Prior to 2022, Argentina's last shot at World Cup glory came in 2014 when Lionel Messi and Co. faced Germany in the final.
Mario Gotze was the hero for Germany that day netting an extra-time winner, while Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain was dubbed the villain by some for a decisive miss early in the match.
It was a miscued shot that came to haunt Higuain for years as the South Americans fell agonisingly short of the title.
So what ever happened to Higuain and how did the rest of his playing career pan out? The Sporting News takes a look.
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Gonzalo Higuain 2014 World Cup final miss for Argentina
Just 21 minutes into the 2014 World Cup final, Higuain was presented with an opportunity he would have scored from nine times out 10.
Germany's Toni Kroos headed the ball right into Higuain's path in the final third, who then only had the goalkeeper to beat.
Higuain opted not to take a touch, instead striking the bouncing ball first time from the top of the box. Unfortunately for him and Argentina, he didn't strike the ball cleanly enough with his shot going a metre wide of goal.
That would be Argentina's best chance of the game with Germany ultimately finding the sole goal with just seven minutes of extra time remaining.
Awesome player, but Higuain saved him from being the most hazed person in Germany 😅 pic.twitter.com/lG1kXWXVdX
— Marco (@marcofcb01) April 15, 2021
Where is Gonzalo Higuain today?
Higuain is currently enjoying retirement after deciding to hang up the boots at the end of the 2022 MLS season.
The 35-year-old most recently spent two years in the USA playing for Inter Miami and picked up the MLS Comeback Player of the Year in 2022 after scoring 16 goals across 28 league games.
Prior to that, Higuain played for a host of clubs including River Plate, Real Madrid, Napoli, Juventus, AC Milan and Chelsea.
While he won a number of La Liga and Serie A titles, the Argentine never managed to win the UEFA Champions League with his one final in 2016/17 ending in defeat.
What did Gonzalo Higuain say about 2014 miss vs Germany?
Despite a successful club career, some solely remember Higuain for that miss in the 2014 World Cup final.
Thankfully, the man himself has long gotten over the pain of it, stressing his success outweighed any failures on the pitch.
"Sometimes, you score three goals and miss the fourth and that's what they remember, but I'm more than proud and glad of the success that I had," Higuain told GOAL in October 2022.
"From the bad moments you learn, you mature, you grow and I personally don't regret anything, and if I had those situations where I failed, it's because I was in the position to play in those finals.
"Sometimes, you lose. I lost many finals, Copa America and World Cup, and I had the bad luck of being the one that missed an important goal. Those were tough times, but then after that a year later, I was sold for 90 million euros to Juventus as the most expensive Argentinian ever."
Gonzalo Higuain Argentina career
Higuain's international career was at times painful from a team point of view, but individually he often shined in blue and white.
While Higuain never won any silverware with Argentina, losing three finals, he did score a World Cup hat-trick in 2010 and is currently their sixth highest goal scorer of all time with 31 strikes - only three fewer than Diego Maradona despite playing 16 less games.
Maradona in fact handed Higuain his senior debut in 2009 and the forward repaid the faith with a goal in his first appearance.
Higuain could have played internationally for France having been born in the country and fielded calls from their national team at the outset of his career.
