Argentina arrive home to rapturous welcome

Thousands of ecstatic fans gave Argentina‘s squad a heroes’ welcome in Buenos Aires in the early hours before dawn on Tuesday after the plane carrying Lionel Messi and his World Cup-winning teammates 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 that gave the country its first World Cup win since Diego Maradona hoisted the trophy 36 years ago.

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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.

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.

Thousands had tracked the plane, the state airline Aerolineas Argentinas AR1915, all the way from Doha and a stop-off in Rome.

The players were expected to spend a few hours at the Argentine Football Association (AFA) facilities near the airport before heading at noon to the huge Obelisco monument in the centre of town, where hundreds of thousands are likely to gather.

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, announced that the final would be his last match in the World Cup though he intends to play a few more games for the national side.