By Sam Dean
Argentina’s players and staff began their wild celebrations with a mock “moment of silence” for Kylian Mbappe before they danced on tables and leapt into wheelie bins after the World Cup final victory over France.
Lionel Messi and his teammates began the long journey home on Monday, via Rome, but only after a raucous final night in Qatar, in which they cavorted with a $US10 million cheque and swigged champagne in the dressing room of the Lusail Stadium.
Argentina’s players celebrate their World Cup win on an open-top bus outside Doha.Credit:Getty Images
Many of Argentina’s current and former players have been eager to share their celebrations with the outside world, posting lengthy videos on social media and rewriting their now famous Muchachos anthem on the flight back to Buenos Aires.
Argentina’s players and coaches took part in their first open-top bus parade within a few hours of their penalty shootout victory over France, as they were driven down Lusail Boulevard, around 15 miles north of Doha.
Before leaving the stadium they celebrated joyously in the dressing room, with Messi filmed dancing on a table with the World Cup trophy held aloft before a staff member somersaulted head-first into a wheelie bin.
Separate footage revealed how Emiliano Martinez, the Argentina goalkeeper whose heroics proved crucial in the shootout, called for a “minute of silence” for Mbappe, the France striker who scored a sensational hat-trick, as his teammates jumped around the dressing room.
Emiliano Martinez celebrates saving a penalty during the shootout against France.Credit:Getty Images
Martinez’s antics in the dressing room came after he had shocked supporters by celebrating his Golden Glove award with a lewd gesture on the pitch. He had held his individual trophy, in the shape of a giant hand, to his groin and thrust forward in front of millions of television viewers.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper later explained the gesture to the Argentine media, saying: “I did it because the French booed me. Pride does not work with me.”
Argentina’s celebrations on the night continued into the post-match interview area, where they danced in front of the world’s media and sang in Spanish about “f—— journalists”.
Lautaro Martinez, the striker, carried a drum and cymbal on to the flight to Rome, with the players continuing to celebrate with enthusiasm.
They were quick to rework the lyrics to the Muchachos song, which has been heard across Doha for much of the past month, to reflect their triumph in what has been widely described as the best-ever World Cup final. Among the new lyrics are a message to former captain and manager Diego Maradona, who died in November 2020. “We tell Diego to rest in peace … for the whole eternity,” the players sang.
Much of the insight into the celebrations inside the Lusail Stadium came from footage filmed by Sergio Aguero, the former Manchester City striker who retired last year for health reasons. Aguero posted a 19-minute video on Instagram from within the Argentina dressing room.
The video captures the unveiling of an oversized winners’ cheque for $10 million (£8.2 million) and a bizarre moment in which Argentina player Papu Gomez compares himself to David Beckham and conducts a mock interview in English.
Those scenes contrasted sharply with events in the France dressing room, where French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a speech to the defeated players and coaches. Macron, who told the players they had made the country “immensely proud”, has since faced criticism in France for his visible role in the aftermath of the match.
There were jubilant celebrations in Buenos Aires on Monday (AEDT), which continued through the night all over Argentina, and widespread scenes of joy in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.
Dhaka police said that hundreds of thousands of soccer fans, many of them fervent supporters of Argentina, took to the streets to watch the match and celebrate the result all across the city.
Many of those Bangladeshi fans were seen dancing in the streets, with some in tears of joy, after Argentina survived Mbappe’s dramatic interventions and won the penalty shoot-out.
The love for Argentina’s national side in Bangladesh is so widespread that Lionel Scaloni, the team’s head coach, thanked the country in a pre-match press conference earlier this month. And Santiago Cafiero, Argentina’s foreign minister, has recently said that new diplomatic relations between the nations will be established.
Bangladesh, ranked 192nd in the world, have never qualified for the World Cup.
Many of the country’s people have therefore thrown the full weight of their support behind Argentina, a move thought to date back to Maradona’s playing days.
There were also mass outpourings of joy in Naples, where Maradona is revered for his success with Napoli. Thousands of fans gathered at a Maradona mural in the Quartieri Spagnoli neighbourhood of the city.
The Telegraph, London
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
