Soccer Football – World Cup winners Argentina team arrives to Buenos Aires after winning the World Cup – Buenos Aires, Argentina – December 20, 2022 Argentina’s Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes, Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez are seen on the open top bus as it arrives outside the Association of Argentinian Football Headquarters REUTERS/Mariana Nedelcu
By Nicolás Misculin and Miguel Lo Bianco
Thousands of ecstatic fans gave Argentina’s football squad a hero’s welcome in Buenos Aires in the early hours before dawn on Tuesday after the plane carrying Lionel Messi and his World Cup-winning team mates touched down at Ezeiza airport.
The Argentine capital has been in party mode since their dramatic victory over France in Sunday’s final in Qatar, which gave the country its first World Cup win since Diego Maradona hoisted the trophy 36 years ago.
The players, wearing their gold winners’ medals around their necks and taking turns to hold the World Cup trophy aloft, waved at fans from an open-top bus as the lights from thousands of mobile phones sparkled and flags fluttered in the crowd.
Joyous fans sang to the beat of a drum and fireworks lit up the sky as the bus slowly wound its way through the crowd.
The players are expected to spend a few hours at the Argentine Football Association (AFA) facilities near the airport before heading at noon to the huge Obeliso monument in the center of town.
“Good morning!” Messi said on Tuesday in an Instagram post in which he could be seen sleeping in his room at the AFA complex next to the golden trophy.
Local media estimated that there were already more than 100,000 people waiting for the players at the Obeliso by mid-morning, with more crowds joining from streets on all sides.
Thousands had tracked the plane, the state airline Aerolineas Argentinas AR1915, all the way from Doha and a stop-off in Rome.
Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties after a scintillating 3-3 draw, with Messi scoring twice and France’s Kylian Mbappe netting three times.
Messi, 35, said the final would be his last match in the World Cup, though he intends to play a few more games for the national side.
—Reuters
Factbox-Soccer-10 memorable impressions from the Qatar World Cup
Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Semi Final – Argentina v Croatia – Lusail Stadium, Lusail, Qatar – December 13, 2022 Argentina’s
Soccer-Magical Messi hoists World Cup after final for the ages
Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Final – Argentina v France – Lusail Stadium, Lusail, Qatar – December 18, 2022 Argentina’s Lionel
Brazilian teens put World Cup sticker craze within reach of poor kids
Allan Cohen and Felipe Len pose for a photograph with collectible World Cup stickers at Allan’s house in Sao Paulo, Brazil, October 21, 2022. REUTERS/Mariana
Soccer-Adored Eriksen the talisman for dynamic Denmark
FILE PHOTO: Football player Christian Eriksen meets the press in the mixed zone at Hotel Barcelo, Marbella, Spain March 24, 2022. Ritzau Scanpix via REUTERS
Alphonso Davies: A True Canadian Hero
Canada’s Alphonso Davies in action © REUTERS/Henry Romero By Raye Mocioiu At just 22 years old, Alphonso Davies has already made sports history—and he’s set
A World United: People, Organizations, and Teams Coming Together for the 2022 FIFA World Cup
Soccer Football – 2022 FIFA World Cup – CONCACAF Qualifiers – Canada v Jamaica – BMO Field, Toronto, Canada – March 27, 2022 Canada’s Junior
