Argentina created history on Sunday, defeating France in the FIFA World Cup 2022 Final, at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar. The victory marked Argentina's third World Cup trophy and also it was the only one left for Lionel Messi's glittering trophy cabinet.
After the victory, what followed was pure incredible scenes as Argentines flocked to their streets to celebrate the win. The Messi-led team arrived at Ezeiza (right outside Buenos Aires) by plane in the early hours of Tuesday and were given a red carpet welcome that had been rolled out for the squad. The Argentina captain was the first player from the plane carrying the trophy, and was followed by Lionel Scaloni. Then the world champions boarded an open top bus and it travelled in slow motion as fans swarmed it on a highway. Throughout the journey, the Argentine squad waved to the fans and sang along with them. It took the bus around one hour approximately to reach the AFA headquarters, which is around 11 kms away from the airport.
Here is a video of the Argentine team bus getting swarmed by fans:
The players will be sleeping in the AFA headquarters for few hours and then head out to the Obelisk in Buenos Aires, to celebrate their FIFA World Cup with fans. "The world champion squad will leave on Tuesday at noon for the Obelisk to celebrate the world title with the fans", the Argentina Football Association (AFA) revealed on its official Twitter account.
In a thrilling final, Argentina first took the lead in the 23rd-minute when captain Messi converted a penalty after Angel Di Maria was fouled in the French box. Then a quick counter in the 36th-minute saw Alexis Mac Allister assist Di Maria, who made it 2-0 for the South Americans. With France edging towards a humiliating defeat, Kylian Mbappe came to his side's rescue, leveling the match in 97 seconds. In the 80th-minute, the left winger capitalised on a penalty to make it 1-2 after Kolo Muani was brought down in the Argentine box. Then in the 81st-minute, the PSG star made it 2-2 with a stunning volley.
As the match entered extra-time, both sides began to frantically seek a winner and it looked like Messi found it for Argentina, tapping in after a deflection of Hugo Lloris, to make it 3-2 in the 108th-minute. But then Mbappe once again responded in the 118th-minute, converting another penalty to complete his hat-trick and also making it 3-3. In the penalty shootout, Emiliano Martinez came out on top with saves to stop Aurelian Tchouameni and Kingsley Coman. Gonzalo Montiel scored the winning penalty as Argentina won 4-2 in the shootout.