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Argentina have won the World Cup twice in their history (1978 and 1986). They will be heading to Qatar this November to participate in the tournament for the 18th time.
Despite having some of the world's best players, they have failed to win the competition due to poor management and over-reliance on specific players. La Albiceleste have had some of the greatest goalscorers in world football in their team.
Mentioned below are the top five goal-scorers in Argentina's history. None of the players mentioned have won a World Cup, something that only one of them can change this November.
Diego Maradona, interestingly enough, falls short and ranks sixth on the list with 29 goals.
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#5 Gonzalo Higuain - 31 goals
Gonzalo Higuain recently announced his retirement after what has been a glorious career in the sport. He spent the early part of his career at Real Madrid, winning multiple La Liga titles, following which he signed for Napoli.
At Napoli, he was arguably in the best form of his life under Maurizio Sarri. He scored 91 goals in 146 matches for the club.
He impressed at Juventus as well, helping them win three Serie A titles with 66 goals in 149 matches.
He made 75 appearances for Argentina scoring 31 goals, and finished as a runner-up in the 2014 World Cup. Higuain was a powerful and technical striker who Sarri molded into the perfect penalty box striker.
Sarri even brought him to Chelsea for six months in 2019, where he won the Europa League. He moved to Inter Miami in 2020 and spent the twilight of his career in the MLS.
#4 Hernan Crespo - 35 goals
Hernan Crespo spent most of his career playing in Italy, with most of his appearances coming at Parma. It was at Inter Milan where he won three Serie A titles between 2006 and 2009.
He also played for Lazio, Genoa, and AC Milan and had a brief stint at Chelsea, where he won the Premier League under Jose Mourinho.
Crespo was a complete striker and would have suited the modern game. He was able to link up play as well as affect the game without the ball with his movement and intelligence.
Crespo finished as the runner-up in the 1996 Olympics with Argentina behind Nigeria.
He currently manages Al-Duhail in Qatar.
#3 Sergio Aguero - 41 goals
Sergio Aguero has prominently played for two clubs during his career, Atletico Madrid and Manchester City. After winning the Europa League at Atletico in 2010, he moved to City and spent 10 illustrious years at the club.
He famously scored the goal that gave the club their first Premier League title in 2012 and went on to win four more, with three coming under Pep Guardiola.
He is one of the Premier League's legendary players and was a focal point for much of City's success. He is the club's all-time top scorer with 260 goals in 190 matches.
With Argentina, he won the Copa America in 2021 and was a runner-up in the 2014 World Cup. Aguero signed for Barcelona last year but sadly had to retire after some health complications. He gave English football what is arguably their best-ever end to a title race and is respected by all.
#2 Gabriel Batistuta - 55 goals
Gabriel Batistuta was Argentina's record goal scorer for many years and is widely known as one of football's greatest-ever strikers. He spent most of his career at Fiorentina between 1991 and 2000 and scored several goals.
He also had a spell at AS Roma, where he won the Serie A title in 2001. Batistuta's shot was so powerful it at times felt like he would tear the net with them.
Batistuta also had a relatively successful career, with Argentina winning two Copa America trophies in 1991 and 1993. He also won a Confederations Cup in 1992.
However, injuries took a toll on him, especially the ones to his ankles as he retired in 2005. Batistuta occasionally takes part in the odd charity game but is not currently involved in the football world.
#1 Lionel Messi - 90 goals (Argentina's top scorer)
With 164 appearances for his country, Lionel Messi is not only Argentina's best player but arguably football's greatest-ever player.
With Barcelona, he dominated the football scene from 2004 to 2021, making 778 appearances, scoring 672 goals, and assisting 303. He won 10 La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues, among other trophies.
He is a record seven-time Ballon d'Or winner.
Unfortunately, Messi had to leave Barcelona last year due to financial reasons and signed for Paris Saint-Germain. After struggling for form last season, he is back this season and is ready to push Argentina in this winter's World Cup.
He led Argentina to the Copa America trophy in 2021 and was a World Cup runner-up in 2014 behind Germany. Argentina will be a serious threat in what will be Messi's final World Cup.
