World Cup countdown: 50 days, Argentina moment number 44, Gabriel BATISTUTA

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As part of the 50 days, 50 Argentina World Cup moments, we will be counting down the top 50 Argentina moments at a World Cup using the daily number.

We are just 44 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup and in 44th place we have Gabriel BATISTUTA scoring his 44th goal for Argentina which came at the 1998 FIFA World Cup against Japan in the group stages.

It was Argentina’s first match at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and it was BATISTUTA’s 44th goal for his country which won the 3 points in a 1-0 victory. The sole goal was the first of five total he would score at the tournament.

Here was Argentina’s starting XI for that match:

1. Carlos ROA
2. Roberto AYALA
5. Matias ALMEYDA
6. Roberto SENSINI
7. Claudio LOPEZ
8. Diego SIMEONE
9. Gabriel BATISTUTA
10. Ariel ORTEGA
11. Juan Sebastian VERON
14. Nelson VIVAS
22. Javier ZANETTI

Gabriel Batistuta: Argentina International Goals – Senior Level

# Opponent Competition Date Result
1 Venezuela 1991 Copa America July 8, 1991 Final 3-0 Argentina
2 Venezuela 1991 Copa America July 8, 1991 Final 3-0 Argentina
3 Chile 1991 Copa America July 10, 1991 Final 1-0 Argentina
4 Paraguay 1991 Copa America July 12, 1991 Final 4-1 Argentina
5 Brazil 1991 Copa America July 17, 1991 Final 3-2 Argentina
6 Colombia 1991 Copa America July 21, 1991 Final 2-1 Argentina
7 Japan Kirin Cup May 31, 1992 Final 1-0 Argentina
8 Wales Kirin Cup June 3, 1992 Final 1-0 Argentina
9 Australia Friendly June 18, 1992 Final 2-0 Argentina
10 Australia Friendly June 18, 1992 Final 2-0 Argentina
11 Ivory Coast 1992 Confederations Cup October 16, 1992 Final 4-0 Argentina
12 Ivory Coast 1992 Confederations Cup October 16, 1992 Final 4-0 Argentina
13 Bolivia 1993 Copa America June 17, 1993 Final 1-0 Argentina
14 Mexico 1993 Copa America July 4, 1993 Final 2-1 Argentina
15 Mexico 1993 Copa America July 4, 1993 Final 2-1 Argentina
16 Peru 1994 World Cup Qualifiers August 1, 1993 Final 1-0 Argentina
17 Peru 1994 World Cup Qualifiers August 22, 1993 Final 2-1 Argentina
18 Australia 1994 World Cup Qualifiers November 17, 1993 Final 1-0 Argentina
19 Israel Friendly May 31, 1994 Final 3-0 Argentina
20 Israel Friendly May 31, 1994 Final 3-0 Argentina
21 Greece 1994 FIFA World Cup June 21, 1994 Final 4-0 Argentina
22 Greece 1994 FIFA World Cup June 21, 1994 Final 4-0 Argentina
23 Greece 1994 FIFA World Cup June 21, 1994 Final 4-0 Argentina
24 Romania 1994 FIFA World Cup July 3, 1994 Final 3-2 Romania
25 Japan 1995 Confederations Cup January 8, 1995 Final 5-1 Argentina
26 Japan 1995 Confederations Cup January 8, 1995 Final 5-1 Argentina
27 Slovakia Friendly June 22, 1995 Final 6-0 Argentina
28 Slovakia Friendly June 22, 1995 Final 6-0 Argentina
29 Australia Friendly June 30, 1995 Final 2-0 Argentina
30 Bolivia 1995 Copa America July 8, 1995 Final 2-1 Argentina
31 Chile 1995 Copa America July 11, 1995 Final 4-0 Argentina
32 Chile 1995 Copa America July 11, 1995 Final 4-0 Argentina
33 Brazil 1995 Copa America July 17, 1995 Final 2-2 (4-2 P) Brazil
34 Bolivia 1998 World Cup Qualifiers April 24, 1996 Final 3-1 Argentina
35 Paraguay 1998 World Cup Qualifiers September 1, 1996 Final 1-1 Draw
36 Chile 1998 World Cup Qualifiers December 15, 1996 Final 1-1 Draw
37 Bulgaria Friendly March 10, 1998 Final 2-0 Argentina
38 Republic of Ireland Friendly March 10, 1998 Final 2-0 Argentina
39 Bosnia-Herzegovina Friendly May 14, 1998 Final 5-0 Argentina
40 Bosnia-Herzegovina Friendly May 14, 1998 Final 5-0 Argentina
41 Bosnia-Herzegovina Friendly May 14, 1998 Final 5-0 Argentina
42 Chile Friendly May 19, 1998 Final 1-0 Argentina
43 South Africa Friendly May 25, 1998 Final 2-0 Argentina
44 Japan 1998 FIFA World Cup June 14, 1998 Final 1-0 Argentina
45 Jamaica 1998 FIFA World Cup June 21, 1998 Final 5-0 Argentina
46 Jamaica 1998 FIFA World Cup June 21, 1998 Final 5-0 Argentina
47 Jamaica 1998 FIFA World Cup June 21, 1998 Final 5-0 Argentina
48 England 1998 FIFA World Cup June 30, 1998 Final 2-2 (4-3 P) Argentina
49 Netherlands Friendly March 31, 1999 Final 1-1 Draw
50 Colombia Friendly October 13, 1999 Final 2-1 Argentina
51 Chile 2002 World Cup Qualifiers March 29, 2000 Final 4-1 Argentina
52 Colombia 2002 World Cup Qualifiers June 29, 2000 Final 3-1 Argentina
53 Colombia 2002 World Cup Qualifiers June 29, 2000 Final 3-1 Argentina
54 Uruguay 2002 World Cup Qualifiers October 8, 2000 Final 2-1 Argentina
55 Paraguay 2002 World Cup Qualifiers October 7, 2001 Final 2-2 Draw
56 Nigeria 2002 FIFA World Cup June 2, 2002 Final 1-0 Argentina

