Argentina head into the 2023 edition of the World Cup not only looking to improve on their last campaign but also attempting to end their curse of the group stage where they have conceded 37 goals in the nine world cup games they have played.
Coach German Portanova will be looking to blend in youth and experience as they head to New Zealand, their base for this edition of the competition.
Captain and goalkeeper Vanina Correa will also be looking to impress as she is on the hunt for a new club side, but Laurina Oliveros will be looking to displace her in the number one spot.
At the world cup in 2019, they finished third in a group that included England, who put six passed them in the 2007 edition, and their only points in the group came against Scotland and Japan.
Their defence record at the World Cup is not a great one. Since making their debut in 2003, they have conceded 37 goals and only scored five - this is something that captain Correa is looking to put right.
This time around, they will have to get past South Africa, Italy, and Sweden if they are looking to end their curse at the World Cup.
They kick off the campaign against Italy on July 24th at Eden Park in Auckland before they face South Africa four days later in Dunedin. The group stage ends against Sweden on August 2nd in Hamilton.
In Argentina, women's football remains largely in the shadows of their male counterparts in terms of play development and support in women's sport, and until 1991, almost all of its members were amateur players when the Campeonato de Futbol Femenino was founded to increase the popularity of football among woman in the country.
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Qualification
Argentina qualified for the World Cup by finishing 3rd in the 2022 Copa America Femenina. They started their campaign with a 4-0 defeat to Brazil on the 9th of July 2022 at the Estadio Centenario, and, in Armenia, Columbia goals from Adriana x2 Bia Zaneratto and Debinha gave the home side the three points.
They returned to winning ways with a 4-0 win over Peru, with goals from Yamila Rodriguez, Maria Bonsegundo, Eliana Stabile, and Erica Noelia Lonigro kick-starting their route to qualification. They continued with a 5-0 win over Uruguay followed by a 1-0 win over Venezuela on July 21st to give them three wins from four games in the group stage.
They moved on to the semi-finals, where they played Columbia, and a single goal for the hosts ended Argentina's hopes of reaching the final. They played Paraguay in the third-place playoff, which they won 3-1. They initially trailed thanks to a goal from Romina Nunez in the 39th minute. They levelled the game in the 78th minute thanks to Yamila Rodriguez before two goals in the 90th minute from Maria Bonsegundo and a third from Rodriguez was enough to send Argentina to the World Cup.
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Squad
Goalkeepers GK: Vanina Correa (unattached) GK: Laurina Oliveros (Boca Juniors)
Defenders DF: Agustina Barroso (Flamengo) DF: Eliana Stabile (Santos) DF: Julieta Cruz (Boca Juniors) DF: Aldana Cometti (Madrid CFF) DF: Sophia Braun (Leon) DF: Marina Delgado (Lokomotiv Moscow) DF: Romina Nunez (UAI Urquiza) DF: Adriana Sachs (Santos)
Midfielders MF: Vanina Preininger (Boca Juniors) MF: Marianela Szymanowski (Espanyol) MF: Daiana Falfan (UAI Urquiza) MF: Miriam Mayorga (Boca Juniors) MF: Florencia Bonsegundo (Madrid CFF) MF: Mariana Larroquette (Leon) MF: Ruth Bravo (Leon) MF: Estefania Banini (Atletico Madrid)
Forwards FW: Amancay Urbani (Boca Juniors) FW: Soledad Jaimes (Flamengo) FW: Yamila Rodriguez (Palmeiras) FW: Erica Lonigro (Rosario Central) FW: Catalina Primo (River Plate)
Previous world cup results
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USA 2003
Argentina have only qualified for the world cup on four occasions, the first being in 2003 when they were up against Japan Canada and Germany.
Japan put six past them in their debut game in Columbia to set them off to the worst start. Next up was Canada four days later in the same venue looking to put the disappointment of the first game, but the Canadians were not to allow them to spoil the party as they put three past them to make it nine conceded in two games.
Moving onto the final game in the capital, Washington DC, Germany, who at this point had been five-time European champions and 1995 world cup runners-up, were looking to add to the European Championship they won two years prior in 2001. And it was business as usual for the Germans, who went 4-0 up going into the break with goals from Maren Meinert, who opened the scoring in the 3rd minute; Bettina Weigmann made it two from the spot on 24 minutes before Birgit Prinz made it 3-0 eight minutes later. Meinert made it 4-0 two minutes before the break.
Going into the second half, Argentina were trying to start the process of giving the game some meaning, and it took until the 78th minute to break the German defence when Yanina Gaitan broke through to score for Argentina. But that was to be the only glimmer of hope as Germany popped in two more to make sure that there was no way back.
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2007 China
Looking to put the 2003 edition behind them, they were handed the worst possible start when they were drawn defending champions Germany as well as England and Japan.
if they thought six goals were bad, then even worse was to happen in the opening game - it was an 11-0 defeat for them, which set in motion things to come. The defence was slightly tighter for the second game against Japan and only a single goal slipped passed the keeper's hands.
The final group game was against the old foe in the form of England, and if they had learnt anything from the previous game, it was sure to be undone as The Lionesses put them to the sword when they put six in the back of the net to leave them with one goal scored and 18 conceded, sending them heading home from the group stage for the second time.
2019 France
Six defeats in six were soon to turn into eight from nine, as for the second world cup in a row, they were drawn against two of the sides they played in the previous campaign and their goals-scored ratio was to improve.
They drew 0-0 with Japan before moving onto England, the scene of the 6-1 defeat. This time, the defence was even tighter as they only conceded once.
In a jubilant mood from the game, they welcomed Scotland to the party, and despite being 3-0 down with 20 minutes to go, the comeback was on as Milagros Menendez opened the scoring on 74 minutes before an own goal by Lee Gibson brought the deficit to one. The comeback was completed in the 94th minute when Maria Bonsegundo levelled the game to 3-3 where it finished and with that not only ended eight games without a win in the world cup group games but also gave them their very first point in the competition.
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2023 world cup prediction
I think that Argentina might struggle with getting out of the group, but given recent results in both competitive games, it will have to be seen if they will be pushovers or if their defence has what it takes to provide a sterner test.
