Argentina” .. It comes from the Latin term “argentum”, which means silver.

The Capital of Argentina is Buenos Aires. The Argentina’s President is Sir Carlos Saúl Ménem.

Location

Located in South America, Argentina has an area of almost 3.8 million square kilometres, and it has 3,800 Km. long. Its border with Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Chile, and it’s bordered by the Atlantic Ocean.

Geography

Argentina has the impressive Andes mountain range to the west, and it has the highest peak in the Western hemisphere: the high Aconcagua.

The Andes present wonderful contrasts like: the Northwest plateaus, the lake region, the forests and glaciers in the Patagonia. In some places within the subtropical rain forest, there are fissures which provide such spectacular phenomena as the Iguazú Falls.
Climate The country’s territory offers a wide variety of climates: warm in the North, cold and humid in the southern Patagonia, and mild and humid in the Pampas plains. Media temperature from November to March is 23° C, and 12° C from June to September.
Population Argentina’s current population is more than 36 million habitants.
95% of the population is white and most are descendants of Italians and Spaniards. The pure indigenous population - Mapuches, Collas, Tobas, Matacos and Chiriguanos - amount to 0.5% of the population.
Language Spanish is the official language of the Argentina.
Religion There is complete religious freedom in Argentina, although the official religion is Roman Catholic. Other religions practiced in the country are Protestant, Jewish, Moslem and others.

Currency The official Argentina currency is the Peso. There are bills of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 pesos, and coins of 1 peso and 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 cents.


National emblems The Argentine flag has three horizontal stripes: the one in the middle is white and the golden sun and the two outside stripes are light blue. The national flower is the ceibo, and the national stone is the manganese.

Brazil...

The country of Brazil occupies roughly half of South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Brazil covers a total area of 8,514,215 km² (3,287,357 sq. mi) which includes 8,456,510 km² (3,265,076 sq. mi) of land and 55,455 km² (21,411 sq. mi) of water. The highest point in Brazil is Pico da Neblina at 2,994 m (9,823 ft).. Brazil is bordered by the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, FrenchGuiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela. By comparison, Brazil is slightly smaller in land mass than the United States. Much of the climate is tropical, with the south being relatively temperate. The largest river in Brazil, and one of the longest in the world is the Amazon. The rainforest that covers the AmazonBasin constitutes almost half of the rainforests on Earth.

The environmental problem that attracted most international attention in Brazil in the 1980s was undoubtedly deforestation in the Amazon. Of all Latin American countries, Brazil still has the largest portion (66 percent) of its territory covered by forests, but clearing and burning in the Amazon proceeded at alarming rates in the 1970s and 1980s. Most of the clearing resulted from the activities of ranchers, including large corporate operations, and a smaller portion resulted from slash-and-burn techniques used by small farmers.

The most important thing in Brazil is the football and its team has won many championships in the history.

The Brazil national football team is controlled by the CBF and represents Brazil in international football competitions. They are the most successful national football team in the history of the World Cup, with five championships (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002). A common quip about football is: "The English invented it, the Brazilians perfected it".which stems from the fact that English players were the first to codify the modern game of football.

World Cup Appearances:
18 (First in 1930) Best result Winners, 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002

Copa AmericaAppearances:
31 (First in 1916) Best result Winners, 1919, 1922, 1949, 1989, 1997, 1999, 2004

World Cup Record:
11930 - Round 1 1934 - Round 1 1938 - Third place 1950 - Runners-up 1954 - Quarter-finals 1958 - Champions 1962 - Champions 1966 - Round 1 1970 - Champions 1974 - Fourth place 1978 - Third place 1982 - Round 21986 - Quarter-finals 1990 - Round 2 1994 - Champions 1998 - Runners-up 2002 - Champions 2006 - Qualified

Brazil is generally considered to be the strongest football nation in the world and is the only team to have played in every World Cup.
Brazilians refer to national football teams (from any country) as the Seleção. The literal meaning is "selection" and can be translated as "the selected". A popular nickname is Canarinho ("little canary"), referring to the yellow jerseys worn during home games.