Brazil vs. Argentina is one of the hottest matchups in world football, but at the same time, it is also one of the most aesthetically fatigued matchups in world football. There is no other reason for this, it is because the size and scale of South American football is too small, and there are too many opportunities for various teams to meet. The important events in South American football include the World Preliminary Tournament and the Copa America, first of all, the World Preliminary Tournament, the two legs of Brazil and Argentina are the reserved programs of South American football. In the Copa America, the two teams also have the opportunity to meet, even if not in the final, in the semi-finals and quarter-finals. Coupled with the miscellaneous friendly matches, Brazil and Argentina don't know how many games they have played in the past ten years.
However, examples as extreme as those in 2012 are rare.
In the natural year of 2012, Brazil and Argentina actually played three games, is it really not annoying? What's even more strange is that none of these three games was an official match like the Copa America or the World Preliminary Tournament, but all of them were friendly matches. I really don't know what the Brazilian and Argentine Football Confederations think.
The duration of three games, like a season game, is basically played every two or three months. On June 10, Argentina defeated Brazil 4-3. On September 20, Brazil avenged Argentina 2:1. On November 22, Argentina defeated Brazil again 2-1.
Coincidentally, in fact, South America was playing the World Preliminary Tournament at that time, but in the whole year of 2012, Brazil and Argentina did not meet. The two teams couldn't bear the loneliness, and actually used three friendly matches to relieve the pain of lovesickness.
So, is there a similar example in European football, where two teams meet three times in a calendar year.
It should be said that this is extremely unlikely. First of all, European football is much larger than South American football, with fifty or sixty teams alone. Although there are many competitions in European football, such as the World Preliminary Championship, the European Preliminary Tournament, the European Cup, the UEFA Nations League, etc., these events basically do not coincide in time, or have very little intersection. In addition, if the two teams meet in an official match, it is almost certain that there will be no more friendlies during the year.
However, in 2022, there is really an example, two teams in Europe actually played three games in this year. Objectively, the 2022 World Cup will be held at the end of the year, and there are still UEFA Nations League matches in European football before, so this case was born.
You may remember that in the group stage of the UEFA Nations League in the 22-23 season, there was a team that was very strong, although they did not win the group, they completed a home and away double against a super strong team. This team is Denmark, they beat France twice, 2-0 at home and 2-1 away.
With this momentum, some fans even feel that Denmark has a chance to do another Danish fairy tale at the 2022 World Cup. Coincidentally, Denmark and France were in the same group at the World Cup. But this time, Denmark's good fortune came to an end, while France recovered and Mbappe's brace helped France win 2-1. Denmark couldn't even beat Australia, and they went home after the group stage.
It is worth mentioning that in 2023, the European preliminary round was also played, with France and the Netherlands in the same group and playing two legs. In the Euro 2024 draw, the two teams were placed in the same group, however, this game will not be played until June 2024, so it does not fit the topic we are talking about today.
Finally, I would like to ask you, what are the other examples of two teams meeting three times in a natural year?