Argentina national under-23 football team

Argentina Olympic

Nickname(s)	La Selección (The Selection) La Albiceleste (The White and Sky Blue)
Association	Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (Argentine Football Association)
Confederation	CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation)
Head coach	Javier Mascherano
Captain	Thiago Almada
Most caps	Javier Mascherano (20)
Top scorer	Domingo Tarasconi, Adolfo Gaich (9 each)
Home stadium	Various
FIFA code	ARG
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)  Japan 5–2 Argentina  (Shimizu, Japan; 18 November 2023)
Olympic Games
Appearances	10
Best result	Gold medalist (2004, 2008)
Pan American Games
Appearances	15 (first in 1951)
Best result	Gold medalist (1951, 1955, 1959, 1975, 1995, 2003, 2019)
CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament
Appearances	12 (first in 1960)
Best result	Gold medalist (1960, 1964, 1980, 2004, 2020)
Medal record Olympic Games 2004 Athens Team 2008 Beijing Team 1996 Atlanta Team Pan American Games 1951 Buenos Aires Team 1955 Mexico City Team 1959 Chicago Team 1971 Cali Team 1995 Mar del Plata Team 2003 Santo Domingo Team 2019 Lima Team 1963 São Paulo Team 2011 Guadalajara Team 1975 Mexico City Team 1979 San Juan Team 1987 Indianapolis Team CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament 1960 Peru Team 1964 Peru Team 1980 Colombia Team 2004 Chile Team 2020 Colombia Team 1987 Bolivia Team 1996 Argentina Team 2024 Venezuela Team 1971 Colombia Team 1976 Brazil Team 2000 Brazil Team

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 Tevez finishing as top scorer with eight goals. Four years later, Argentina won their second gold medal in Beijing, taking revenge against Nigeria with a 1–0 win in the final.

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]

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.

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]

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.

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]

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.

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 2019 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]

The Argentina and Brazil national football teams are sporting rivals.

The following matches have been played within the past 12 months.

  Win   Draw   Loss

As of 24 March 2024.

Position	Name
Head coach	Javier Mascherano
Assistant coach	Lucas Pagano
Assistant coach	Leandro Stillitano
Fitness coach	Pablo Blanco
Goalkeeping coach	Mauro Dobler

The following players were called-up for the 2024 Olympics

• Caps and goals correct as of 22 July 2024. - source: Official web

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Gerónimo Rulli	(1992-05-20) 20 May 1992 (age 32)			Marseille
12	1GK	Leandro Brey	(2002-09-21) 21 September 2002 (age 22)			Boca Juniors
2	2DF	Marco Di Cesare	(2002-01-30) 30 January 2002 (age 22)			Racing
3	2DF	Julio Soler	(2005-02-16) 16 February 2005 (age 19)			Lanús
4	2DF	Joaquín García	(2001-08-20) 20 August 2001 (age 23)			Vélez Sarsfield
6	2DF	Bruno Amione	(2002-01-03) 3 January 2002 (age 22)			Santos Laguna
13	2DF	Gonzalo Luján	(2001-04-27) 27 April 2001 (age 23)			San Lorenzo
16	2DF	Nicolás Otamendi	(1988-02-12) 12 February 1988 (age 36)			Benfica
5	3MF	Ezequiel Fernández	(2002-07-25) 25 July 2002 (age 22)			Boca Juniors
7	3MF	Kevin Zenón	(2001-07-30) 30 July 2001 (age 23)			Boca Juniors
8	3MF	Cristian Medina	(2002-06-01) 1 June 2002 (age 22)			Boca Juniors
10	3MF	Thiago Almada	(2001-04-26) 26 April 2001 (age 23)			Atlanta United
11	3MF	Claudio Echeverri	(2006-01-02) 2 January 2006 (age 18)			River Plate
14	3MF	Santiago Hezze	(2001-10-22) 22 October 2001 (age 23)			Olympiacos
9	4FW	Julián Álvarez	(2000-01-31) 31 January 2000 (age 24)			Manchester City
15	4FW	Luciano Gondou	(2001-06-22) 22 June 2001 (age 23)			Argentinos Juniors
17	4FW	Giuliano Simeone	(2002-12-18) 18 December 2002 (age 21)			Atlético Madrid
18	4FW	Lucas Beltrán	(2001-03-29) 29 March 2001 (age 23)			Fiorentina

Rank.	Player	Games	Goals	Matches
1	Domingo Tarasconi	1928	11	5
2	Carlos Tévez	2004	8	6
3	Manuel Ferreira	1928	6	5
3	Hernán Crespo	1996	6	6
4	Juan Oleniak	1960	4	3
4	Roberto Cherro	1928	4	5
5	Carlos Alfaro Moreno	1988	3	4

