Argentina or Brazil: Who has the best team?

Argentina and Brazil have a rich football history, arguably two of the greatest national teams in the game's history. It's more than just kicking a ball around, football is part of their culture. Both teams have a very strong rivalry that dates back a century!

The million-dollar question: who is the best team? A complicated question with an even more complex answer. One must analyze the history between both teams and how they have evolved over the years. Both teams have enjoyed great success on the international scale.

Argentina is the current World Cup champion, so one could argue that as of right now, the blue and whites have a superior edge over the "Canary squad". The "Albicelestes" conquered the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, thanks to the great Lionel Messi.

During the 2022 World Cup, Brazil was labeled a favorite tournament, however, it became one of the big disappointments in Qatar. The great "Canary squad" fell to Luka Moderic's Croatia during a tense penalty shootout.

What will happen when Messi retires? He was, without a doubt, the great star of the team, fundamental for achieving the title, although it is true that he was accompanied by a very talented group of players.

We must not forget other Argentine veterans such as Ángel Di Maria, who was also a key figure in the World Cup. Replacing the quality winger from Rosario will be a complicated mission for Scaloni.

In goal, all the praise and awards went to 'Dibu' Martínez who, however, in the Premier League is not proving to be one of the best goalkeepers at the moment, conceding quite a few goals defending his club, Aston Villa.

As for young talents, Argentina produces some of the world's most talented prodigies on a regular basis. Alexis MacAllister, Enzo Fernández, Julián Álvarez, Exequiel Palacios, Alejandro Garnacho, Matías Soulé, Giovanni Simeone, Juan Foyth, Nahuel Molina… The list goes on.

If we look at Brazil, we are talking about a really young team with a lot of quality. A blessed problem for Carlo Ancelotti is when he takes the reins of the squad.

Liverpool's goalkeeper, Alisson is regarded as one of the best keepers in the game! There is also Ederson as backup. A deep bench for the "Canary squad".

Like Argentina, Brazil also has a few veterans with incredible talents. Big names like Neymar Jr., Casemiro, Fabinho, Marquinhos, Diego Carlos, or Firmino.

Without looking ahead, Brazil has a roster of young players who are already proving to be among the best in the world, such as defenders Eder Militao and Gleison Bremer or midfielders Lucas Paquetá and Bruno Guimarães.

The next generation of Brazilian talents is coming in hot. Great players like Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo Goes, Gabriel Jesús, Raphinha, Richarlison, and Antony are a real attacking threat.

Young talents like Endrick (Real Madrid) and Vitor Roque (FC Barcelona) have formalized contracts with some of Europe's biggest teams.

Argentina and Brazil are two very even teams, although the Argentines are overly dependent on Messi, the Brazilians are betting on their young potential.

But let's look back to compare these two teams by analyzing data and titles... If we stick exclusively to the titles, there is no one who can level Brazilian success. A total of five World Cup titles!

Brazil's first World Cup would come in 1958, in the sixth edition of the tournament held in Sweden and in which it won the title against the hosts themselves. After that triumph, the Brazilians would lift the cup again in 1962, 1970, 1994 and, the last time, more than 20 years ago, in 2002, in Japan and Korea against Germany.

And not only that, but they were also runners-up on two other occasions, in 1950, when they lost at home against Uruguay in the legendary 'Maracanazo'; and in 1998, when they were defeated by Zinedine Zidane's France on French territory.

In the World Cups, in addition to being the only team that has played in all the final phases of the World Cup, it also has a record of victories in the tournament with 76 in 114 games played, 129 goals, 247 points, and 19 losses.

In the case of Argentina, it has three soccer World Cup titles. The first of them was achieved in 1978, as hosts and against the Netherlands, whom they beat in the final 3-1 with two goals from Mario Kempes and another from Daniel Bertoni.

The second of the Albicelestes's titles would come in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico in which a great Diego Armando Maradona led his team to win their second world trophy, beating West Germany 3-2 in the final with goals from José Brown, Jorge Valdano and Jorge Burruchaga for the champions.

The third title would take a long time to come. It was in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when, after a bad start, the squad led by Lionel Messi reached the final, in then beat France 4-2 on penalties after finishing the match 3-3.

In addition to the three championships it has achieved throughout its history, Argentina has also been a finalist in three other editions in Uruguay in 1930, where it lost against the Uruguayans; in Italy in 1990, against West Germany; and in Brazil in 2014, again against Germany.

In the World Cup, Brazil beats Argentina by far, but not in the Copa América, where the Argentinians are the leading team in the tournament in terms of titles, having won it no less than 15 times – the same as Uruguay – (1921, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1937, 1941, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1955, 1957, 1959-I, 1991, 1993 and 2021), being runners-up on 14 more occasions.

In the case of Brazil, they have won the Copa América tournament on 9 occasions (1919, 1922, 1949, 1989, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2007 and 2019), reaching runners-up another 11 times and being the third team with greatest number of titles achieved.

But be careful, because these data can be misleading if we do not look at the fact that much of Argentina's advantage in titles comes from the beginning of the 20th century, while, in recent times, Brazil has dominated more, even winning its great rival in the finals of 2004 (by penalties) and 2007, in addition to the semifinal in 2019.

But let's talk about the Superclásicos of the Americas... How many times have both teams faced each other and with what results? To date there have been a total of 109 direct confrontations between both teams, of which Brazil has won 42, Argentina 41 and they have ended in a draw 26 times.

Of those 109 duels, 52 of them have been official -20 for Argentina, 18 for Brazil and 14 draws; While 57 have been friendly, with a balance of 24 victories for the Brazilians, 21 for the Argentines and 12 draws.

In terms of goals scored, in official matches, Argentina has scored 71 goals and Brazil 69; in friendly matches, 92 and 96, respectively; and as for the global calculation, the Cariocas would beat the Albicelestes by a tight 163-165.

And speaking of goals... Does anyone know what was the biggest win recorded? Well, it was March 5, 1940, when Argentina led by Peucelle won 6-1 against Brazil. On December 20, 1945, the Brazilians almost hit back in a match that ended with a 6-2 victory for them.

We can also assess the times that both teams have faced each other by eliminating them from an official competition. In this case, Argentina has achieved it three times, kicking Brazil out of the Copa América (3 times) and the World Cup (1); while the Cariocas have achieved it six times, in the Copa América (5) and in the Confederations Cup (1).

As for other official competitions (outside the World Cup and Copa América), the most important match between Brazil and Argentina was the one they played in the final of the 2005 Confederations Cup, which ended with a 4-1 Brazilian victory.

The last confrontation between both teams took place on September 5, 2021, but it became a real horror when it was suspended 5 minutes after the start of the match due to the Covid-19 pandemic protocol. It would summarize on November 16, ending with a 0-0 between both teams.

But the rivalry between both teams has even reached the point where they are compared due to the great stars who have worn their respective shirts. And what better example is there of them than that they dispute who is the best player of all time, the Brazilian Pelé or the Argentine Diego Armando Maradona (now with another countryman, Messi, also involved in the equation).

Brazil and Argentina are by far some of the best football countries in the world. The passion for the game is what keeps these two teams on the very top of football heritage.