Crowds Line The Streets To Welcome The World Champions

Following their triumph over France on Sunday in Qatar, world champions Argentina were greeted with jubilant cheers upon their return home.

In the middle of the night, Buenos Aires residents crowded the streets to see Lionel Messi and the World Cup trophy.

A red carpet had been laid up for the team when they stepped off the plane soon before 3 am on Tuesday at Ezeiza, outside of Argentina’s capital, under the leadership of captain Lionel Messi.

Lionel Scaloni threw his arm around Messi as they passed a placard that read “Thank you, champions” as they emerged from the plane as the first player carrying the World Cup.

The rock group La Mosca performed the song Muchachos, which was composed by a fan to the tune of an earlier song by the group and became a well-liked unofficial anthem for Argentine fans at the World Cup in Qatar, as they were welcomed by the players.

As everyone boarded the open-top bus carrying the newly crowned world champions, some of them, including Messi, were observed humming the lyrics to Muchachos as they made their way to the Argentine Football Association’s headquarters.

Law enforcement personnel had to keep spectators away as they surged towards the bus, many of them were waving Argentine flags, hoping to get a look at the players.

The athletes will have a short nap at the AFA headquarters before boarding the bus that will take them to the Obelisk, which was swarmed with spectators on Sunday after the team won its third World Cup and first since 1986.

Many people kept a close eye on the airplane that returned the players home to celebrate the day after the Sunday victory when the streets of Argentina had transformed into enormous festivities.

Tuesday was designated as a public holiday by President Alberto Fernandez so that the people may celebrate the win.

Nearly 200,000 people followed the flight’s progress online as it neared Argentina, and news outlets broadcast the landing live..

People began showing up at the airport and in front of the AFA headquarters in the afternoon in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the team.

A large number of people were already at the Obelisk, apparently prepared to spend the night there to guarantee a prime location for Tuesday’s events.

Several athletes shared pictures of the flight on social media.

On the plane, Messi held the World Cup. While all was going on, Nicolas Tagliafico shared a picture of the World Cup sitting in a seat like any other passenger.

The World Cup and the success of the Messi-led team have provided much-needed good news to a nation that has been mired in economic hardship for years, experienced some of the highest inflation rates in the world, and has a poverty rate of almost four out of ten citizens.

Vladimir Putin of Russia and other foreign leaders tweeted congratulations for their World Cup win, which Mr. Fernandez retweeted.

After speaking on the phone with President Putin, Mr. Fernandez posted on Twitter, “Thank you for this greeting President Putin.”

We need peace and harmony in our society, and the joy that today links Argentina with so many other nations should serve as an example.