Tournament	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3
1996	José Chamot (DF)	Roberto Sensini (DF)	Diego Simeone (MF)
2004	Roberto Ayala (DF)	Gabriel Heinze (DF)	Kily González (MF)
2008	Nicolás Pareja (DF)	Javier Mascherano (MF)	Juan Román Riquelme (MF)
2016	Gerónimo Rulli (GK)	Víctor Cuesta (DF)	did not select
2020	Jeremías Ledesma (GK)	did not select
2024	Gerónimo Rulli (GK)	Nicolás Otamendi (DF)	Julián Álvarez (FW)

Olympic Games record
Year	Host	Round	Pos.	Pld.	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
1900–1924		Did not participate
1928	Amsterdam	Silver medalists		5	3	1	1	25	8	Squad
1936	Berlin	Did not participate[20]
1948	London	Did not participate
1952	Helsinki	Did not participate
1956	Melbourne	Did not participate
1960	Rome	Group stage	7th	3	2	0	1	6	4	Squad
1964	Tokyo	Group stage	10th	2	0	1	1	3	4	Squad
1968	Mexico	Did not participate[n1 3]
1972	Munich	Did not qualify
1976	Montreal	Did not qualify
1980	Moscow	Qualified, but did not participate[n1 4]
1984	Los Angeles	Did not participate[n1 3]
1988	Seoul	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	1	2	4	5	Squad
1992	Barcelona	Did not qualify
1996	Atlanta	Silver medalists		6	3	2	1	13	6	Squad
2000	Sydney	Did not qualify
2004	Athens	Gold medalists		6	6	0	0	17	0	Squad
2008	Beijing	Gold medalists		6	6	0	0	11	2	Squad
2012	London	Did not qualify
2016	Rio de Janeiro	Group stage	11th	3	1	1	1	3	4	Squad
2020	Tokyo	Group stage	10th	3	1	1	1	2	3	Squad
2024	Paris	Quarter-finals	7th	4	2	0	2	6	4	Squad
Total		10/22	2–2–0	42	25	7	10	90	40	–

Notes

CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament record
Year	Host	Pos.	Pld.	W	D	L	GF	GA
1960	Peru		6	6	0	0	25	6
1964	Peru		5	5	0	0	11	1
1968	Colombia	Did not participate
1971	Colombia		7	1	5	1	7	6
1976	Brazil		5	2	1	2	7	8
1980	Colombia		6	5	1	0	13	2
1984	Ecuador	Did not participate
1987	Bolivia		7	3	3	1	8	2
1992	Paraguay	5	4	2	1	1	4	3
1996	Argentina		7	6	1	0	21	3
2000	Brazil		7	3	1	3	12	9
2004	Chile		7	5	2	0	16	8
2020	Colombia		7	6	0	1	14	8
2024	Venezuela		7	3	4	0	17	9
Total		5–3–3	75	47	19	9	155	65

Pan American Games record
Year	Host	Round	Pos.	Pld.	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
1951	Buenos Aires	Gold medalists		4	4	0	0	16	2	–
1955	Mexico City	Gold medalists		6	5	1	0	23	7	–
1959	Chicago	Gold medalists		6	5	1	0	20	4	–
1963	São Paulo	Silver medalists		4	2	2	0	11	3	–
1967	Winnipeg	Group stage	5th	3	1	1	1	7	3	–
1971	Cali	Gold medalists		5	4	1	0	7	2	–
1975	Mexico City	Bronze medalists		6	3	1	0	19	1	–
1979	San Juan	Bronze medalists		5	4	1	0	9	0	–
1983	Caracas	Group stage	2	0	0	2	0	4	–
1987	Indianapolis	Bronze medalists		3	3	0	0	9	0	–
1991	Havana	Did not participate due to CONMEBOL boycott
1995	Mar del Plata	Gold medalists		5	3	0	1	10	4	–
1999	Winnipeg	Did not qualify
2003	Santo Domingo	Gold medalists[n2 1]		5	5	0	0	10	5	–
2007	Rio de Janeiro	Group stage[n2 2]	9th	3	0	2	1	1	3	–
2011	Guadalajara	Silver medalists		5	3	1	1	6	2	Squad
2015	Toronto	Did not qualify
2019	Lima	Gold medalists		5	4	0	1	14	6	Squad
2023	Santiago	Did not qualify
Total		15/19	7–2–3	65	43	13	5	166	42	–

Notes

• Summer Olympics
  • Gold Medal (2): 2004, 2008
  • Silver Medal (1): 1996
• Pan American Games
  • Gold medal (7): 1951, 1955, 1959, 1975, 1995, 2003, 2019
  • Silver medal (2): 1963, 2011
  • Bronze medal (3): 1975, 1979, 1987
• CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament
  • Gold medal (5): 1960, 1964, 1980, 2004, 2020
  • Silver medal (3): 1987, 1996, 2024
  • Bronze medal (3): 1971, 1976, 2000

• Argentina national football team
• Argentina national futsal team
• Argentina national under-20 football team
• Argentina national under-17 football team
• Argentina national under-15 football team

• Official website (in Spanish)