[23][24] Initially a cordial friendly competition between the two nations, the ferocity of the rivalry grew in the early part of the 20th century, marked by repeated controversial high-profile incidents and periods of refusing to play each other.

This includes players such as Alfredo Di Stéfano, Diego Maradona, and Lionel Messi for Argentina and Pelé, Ronaldo, and Ronaldinho from Brazil.

Notably, after a violent Copa América final in 1925, both teams refrained from competing in tournaments where the other was present (Brazil withdrawing from the Copa America until a single appearance in 1937), and a similar decade long hiatus followed a 1946 match with Argentina not playing at any World Cups until 1958.

Argentina initially dominated the rivalry in head-to-head matches, and went on to have considerable success in the Copa America both with and without the Brazilians in attendance.

For the 1925 Copa América, Argentina and Brazil played the final match at Sportivo Barracas Stadium on Christmas Day, drawing a crowd of more than 30,000 people.

Before completing the first half, a dangerous counterattack by the visitors was stopped by Ramón Muttis with a strong foul on Friedenreich, who in turn, reacted with a kick.

The Argentine responded with a punch in the Brazilian's face, and the incident sparked a clash involving several players and a pitch invasion by some spectators.

However, the match had changed course, at the end of the first half Antonio Cerrotti reduced the deficit and opened the road to recovery.

There were verbal confrontations between both parties, and Argentine fans often taunted the Brazilians by calling them macaquitos and making monkey sounds.

Questioning one of the goals and fearful for their own safety, the Brazilian players decided to leave the stadium before the match was officially finished.

Furious, Argentina player Arcadio López verbally attacked the referee and had to be escorted out of the pitch by police.

The penalty that gave Brazil the 3–2 victory was scored without a goalkeeper, because the entire Argentine team had already walked off the pitch.

In the 1945 Copa Roca match that Brazil won 6–2, young Brazilian Ademir de Menezes fractured Argentine José Battagliero's leg.

Twenty-eight minutes after the start, when both teams went for a free ball, Brazilian Jair Rosa Pinto fractured Argentine captain José Salomón's tibia and fibula.

Brazil and Argentina then played out a tense and violent goalless draw – also known as "A Batalha de Rosário" ("The Battle of Rosario"), so both teams went into the last round of matches with three points.

Argentina now needed a win over Brazil on the second day, but they were no match, as the Brazilians' attacking game, characterised by nimble, one-touch passing on-the-run, eclipsed the reigning world champions.

Frustrated because of the poor refereeing and the imminent loss, Diego Maradona kicked Brazilian player Batista and received a straight red card.

The Brazilian Túlio became famous for scoring a late equalizer five minutes from time after controlling the ball with his left arm.

Despite the obvious foul, the referee, Alberto Tejada Noriega of Peru, claimed he did not see the incident and the goal therefore stood.

The Argentine media labeled the incident as the "hand of the devil",[41] a reference to the controversial goal scored by Diego Maradona in the 1986 World Cup against England.

Argentina convincingly won with a score of 3–0, and went on to beat Nigeria 1–0 in the final, being the first to obtain two consecutive gold medals in football in 40 years, and the third overall after the Olympic teams of the United Kingdom and Uruguay.

[42] The 2021 Copa América was originally scheduled to be jointly held in Colombia and Argentina in 2020, but it was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the final, Argentina defeated Brazil 1–0 with the only goal by Ángel Di María at the Maracanã Stadium to win their 15th Copa América title, their first in 28 years.

[43] On 22 November 2023, Argentina defeated Brazil 1–0 again at the Maracanã in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier that was delayed due to crowd violence.

It was the first time in history that Brazil were defeated at home in a FIFA World Cup qualification match after a run of 51 wins and 13 draws.

[48] The most dominant figures from the two countries in the modern game are Neymar (Brazilian) and Messi, who both played for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.

[60] Despite their frequent confrontations,[61] usually through quotations by the media, Pelé was the guest star of Maradona's TV show La Noche del 10 ("The Night of the #10"), where they had a friendly chat and played a bout of headers.

However, the same Argentine club team, Boca Juniors, has celebrated three of its six titles on Brazilian soil, defeating Palmeiras in 2000, Santos in 2003 and Grêmio in 2007.

It has been reported that in all three of Boca Juniors' victories on Brazilian soil, Boca's players were not allowed to properly sleep in their hotel rooms the night before their final matches because of the chaos and noise created by Brazilian fans outside the hotel rooms, who attempted to disrupt the Argentine players from performing to their best of their abilities the following day.

As Argentina has not been past the group stages in the World Cup, the two teams have not met in the Olympic Football Tournament yet.