The Argentine national team and another historic blow in a World Cup: from Cameroon in 1990 to the slap of Saudi Arabia in Qatar

No one imagined the result of this Tuesday 22 November 2022, at the debut in Qatar in view of Saudi Arabia. Argentina he lost the game he had to win and now everything will be uphill before Mexico Y Poland, the other two group rivals. It will go down in history as one of the toughest hits in the world championships.

The first of all was in the World Cup Sweden in 1958. Argentina arrived with very high morale, with the idea of ​​showing that we were the best in the world. On their debut, they lost 3-1 to Germany and then beat Northern Ireland 3-1.

At the end of the group, a draw against Czechoslovakia, whom they had beaten 1-0 in a friendly match in 1956, was enough to qualify for the round of 16. But they suffered an unexpected victory: 6-1. Since then, the Swedish disaster has marked a before and after in the history of Argentine football, which has called into question the identity built up to that moment.

Until the 1978 World Cup, Argentina continued accumulate failures. He was knocked out in the first round in Chile 62, lost in the quarterfinals to England in 1966, failed to qualify for Mexico 70 and suffered a historic defeat in Germany 74 to the Netherlands 4-0.

After the first World Cup, Argentina, as champions, played their opening match in Spain 82. The rival was Belgium, who hadn’t played since 1970. And it was a complete surprise: 1-0 with a goal from Erwin Vandenbergh after 17 minutes of second time. Menotti’s team then bounced back, beating Hungary 4-1 and El Salvador 2-0 to qualify for the second stage.

Copying what happened in 1982, in 1990 the defense of the world title conquered four years earlier in Mexico also began with an unexpected defeat, this time against Cameroon 1-0, with a goal by Francois Omam-Biyik, 22 minutes from the half the final. Argentina then beat the Soviet Union 2-0, drew 1-1 with Romania, finished third in the group and qualified for the round of 16 as one of the best third-placed teams. Miraculously reached the final, which they lost to Germany.

From that match with Cameroon that Argentina lost on their debut in the World Cup. And before Arabia he fell for the sixth time. Besides 1958, 1982 and 1990, they also lost in 1934 (2-3 against Sweden) and 1974 (2-3 against Poland).

Since 1994, Argentina had added 7 wins and a draw. In the USA they beat Greece 4-0; in 1998 it was 1-0 against Japan and in 2002 it was 1-0 against Nigeria. It’s worth remembering that that first time of the match in the East had the final disappointment of elimination in the group stage, another unforgettable slap in the face.

Going back to the beginning, in 2006 they went 2-1 against Ivory Coast, in 2010 1-0 against Nigeria, in 2014 2-1 against Bosnia Herzegovina and in Russia 2018 they drew 1-1 with Iceland, in what turned out to be another surprise, like this Tuesday. The consolation remains of knowing that Spain lost 1-0 to Switzerland at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and then lifted the World Cup.