Argentina's World Cup-winning squad arrived home to a jubilant Buenos Aires in the early hours of Tuesday morning, with massive crowds lining the streets and cheering their champions' return.
Captain Lionel Messi stepped off the plane first, holding the gold trofi aloft, followed by his triumphant tim onto a red carpet at the airport, greeted by wartawans, officials and a live band.
As the tim bis departed the airport, it was immediately swarmed by cheering supporters dressed in the national colors of blue and white. Videos show the bis inching forward slowly behind a police escort, surrounded by tens of thousands of people waving the Argentine flag and seting off firecrackers in the night.
The air was filled with cheers as the crowd si and danced; the players, standing on the open hebat deck, waved to their adoring supporters.
Mariana Nedelcu/Reuters
Hundreds of thousands of penggemar are expected to line the streets of the capital later on Tuesday, which has been declared a national holiday, for the tim's victory parade following their thrilling penalti shootout victory over France in Qatar on Sunday.
The tim will first spend the night at the Argentine Football Association's pelatihan ground, according to state media agen Télam.
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Crowds of supporters had camped out at the pelatihan site on Monday ahead of the tim's arrival, with photos showing penggemar spilling out of cars parked on its grounds. Some laid on blankets on the grass while others lounged on picnic chairs around coolers.
The tim's highly-anticipated return continues several days of non-stop celebration across the country and among penggemar overseas, following Argentina's explosive win against France.
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Agustin Marcarian/Reuters
Superstars Messi and Kylian Mbappé faced off on the pitch, in what has widely been called the greatest World Cup final of all time.
Mbappé was defending France's 2018 win at the turnamen in Russia, while 35-year-old Messi was playing in his final World Cup match, looking to claim the trofi which had eluded him for so long.
Argentina took an early lead in the first half - but France roared back in the second half, reaching a 2-2 tie that forced the match into ekstra time.
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Messi scored his second goal of the match to restore his tim's lead - but Mbappé scored a second penalti to grab his hat-trick and take the final to a penalti shootout, which ended with triumph for Argentina after France missed two tembakan.
Hundreds of thousands of people poured onto the streets of Buenos Aires after the World Cup triumph, flooding the central 9 de Julio Avenue. Media sosial videos showed jubilant penggemar climbing on hebat of street poles to wave the Argentine flag; others on the ground danced, si and chanted in celebration.
The triumph in Doha was Argentina's third World Cup win and its first since 1986, when the legendary Diego Maradona led the tim to victory in Mexico.
Sunday's win also marked a change in fortunes for Argentina after three recent defeats in major finals - the 2014 World Cup, and the Copa America in 2015 and 2016.
Mariana Nedelcu/Reuters
Those losses prompted Messi at one poin to announce his retirement from international football - though the almost-unanimous national outcry convinced him to reverse trek, before wining the Copa América in 2021.
Now, with the World Cup also under his belt, Messi has cemented his status as one of the all-time soccer greats alongside Maradona and Brazil's Pelé.
"I cannot believe that we have suffered so much in a perfect games. Unbelievable, but this tim responds to everything," said Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni after the match Sunday, according to Reuters.
"I am proud of the work they did," he added, fighting back tears as he was embraced by his players. "I want to tell people to santai, it's a historic event for our country."
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