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 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup and in 30th place we have Argentina losing their opening match of the 1982 FIFA World Cup.
Looking back, it was maybe an omen. June 13, 1982, reigning FIFA World Cup winners Argentina took to the pitch at the Camp Nou in Barcelona to play Belgium. Lead by captain Daniel PASSARELLA, coach Cesar Luis MENOTTI stayed on after having the tournament four years prior and made a big change to the team. Diego MARADONA was now wearing the number 10 shirt for his country and big things were expected of not only him but of the team.
But the opening match could not have gone any worse. A narrow 1-0 loss to Belgium mixed with a massive 10-1 win by Hungary over El Salvador saw Argentina start the tournament in third place in their group.
Here was the starting XI for that match:
7. Ubaldo FILLOL
1. Osvaldo ARDILES
4. Daniel BERTONI
6. Ramon DIAZ
8. Luis GALVAN
9. Americo GALLEGO
10. Diego MARADONA
11. Mario KEMPES
14. Jorge OLGUIN
15. Daniel PASSARELLA
18. Alberto TARANTINI
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.
44: Gabriel BATISTUTA scores goal number 44 in his Argentina career at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
43: Gonzalo HIGUAIN receives cap number 43 for Argentina vs. Germany in the final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
42: Pedro PASCULLI scores in the 42nd minute for Argentina vs. Uruguay at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
41: Maxi RODRÍGUEZ scores in the 41st minute for Argentina vs. Serbia & Montenegro at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
40: Roberto AYALA plays in his 40th match for Argentina vs. Jamaica at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
39: Pablo ZABALETA plays in his 39th match for Argentina vs. Nigeria at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
38: Javier SAVIOLA scores in the 38th minute for Argentina vs. Ivory Coast at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
37: Maxi RODRIGUEZ plays in his 37th match for Argentina vs. South Korea at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
36: Mauricio PINEDA scores in the 36th minute for Argentina vs. Croatia at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
35: Ezequiel LAVEZZI plays in his 35th match for Argentina vs. Netherlands at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
3up4: Diego MARADONA scores his 34th goal for Argentina vs. Greece at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
33: Gonzalo HIGUAIN scores in the 33rd minute for Argentina vs. Mexico at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
32: Hernan CRESPO scores his 32nd goal for Argentina vs. Mexico at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
31: Diego MARADONA scoring in Argentina’s 31st FIFA World Cup match vs. Hungary.
