Argentina’s Reality Cup champs drove by chief Lionel Messi got back from Qatar in the early long periods of Tuesday morning in front of a welcome home party in the country’s capital.
The players will now spend the night at the Argentine Football Association (AFA) training complex near the Ezeiza airport, where they arrived in Buenos Aires and were greeted by thousands of fans after defeating France in the thrilling final on Sunday.
They will then travel to the famous Obelisk for a tour of the city center beginning at noon on Tuesday, when millions of people are expected to be out and about on a public holiday.
Outside the airport, student Ayrton Kerdocas, 25, told AFP, “We will be here all night and tomorrow as well.”
“Tomorrow we are not working, we will not do anything, and we will immediately travel with Argentina to the Obelisk.”
After a rollercoaster 3-3 draw in 120 minutes of unparalleled drama, Argentina won the final in Qatar 4-2 on penalties for their first world title in 36 years.
Lionel Scaloni, the coach, followed by Messi, who scored twice in the championship game, was the first player out of the plane with the World Cup in hand.
One of the next players to leave the Aerolinas Argentinas Airbus A330 was forward Julian Alvarez, who was a revelation in Qatar with his four goals.
An image of Messi was decorated on the plane’s tail with the words: ” on its side: “one team, one nation, one dream.”
As their World Cup theme song, “Muchachos,” by ska band La Mosca, blared out, the players made their way straight from the plane along a red carpet to a white open-top bus with the words “world champions” and three stars on its side.
To welcome the returning players, a VIP suite at the airport hosted a private reception.
“Fanatic” welder Javier Merina, 41, claimed he went to the airport to try to get Messi to sign a picture.
Merina stated, “If he doesn’t, I will go to Rosario, to Funes, which is Messi’s hometown, to see if I can get his autograph.”
Messi, 35, had one of the greatest World Cup final performances, scoring twice in extra time and converting a penalty kick in the first half to win football’s most prestigious award.
By doing so, he imitated Diego Maradona, the idol of Argentina who led the nation to their second world title with a string of match-winning performances against Mexico in 1986.
According to 65-year-old architect Ricardo Grunfeld, who spoke with AFP, “I remember ’86, but this victory yesterday was much more emotional and much more stressful.”
Zulema Guereri, 80, added, “I don’t know if there’s any difference with ’86 but this comes at a good time.”
With 10 minutes of normal time remaining and only two minutes of extra time remaining, Argentina held a 2-0 and 3-2 lead. However, Kylian Mbappe scored only the second hat trick in World Cup final history to send the thrilling finale to penalties, where Gonzalo Montiel scored the game-winning penalty kick.
A municipality spokesperson stated that “people acted in a very positive way” despite the large number of revelers at the celebrations on Sunday.
For sporadic acts of violence or theft, fewer than 20 individuals were arrested.
“It warms the heart,” said the cheering crowd that greeted France’s defeated players upon their return from Qatar on Monday in central Paris.
They showed up on the Crillon Hotel’s balcony with a view of the Place de la Concorde.
They arrived at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport just before 8:00 p.m. (GMT) and were met by a coach caravan that immediately transported them to the city’s center.
Hugo Lloris, captain and goalkeeper, explained to TF1 that it was an opportunity to “greet them (the fans), to thank them for their support and, after yesterday’s pain, to seek their consolation.”
One of the World Cups with the most controversies in history’s conclusion was the captivating final.
The treatment of migrant workers in Qatar and the country’s homosexuality laws were the subject of persistent inquiries from Qatari organizers.
According to FIFA, the world governing body of football, the total number of spectators in the stadium was 3.4 million, and more than one million people traveled to Qatar to watch the games.