ArgentinaArgentina - National football team
The Argentina national football team is the national association football team of Argentina and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). Argentina has won the most international titles by any national team (19), a record shared with Uruguay.[1]
Argentina is one of the most successful national football teams in the world, and is currently seventh in the FIFA world rankings.[2] The team has twice won the FIFA World Cup, in 1978 and 1986. Argentina has won the Copa América 14 times, a record shared with Uruguay, won the Confederations Cup in 1992 and the Olympic Football Tournament in 2004 and 2008.
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Argentina and France are the only national teams which have won the three most important men's titles recognized by FIFA: the World Cup, the Confederations Cup, and the Olympic tournament. They have both also won their respective continental championship (Copa América for Argentina, and UEFA European Football Championship for France).
La Selección (The selection), also known as the Albicelestes (Light blue and whites), has appeared in four World Cup finals, including the first final in 1930, which they lost 4–2 to Uruguay. Argentina won in their next final in 1978, beating the Netherlands 3–1. Argentina, led by Diego Maradona won again in 1986, a 3–2 victory over West Germany. Their most recent World Cup final was in 1990, which they lost 1–0 to Germany by a much disputed penalty. Argentina's World Cup winning managers are César Luis Menotti in 1978, and Carlos Bilardo in 1986.
Argentina has been very successful in the Copa América, winning it fourteen times and also winning the 'extra' South American Championships in 1941, 1945 and 1946. The team also won the FIFA Confederations Cup and the Kirin Cup, both in 1992, and an Argentine team (with only three players of over 23 years of age included in the squad) won the Olympics football tournaments in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.[5]
Argentina also won six of the fourteen football competitions at the Pan American Games, winning in 1951, 1955, 1959, 1971, 1995 and 2003.
In March 2007, Argentina reached the top of the FIFA World Rankings for the first time..
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Korea RepublicKorea Republic - National football team
The Korea Republic national football team represents the Republic of Korea in international football competitions. The team, also known as South Korea, is recognized as Korea Republic by FIFA.
South Korea has participated in seven World Cup final tournaments and became the first and only Asian team to reach the semi-finals, doing so when it co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup with Japan. South Korea is considered as one of the most successful international football teams in Asia. It has qualified for its eighth World Cup final tournament, the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, having been the only unbeaten team during the AFC qualification tournament.
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[1] It won the first two editions of the AFC Asian Cup.
Since the 2000s, South Korea has emerged as a major football power in Asia, winning several prestigious Asian football championships, including the first two Asian Cup tournaments. The South Korean national team has also played in six consecutive World Cup finals from 1986, making a total of seven World Cup finals in all. It recently qualified for its eighth World Cup finals by qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
In their first World Cup finals tournament, the 1954 World Cup, South Korea played games against Hungary and Turkey losing 0-9 and 0-7, respectively. The South Korean team was inexperienced and had a long and complicated flight schedule prior to arriving at the tournament which helped contribute to their big losses.
It took 32 years before South Korea was again able to participate in the World Cup finals when they qualified for the 1986 World Cup held in Mexico City. They lost 3-1 to Argentina, held Bulgaria 1-1, and narrowly lost to Italy 3-2.
Until the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which it co-hosted with Japan, the South Korean team was unable to garner a single win at any of the tournaments. Despite spirited play and good effort, South Korea has lost or drawn all of its matches except for in the last two tournaments which were held in 2002 and 2006..
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