Argentina took the bronze medal at the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games, their highest finish in six appearances at the quadrennial. The Argentines gained their seventh Olympic appearance when they won the South American Olympic qualifier in Maiquetia, Venezuela. They will be making back-to-back Olympic appearances, after they saw action at London 2012, where they finished in joint-fifth place. Legendary coach Julio Velasco is gradually working his magic on the team as they have seen great improvement in their game. The team is now ranked No.6 in the world, as Velasco targeted new highs with the team to add to his resume after a glittering coaching career largely spent overseas.
Argentina made their international debut at the South American Championship in Rio de Janeiro in 1951, claiming fourth place. They competed in their first World Championship in 1960 in the same city, where they finished 11th. Since then they have competed in 10 World Championships, with a bronze medal-winning campaign on home territory in 1982 being their best effort to date. Their medal haul from the men’s tournament at the Pan American Games is six – two gold and four bronze medals. At the World League, Argentina finished 11th overall in 2015. In 2014, they came second behind France in Pool D to finish joint-fifth in Group 2 and 13th overall. They had been sixth overall a year earlier and, although they finished 10th in 2012, they finished in the top five in the three editions before that. At the World Championship, they had to settle for joint-11th place after finishing sixth in their second round pool.