History
Argentina’s first appearance in the World Cup was 1930. Since then they have appeared 14 times and have reached four finals, winning the tournament in 1978 and 1986. Set to make his first appearance as a coach, Diego Maradona played in four successive finals competitions between 1982 and 1994. Argentina’s last World Cup (Germany 2006) ended with defeat in the quarter-finals to hosts Germany, on penalties after drawing 1-1.

Qualification
Rarely have Argentina come so close to missing out on qualification. A run of just three wins in their opening ten games was enough to see off manager Alfio Basile, who was replaced by national legend Diego Maradona. A 4-0 victory over Venezuela got Maradona’s tenure off to a strong start, but the Albicelestes were then hammered 6-1 away in Bolivia, and a poor run saw them outside of the qualification places with two games remaining. A late Peru equaliser looked to have held Argentina to a draw in their penultimate game, only for Martin Palermo to score a 92nd minute winner to spark jubilant scenes in a storm-drenched Buenos Aires, and a 1-0 win in Uruguay wrapped up automatic qualification in their final match.

Prospects
One of the all-time great World Cup nations, the Argentina side is in the worst state it’s been in for many years. One of the clear favourites for the World Cup in 2006, the Albicelestes were knocked out at the quarter-final stage by Germany, which continued a disappointing run of World Cup performances that had seen them go beyond the second round just once since 1990. England and Sweden ensured they didn’t make it out of the groups in 2002, while Nigeria and Bulgaria did likewise in ’94, with a quarter-final defeat to the Netherlands in 1998 the nation’s best World Cup showing in the last two decades. Current manager Diego Maradona inspired Argentina to their most recent World Cup triumph in 1986 but his introduction to management got off to a stuttering start, as his lack of experience showed in the second half of a disappointing qualifying campaign. Maradona called up an incredible number of players during his first year in charge, and his failure to find a settled first-team is one of the main reasons why Argentina are not considered amongst the favourites to triumph in South Africa. That said, any side with World Player of the Year, Lionel Messi in their midst should never be discounted, and there are plenty of other talented footballers likely to make the squad. Maradona’s future son in law, Sergio Aguero, is a quality option up-front, as is Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez, while Gonazalo Higuain’s stunning form with Real Madrid has also seen him come into contention for a starting spot. Javier Mascherano and Fernando Gago offer defensive midfield options that cannot be bettered by any other side in the world, but the back-line is unlikely to be as strong as in past years. Argentina are more than capable of defying their disappointing recent form in South Africa... but they’ll have to up their game significantly to avoid a major upset at the hands of the three dangerously underrated sides that join them in Group B.