Argentina hope to replicate past successes on the Olympic stage this summer, but will have to do so with a squad lacking in the same star power.
There are some exciting young prospects aiming to impress in Tokyo, but none of the calibre of Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez, who have shone before.
The Argentine men’s football team previously claimed gold at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics in Athens and Beijing respectively.
Tevez was unstoppable in 2004, scoring an unrivalled eight goals, including a hat-trick against Costa Rica and the winner against Paraguay in the final.
Four years later, and the goalscoring burden was shared by Messi, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria on the way to yet more glory.
The current Argentina squad contains players based in nine different countries, including Portugal, Russia, France, Mexico and the United States.
There is also one from England – Brighton and Hove Albion’s promising young attacker, Alexis Mac Allister – who is expected to feature prominently.
Just over half of the squad still play their club football in Argentina, with three representatives from Lanus and Velez Sarsfield.
They are managed by Fernando Batista, who has worked in the national team’s youth set-up since 2018.
He has chosen Nehuen Perez, a 21-year-old centre-back who recently returned to Atletico Madrid from a loan spell at Granada, as his captain.
Batista has selected just one overage player in his squad – goalkeeper Jeremias Ledesma.
Argentina have been drawn in Group C alongside Spain, Egypt and Australia, with the top two going through to the quarter-finals.
Goalkeepers: Joaquin Blazquez (Talleres de Cordoba), Lautaro Morales (Lanus), Jeremias Ledesma (Rosario Central)
Defenders: Hernan de la Fuente (Velez Sarsfield), Marcelo Herrera (San Lorenzo), Nehuen Perez (Atletico Madrid), Leonel Mosevich (Vizela), Facundo Medina (Lens), Francisco Ortega (Velez Sarsfield), Claudio Bravo (Portland Timbers)
Midfielders: Fausto Vera (Argentinos Juniors), Santiago Colombatto (Leon), Tomas Belmonte (Lanus), Martin Payero (Banfield), Thiago Almada (Velez Sarsfield), Esequiel Barco (Atlanta United)
Forwards: Carlos Valenzuela (Famalicao), Pedro de la Vega (Lanus), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton and Hove Albion), Agustin Urzi (Banfield), Adolfo Gaich (Benevento), Ezequiel Ponce (Spartak Moscow)