If you missed it, here are our 50 World Cup moments:
50: Sergio ROMERO gets 50th cap vs. Switzerland at 2014 FIFA World Cup.
49: Roberto AYALA scores in the 49th minute vs. Germany at 2006 FIFA World Cup.
48: Angel DI MARIA’s 48th cap for Argentina vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina at 2014 FIFA World Cup.
47: Mario KEMPES scores Argentina’s 47th goal all time at the 1978 FIFA World Cup vs. Peru.
46: Jorge VALDANO scores in the 46th minute at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
45: Javier ZANETTI scores in the 45th minute vs. England at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

7 Comments

  1. Batigol was really at his peak between 1997-2000. I think he was the best forward-striker, even comparing to El Fenomeno. But that’s only my opinion. Batigol was powerful, so strong in long shot and aerial duel, great ball protection and 1st touch(unlike what people said he was average technically).

    When I look at the list, other than the 2 legends Batigol and Zanetti, many of them would have had their place in the current national team if they were still active. For example, Almeyda or Simeone as DM, Veron as CM and of course Ayala.

    • I assure you that it is not only you. Batistuta was the best 9 i have ever seen too. He was fast, strong and physical and as you said he could score from every part of the field, from inside the box or lunching rockets from distance being double marked at the same time (remember his cl goal against Manchester united?), he was the only 9 being a master in free kicks and he was a biest in headers too.

      Are there people who really said that he was average technically? Well, as far as i know football is not only about dribbling, there is also something else called shooting technique refering to scoring by many different ways possible such as one touch volleys, bycicle kicks etc and also scoring from outside the box. Ronaldo was the best 9 with the ball on his feet indeed, but when it comes to shooting technique, shooting abilities and shooting accuracy Batistuta was and still is the best 9 ever, not only for you and me but for many other people too.

      • Happy to see people sharing the same point of view! If you re-watch the games played by him like the classic Fiorentina-Inter, you can see him really good on the ball. He never missed any control or passing, always good 1st touch that allowed him to continue his actions. It’s something very basic but in practice hard to do under pressure. As you said, unfortunately many people who don’t understand football only judge players by dribbling. Also he knew running in the right space for receiving in-deep pass, that required a lot of tactical intelligence. Basically he was fit in any system. To me dribbling is something good to have but not the necessary thing that a forward need to have, especially in a team which plays collectively.

        In the last decade, there were lots of great forwards who came after him like Crespo, Trezeguet, Van Nistelrooy, Van Persie, Drogba, Villa, Ibra, ….etc. but none of them was as complete as he used to be. Today there is less and less traditional number 9 unfortunately.

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