Javier Zanetti participant in 1996 Summer Olympics
International career
Zanetti debuted for Argentina on 16 November 1994 against Chile under coach Daniel Passarella. He represented his country at the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups, and was also part of the team that won the silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States.
Zanetti was called up for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, where he made his debut in team's opening group match against Japan which finished in a 1–0 win. During the 1998 World Cup run, he neatly finished off a Juan Sebastián Verón free kick in the round of 16 match against England making the score 2–2. Argentina went on to win 4–3 on penalties but lost the quarter-final match to the Netherlands.Zanetti represented Marcelo Bielsa's Argentina national team at the 2002 World Cup, playing in all matches, as Argentina finished third in their group, despite winning the opening match.
Zanetti celebrated his 100th cap by helping Argentina win their 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup semi-final over Mexico on 26 June 2005, in which he won the Man of the Match award.After having been part of the team during the qualification rounds, Zanetti was not called up for the 2006 World Cup by coach José Pékerman in a controversial decision. Instead, Lionel Scaloni was given a surprise selection, a move that bewildered many fans and media.
With new coach Alfio Basile, Zanetti was called for a friendly match against France on 7 February 2007. He played brilliantly and helped Javier Saviola to score the only goal of the game that gave Argentina the first victory under Basile's second management. That same year, Zanetti was vice-captain of the Argentine squad for the 2007 Copa América, having previously appeared in the 1995, 1999 and the 2004 editions of the tournament, reaching his second consecutive Copa América final.
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