Argentina

A proper football country, technicians supreme Argentina still manage to underachieve and save their best moments for less crucial circumstances - as they showed by getting to Germany ahead of arch enemies Brazil in qualifying.

Maradona was the exception to that rule, of course, but the haste with which young men are saddled with the "new Diego" tag has proved counterproductive to say the least. While the world waits on Riquelme - who has the goods to light up this tournament, make no mistake - what of Messi, Aimar and Tevez? Can Jose Pekerman even fit such luxuries in his side when more conventional service for his forwards from the likes of Luis and Kily Gonzalez, Esteban Cambiasso and captain Sorin always appears to be more dependable?

Pekerman is not above some cerebral jousting, but handing quite as much initiative to Brazil by playing three at the back against their greatest rivals in Frankfurt, 2005 could hardly be deemed as lulling the despised Auriverdes into a false sense of security.

Ayala is aging as is Samuel, while home-based goalkeeper Abbondanzieri concerns several home-based commentators. Heinze may not be fit and Crespo's relationship with his employers is something the coach could do without hanging over him.

Still, rely on the Albiceleste to provide at least a couple of the tournament highlights as usual, and a semi-final appearance is by no means out of the question.

Coach: Jose Pekerman (ARG)
FIFA Ranking: 4

Argentina Matches

Match #	Date & Time	Group	Teams		Result	Venue
5	Sat 10th Jun 21:00	C	ARG	CIV	2 - 1	Hamburg
21	Fri 16th Jun 15:00	C	ARG	SCG	6 - 0	Gelsenkirchen
37	Wed 21st Jun 21:00	C	NED	ARG	0 - 0	Frankfurt
50	Sat 24th Jun 21:00	R2	ARG	MEX	2 - 1 aet	Leipzig
57	Fri 30th Jun 17:00	QF	GER	ARG	1 - 1 aet 4 - 2 pen	Berlin

Match times shown are local times for Germany (CEST/GMT+0200). Click on match date/time to view match statistics.

Past World Cup performance

First Round: 1934, 1958, 1962, 2002
Second Round: 1974, 1982
Quarter Finals: 1966, 1998
Runner-Up: 1930, 1994
Winners: 1974, 1986

Key Players

Carlos Tevez
Lionel Messi
Juan Roman Riquelme

World Cup 2006 Qualification

Finished second and level on points with Brazil in the South American qualifying group.

Squad

						Total		World Cup 2006
#	Posn	Name	DOB	Club		Caps	Goals	Pld	Goals	OG	YC	RC
1	GK	Abbondanzieri Roberto	19-08-1972	Boca Juniors	ARG	28	0	5	0	0	0	0
2	DF	Ayala Roberto	14-04-1973	Valencia	ESP	106	7	5	1	0	0	0
3	DF	Sorin Juan	05-05-1976	Villarreal	ESP	76	11	4	0	0	2	0
4	DF	Coloccini Fabricio	22-01-1982	Deportivo La Coruna	ESP	25	1	2	0	0	0	0
5	MF	Cambiasso Esteban	18-08-1980	Inter	ITA	28	2	5	1	0	1	0
6	DF	Heinze Gabriel	19-04-1978	Manchester Utd.	ENG	34	1	4	0	0	2	0
7	FW	Saviola Javier	11-12-1981	Sevilla FC	ESP	35	11	3	1	0	1	0
8	MF	Mascherano Javier	08-06-1984	Corinthians	BRA	21	0	5	0	0	2	0
9	FW	Crespo Hernan	05-07-1975	Chelsea	ENG	60	33	4	3	0	1	0
10	MF	Riquelme Juan	24-06-1978	Villarreal	ESP	37	8	5	0	0	0	0
11	FW	Tevez Carlos	05-02-1984	Corinthians	BRA	25	4	4	1	0	0	0
12	GK	Franco Leo	20-05-1977	Atletico Madrid	ESP	4	0	1	0	0	0	0
13	DF	Scaloni Lionel	16-05-1978	Deportivo La Coruna	ESP	7	0	1	0	0	0	0
14	FW	Palacio Rodrigo	05-02-1982	Boca Juniors	ARG	4	0	1	0	0	0	0
15	DF	Milito Gabriel	07-09-1980	Zaragoza	ESP	16	0	1	0	0	0	0
16	MF	Aimar Pablo	03-11-1979	Valencia	ESP	44	7	3	0	0	0	0
17	DF	Cufre Leandro	09-05-1978	AS Rome	ITA	3	0	1	0	0	0	0
18	MF	Rodriguez Maxi	02-01-1981	Atletico Madrid	ESP	19	6	5	3	0	1	0
19	FW	Messi Lionel	24-06-1987	Barcelona	ESP	10	2	3	1	0	0	0
20	FW	Cruz Julio	10-10-1974	Inter	ITA	17	3	2	0	0	1	0
21	DF	Burdisso Nicolas	12-04-1981	Inter	ITA	12	0	3	0	0	0	0
22	MF	Gonzalez Lucho	19-01-1981	Porto	POR	31	5	3	0	0	1	0
23	GK	Ustari Oscar	03-07-1986	Independiente	ARG	0	0	0	0	0	0	0