2. CONMEBOL teams (included Argentina) played with U-17 squads.[25]

Honours

Records

Top goalscorers

Domingo Tarasconi, all-time top scorer with 11 goals in 1928
Rank. Player Games Goals Matches
1Domingo Tarasconi1928115
2Carlos Tévez200486
3Manuel Ferreira192865
3Hernán Crespo199666
4Juan Oleniak196043
4Roberto Cherro192845
5Carlos Alfaro Moreno198834

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "El Fútbol Masculino en los Juegos Olímpicos". Sitio Oficial de la Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Historia del fútbol en los Juegos Olímpicos: medallero, palmarés y ganadores". AS.com (in Spanish). 20 July 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  3. Máximo, Negro (30 May 2020). "A 89 años de la profesionalización del fútbol argentino". El Equipo Deportea (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  4. "Games of the IX. Olympiad - Football Tournament". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  5. "Games of the XVII. Olympiad - Football Tournament". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  6. "Games of the XVIII. Olympiad - Football Tournament". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  7. "Games of the XXIV. Olympiad - Football Tournament". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  8. 1992 Y 2000, LAS DOS GRANDES DESILUSIONES PREOLÍMPICAS on Goal.com
  9. "Games of the XXV. Olympiad - Football Qualifying Tournament". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "Fútbol en los JUEGOS OLÍMPCIOS - Historia y Palmarés". Memorias del Fútbol (in Spanish). 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  11. "1996: Nigeria tocó el cielo olímpico" at Univisión
  12. "Games of the XXVI. Olympiad - Football Tournament". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  13. "Argentina era campeón olímpico de la mano de Bielsa en Atenas 2004", PlayFutbol, 27 December 2012
  14. "Games of the XXVIII. Olympiad - Football Tournament". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  15. La selección olímpica, abandonada: faltan jugadores y ni siquiera hay plata para "pagar el almuerzo", La Nación, 30 Jun 2016
  16. "Olarticoechea, el técnico de la Sub 20, fue designado para dirigir en los Juegos Olímpicos". La Capital. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  17. Clarin.com. "| Clarín". www.clarin.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  18. Olé, Diario Deportivo (28 July 2021). "Argentina eliminada de los JJOO: los jugadores que quiso Batista y no le cedieron". Olé (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  19. Argentine Football Association [@Argentina] (31 August 2023). "Nómina de futbolistas convocados por el entrenador Javier Mascherano para entrenar en #Ezeiza" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 August 2023 via Twitter.
  20. Pre-Olímpico - South-American Olympic Qualifying Tournament by José L. Pierrend at the RSSSF
  21. "Sport: Olympic Games (Concl'd)". Time.com. 24 August 1936. Archived from the original on 29 June 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
  22. Sugerencia oficial y adiós a Moscú 1980: la historia del boicot argentino a los Juegos Olímpicos by Juan Manuel Trenado] on La Nación, 30 May 2020 (archived)
  23. https://www.panamsports.org/downloads/pdf/panamgames/2011-guadalajara-tomo-2-lq.pdf Guadalajara 2011 - Memoria Panamericana, p. 142 (official report) on PanamSports.org
  24. Panamerican Games 2003 (Santo Domingo) on the RSSSF, by James Goloboy and Marcelo Leme de Arruda
  25. Panamerican Games 2007 (Rio de Janeiro) by Marcelo Leme de Arruda on the RSSSF
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