The Río de la Plata classic stands as one of football’s oldest rivalries, yet its only appearance in qualifiers was in 1997.
Argentina and Uruguay share a historic and enduring rivalry. The inaugural edition of the Río de la Plata clash marked the first time a national team match occurred outside the British Isles, launching a dispute that has persisted for more than a century.
The two nations first met on May 16, 1901, in Montevideo, with Argentina prevailing 3-2. Since that debut, the fixture has appeared in every official competition, including a World Cup final, and today the away team’s status in this rivalry sits with the reigning world champions on an overall basis.
On Thursday, November 16, Argentina and Uruguay will renew the classic for the fifth matchday of the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in North America. This meeting comes exactly two years after the previous encounter, when the Celeste defeated the Albiceleste 1-0 in Montevideo on November 12, 2021, extending a run of three straight head-to-head wins for Argentina.
What follows is a competition-by-competition overview of the classic’s history:
ELIMINATIONS
Although the rivalry runs deep, Argentina and Uruguay did not meet in the World Cup qualifiers until January 12, 1997, during the qualifying rounds for France 1998. That match ended in a 0-0 stalemate in Montevideo. The most recent competitive meeting before this rewrite occurred in the Champion of the Century tournament on November 12, 2021, won 1-0 by Argentina.
AMERICA CUP
The continental championship is the arena where these two teams have faced each other most often. Argentina holds the edge in head-to-head results, a lead solidified by a 1-0 victory in the group stage of Brazil 2021.
WORLD CUP
The Río de La Plata Clásico has appeared in the World Cup on only two occasions, with one win for each side. The first meeting took place in the very first World Cup final, where Uruguay beat Argentina 4-2 on home soil. The second meeting occurred in the second round of Mexico 1986, a 1-0 Argentina win that helped propel the eventual champions forward.
OTHER COMPETITIONS
Argentina and Uruguay have also faced each other twice at the Olympic Games when football was still a senior-level competition and before youth formats took hold. Both matches occurred in Amsterdam 1928, with the gold medal match ending in a 1-1 draw and the Celeste claiming victory 2-1 in a replay three days later.
FRIENDLY
Alongside official matches, the two nations have met regularly in friendlies, dating back to 1901 and continuing through the 2-2 draw in Tel Aviv in November 2019. In this competitive subset, Argentina holds a notable lead with more wins in head-to-head play, reflecting the long arc of this rivalry.
GENERAL HISTORY
When tallying every match between the teams, Argentina holds a significant lead in the overall series, a rivalry approaching the two-century mark in quantity. The arc of these contests spans festivals of football, moments of tension, and a shared legacy that has shaped the sport in both countries for generations.