Argentina are just two games away from making more history (Picture: Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Argentina are set to face Croatia in tonight’s World Cup semi-final with a place in Sunday’s final awaiting the winners.

The Argentines had a shaky start to Qatar 2022 with a disastrous defeat to Saudi Arabia in their opening group fixture.

But Lionel Scaloni’s side have rallied since then to qualify from the group as winners and they have navigated their way through the knockout rounds with victories over Australia and the Netherlands.

The South Americans have a proud footballing history and they are desperate to win the World Cup with their legendary captain Lionel Messi, with the trophy the only one missing from his otherwise exemplary CV.

But exactly how many times have Argentina won the World Cup before?

Here is everything you need to know.

How many World Cups have Argentina won?

Argentina have won the World Cup twice in their history.

Argentina won their first World Cup title in 1978 (Picture: MSI/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)

Their maiden World Cup victory came in 1978 when they were hosts of the tournament, beating the Netherlands 3-1 in the final in Buenos Aires.

Mario Kempes had put them 1-0 up seven minutes before half-time, and their lead stayed intact until the 82nd minute when Dick Nanninga popped up to equalise for the Dutch.

With the game in extra-time, Kempes again found the back of the net to nudge Argentina ahead, with a further goal from Daniel Bertoni putting the game to bed.

La Albiceleste only had to wait eight years to add a second star onto their chest, with their 1886 winning campaign spearheaded by the great Diego Maradona.

After easing through the group stage and round of 16, Argentina had a date with Bobby Robson’s England in the quarter-final in Mexico City.

Diego Maradona inspired Argentina to victory in 1986 (Picture: Archivo El Grafico/Getty Images)

What followed would go down in football folklore – Maradona’s ‘The hand of God’ put the South Americans 1-0 ahead, and then four minutes later the diminutive Argentine ran all the way through the England team to score the ‘Goal of the Century’ in the 2-0 win.

After beating Belgium in the semi-finals, Argentina let slip a 2-0 lead in the final against West Germany after Rudi Voller had equalised for the Germans with only eight minutes remaining.

But thankfully for the Argentinians, Jorge Burruchaga restored their lead three minutes later to ensure they got their hands on the iconic trophy for the second time in the nation’s history.

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