Argentina’s World Cup winners reach home to hero’s welcome
Since Argentina’s victory over France, the nation’s capital has been a throbbing party zone.
Fireworks lit up the night sky as jubilant fans sang along to the drumbeat.
Travel to the massive Obeliso monument, where tens of thousands may congregate.
The plane carrying Lionel Messi and his World Cup-winning team mates landed at Ezeiza airport in the early hours before dawn on Tuesday, and thousands of ecstatic fans gave them a hero’s welcome.
Since Argentina won the World Cup on Sunday in Qatar in a thrilling match against France, the country’s capital, Buenos Aires, has been in a festive celebratory mood.
The players, waving at the crowd from an open-top bus while wearing gold winners’ medals around their necks and taking turns holding the World Cup trophy aloft, were surrounded by the glimmering lights of thousands of mobile phones and the flapping of flags.
As the bus made its way slowly through the crowd, cheering fans sang to the beat of a drum and fireworks lit up the night sky.
Many people had been following the flight of Aerolineas Argentinas AR1915 from Doha via its stop in Rome.
They will spend a few hours at the Argentine Football Association (AFA) facilities near the airport, and then at noon they will head to the massive Obeliso monument in the center of town, where hundreds of thousands are expected to gather.
After a thrilling 3-3 tie, Argentina prevailed 4-2 on penalties to defeat France. Messi scored twice for Argentina, while Kylian Mbappe scored three times for France.
Messi, who is now 35 years old, said the World Cup final would be his last game, though he still plans to play a few more times for Argentina’s national team.
Prepare the Messi jersey
After Messi ended Argentina’s 36-year wait to hoist the golden trophy again, coach Lionel Scaloni said he would keep Messi’s jersey ready in case the talismanic captain wished to play in the next World Cup.
Messi scored twice in the tense penalty shootout that followed Sunday’s 3-3 draw after 120 minutes of breathtaking action, leading Argentina to a 4-2 victory and an emotional victory.
While many people thought Messi, then 35 years old, would retire from playing for Argentina after achieving a lifelong goal and winning the World Cup, he actually made a surprise appearance for his national team in the famous blue and white stripes in the 2018 World Cup. But shortly after, Messi stated that he has no plans to retire from international duty anytime soon.
His trainer approved of the decision.
Messi’s number 10 jersey should be kept in reserve for the next World Cup, according to Scaloni, who spoke at a press conference.
“He’s earned the freedom to pursue his professional interests in any way he sees fit. Incredible information is being transmitted to his teammates by him. Never before have I encountered a person in the locker room with such sway.
After beating Brazil in the final of the Copa America last year, Scaloni said the team began to feel unbeatable.
After the victory over Brazil, Scaloni had a conversation with Messi in which he explained that the pressure was on because more and more people in Argentina now believed in their team’s ability to do well at the World Cup.
“He encouraged me greatly by saying, “We have to keep going, nothing else matters.”
It dawned on me that we were very close to accomplishing a major goal.
