
The 2026 World Cup will have 48 nations competing for the prestigious World Cup trophy. Only eight nations have ever won the World Cup since the tournament began in 1930.
The eight nations that have won the World Cup in the past are Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, England, France, Uruguay, and Spain.
After four consecutive European World Cup winners, Argentina ended the European dominance in the previous World Cup in 2022 and won the trophy over France in Qatar on December 18, 2022.
Argentina and France drew 3-3 after extra time, and Argentina won the penalty shootout 4-2, with Gonzalo Montiel scoring the winning penalty. It marked Argentina's third World Cup win in their history, and the first for superstar Lionel Messi.
For the 2022 World Cup, Argentina was drawn in Group C with Poland, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia.
In their first match of the group stage, Argentina played Saudi Arabia at Lusail Stadium on November 22, 2022. Argentina took the lead in the 10th minute with a penalty goal from Lionel Messi.
In the second half, Saudi Arabia turned the game around in a span of five minutes. In the 49th minute, Saleh Al-Shehri scored the equalizer for Saudi Arabia.
Four minutes later, Salem Al Dawsari scored from the edge of the box to give Saudi Arabia the lead, which would be the game-winning goal.
Argentina's second game was against Mexico, and a loss would have eliminated them from the competition. Argentina vs Mexico was goalless in the first half.
Argentina was desperate for a goal, and it arrived in the 64th minute through a long-range goal from Lionel Messi. In the 87th minute, Enzo Fernández scored from the edge of the box to seal a 2-0 win.
MORE: Is Lionel Messi Playing in the 2026 World Cup?
Their final group stage match was against Poland, and a win secured them a spot in the knockout stage. Argentina were unable to score in the first half again, with Messi missing a penalty in the 39th minute.
In the 46th minute, Alexis Mac Allister scored the opener for Argentina. In the 67th minute, Julian Alvarez scored Argentina's second to secure another 2-0 win and advanced to the knockout stage, topping Group C with 6 points.
Argentina's opponent in the Round of 16 was Australia, which finished second in Group D, which included France, Tunisia, and Denmark.
In the 35th minute, Messi scored the opener for Argentina. In the 57th minute, Alvarez scored Argentina's second goal of the game. Australia scored a goal back with an own goal from Enzo Fernández. Argentina won the match 2-1 and reached the quarterfinals.
Argentina's next opponents were the Netherlands, who eliminated the USMNT after beating them 3-1 in the Round of 16.
Argentina took the lead again when Nahuel Molina scored in the 35th minute of the match. In the 73rd minute, Messi scored via a penalty kick, and it was 2-0 for Argentina late in the match.
The Netherlands still managed to trouble Argentina, and two late goals from Wout Weghorst sent the game to extra time. Both teams were unable to score in extra time, and the match had to be decided through a penalty shootout.
Virgil Van Dijk and Steven Berghuis missed their penalty kicks, while Enzo Fernández missed for Argentina. Lautaro Martinez scored the winning penalty kick to give Argentina the 4-3 win on penalties to reach the semifinals.
In the semifinals, Argentina played Croatia, who eliminated Brazil in the quarterfinals after a 1-1 draw after extra time and won 4-2 on penalties.
Argentina won the semifinal match 3-0 with a penalty goal from Messi and two goals from Julian Alvarez. Argentina reached its first World Cup final since 2014.
The 2022 World Cup Final featured Argentina and France. France were the World Cup holders after winning the 2018 World Cup over Croatia in Russia.
The 2022 World Cup Final is labeled as one of the greatest finals in football history and one of the greatest football matches of all time.
Like the previous knockout stage matches, Argentina started strongly and took the lead in the 23rd minute through a penalty kick from Messi. In the 36th minute, Angel Di Maria doubled Argentina's lead.
In the second half, Argentina looked closer to the World Cup trophy until Kylian Mbappe happened. In under two minutes, Mbappe scored a memorable brace that shocked the world.
In the 80th minute, Mbappe scored a penalty kick to give France a goal back. A minute later, Mbappe played a one-two with Marcus Thuram and scored a volley past Emiliano Martinez to equalize the game and send it to extra time.
In the second half of extra time, Argentina took the lead again through a goal from Messi in open play in the 108th minute. Messi's shot crossed the line, and after a VAR check for offside, the goal was validated.
Late in extra time, France were given another penalty kick, and Mbappe scored from the spot again to make it 3-3. The match was decided with a penalty shootout.
Mbappe took the first penalty kick of the shootout and scored for France. Messi scored the first penalty kick for Argentina in the shootout to make it 1-1.
Kingsley Coman stepped up next for France, and his penalty was saved by Emiliano Martinez. Argentina's next penalty kick was scored by Paulo Dybala.
Aurelien Tchouameni stepped up for France's third penalty kick, and his shot went wide and missed his team's second penalty. Argentina's third penalty kick taker was Leandro Paredes, and he scored to make it 3-1.
Randal Kolo Muani stepped up for France's 4th penalty kick, and he scored, but it was too late.
Argentina's last penalty kick taker was Gonzalo Montiel, and he scored the penalty to make it 4-2, which crowned Argentina as World champions.
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