page_title: Argentina–Brazil football rivalry
section_title: Origins
hierarchical_section_title: Argentina–Brazil football rivalry / Origins
caption_attribution_description: English: A Brazilian defender throwing the ball before the Argentine player Laguna reaches it, during the Argentina v. Brazil national teams match in Buenos Aires. Brazil wore a green and yellow striped jersey for that game.
context_page_description: The Argentina–Brazil football rivalry is a sports rivalry between the national football teams of the two countries and their respective sets of fans. Games between the two teams, even those that are only friendly matches, are often marked by notable and sometimes controversial incidents. This rivalry is also called the "Battle of the Americas." FIFA have described it as the "essence of football rivalry", ESPN FC ranked it top of their list of rivalries between national sides, while CNN ranked it second on their top 10 list of international rivalries—only below the older England–Scotland football rivalry.
  Even to passionate football fans, Argentina–Brazil matches are often noteworthy for the sheer level of competitiveness and talent of the two squads. Brazil and Argentina are the two teams with the highest average Elo Rating calculated over the entire team history, with 1994 and 1984 respectively. Both are also routinely ranked among the top ten national teams in the world in both the FIFA World Rankings and the World Football Elo Ratings.
context_section_description: The origins of the football rivalry between Argentina and Brazil can be traced to a time before football became so popular in both countries. Today, few remember wars and other political confrontations between both countries, and only recall matches, victories, goals and other sport-related incidents. Their rivalry is found in almost all sports, but a men's football match between Argentina and Brazil is one that neither side wants to lose, and often acquires more importance than the championship within which it takes place. To exemplify the intensity of this rivalry, one only needs to remember that after the 1946 incidents (see below), the two teams did not play against each other for ten years; either team would decline to play a given cup so that they would never have to play against the neighboring country.
  Since their first match in 1914, the national teams have played 105 matches counting friendlies, FIFA World Cup matches, and other official competitions (excluding matches between youth sides).
  Even though there is a difference depending on whether the Argentine Football Association (AFA) or the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) does the counting, the near-balance is not in dispute. According to FIFA, of the 105 matches played between both national teams, Argentina and Brazil hold 38 and 41 victories, respectively, with 26 draws. Argentina has 160 goals, while Brazil has 163. Only counting World Cup matches, Brazil is slightly ahead with two wins, one draw and one loss, whereas in the Copa América matches, Argentina holds a comfortable lead with 14 victories, 8 draws and 9 defeats. Of the 60 friendly matches, 25 went to Brazil, 20 to Argentina and 16 were draws.
  Since the first match between the two countries in 1914, Argentina dominated the early years with more than double of the Brazilian victories. This is even when Brazil was world champion in 1958 and 1962. However, the 1970s proved to be dark times for Argentina, with seven defeats, four draws and only one victory, although it should be mentioned that one of the draws came in the 1978 World Cup played in Argentina. The 0–0 draw actually helped Argentina reach their second World Cup final and their first World Cup title. In the 1978 World Cup, Brazil was left behind, playing for third place.
  The highest scoring wins between these two nations were for Argentina 6–1 (at home in Buenos Aires, 1940) and 1–5 (away at Rio de Janeiro, 1939), for Brazil 6–2 (at home in Rio de Janeiro, 1945) and 1–4 (away at Buenos Aires, 1960).
  The most important victory matches between these two nations were, for Argentina, the 2–0 match in the 1937 Copa América final, the tie 0–0 in the 1978 World Cup that helped them to reach the final and their first World Cup title, and the 1–0 victory over Brazil in the 1990 World Cup which eliminated Brazil from the World Cup in the Round of 16. For Brazil, most important were two Copa America victories in the Copa America finals. The first, in Peru in 2004, saw Brazil win in a penalty shootout (4–2) after a (2–2) draw, and the second was a (3–0) win in the 2007 Copa América final played in Venezuela. Another important victory for Brazil was the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup final, where the Brazilians defeated Argentina 4–1 in the decisive match.
caption: A Brazilian defender throwing the ball before Laguna reaches it, during the 1916 Copa América. Brazil wore a green and yellow striped jersey for that game
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