Argentina came out on top over France in the FIFA World Cup 2022 final at Lusail by 4-2 on penalties after both teams finished 3-3 at extra time.
The team had arrived in the early hours of Tuesday at Ezeiza airport. Despite it being around 3am local time (0600 GMT), thousands were waiting with banners, flags and flares and howling with joy after Messi and his team mates ended the country's 36-year wait to win the World Cup.
Here is what you need to know about their route to the final
"The people who have seen Pele, Alfredo Di Stefano or Diego Maradona. The opinions are sentimental, but the other side, if he (Messi) wouldn't have won the World Cup, the opinion and my opinion wouldn't change."
The Argentines suffered one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history
Saudi Arabia stunned Lionel Messi's Argentina 2-1 with brilliant individual goals from Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari during the FIFA World Cup Group C match on Tuesday.
The enormous structured global advertising machinery that surrounds every football game on the planet today? Pele was perhaps single-handedly responsible for all of it. By just being brilliant, captivating crowds, and behaving like a being from the future, doing things that STILL provoke oohs and aahs from watchers. Vaibhav Raghunandan salutes the Incomparable Pele.
Many flocked to Buenos Aires's tattoo parlors to commission designs depicting Lionel Messi.
A sense of euphoria was in the air in the country, particularly in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Palermo, where thousands of jubilant fans crowded to watch the match on a giant screen in the park.
For Argentina players and captain Messi, who netted twice in the 120 minutes before also scoring in the shoot-out, it was the biggest title of their careers.
Argentina and Australia have only two full days to rest, a factor Argentine manager Lionel Scaloni called 'madness'.
Fans crowded into plazas to watch the game on giant screens, cheering when Messi scored the opening goal -- a penalty -- but groaning and slowly going silent as Saudi Arabia pulled two quick goals back in the second half.
Messi beat seven players, covering 48 metres in 12 seconds, taking 10 touches with his left foot and three with his right before finding the net.
Such is Argentina's passion for soccer, that the World Cup remains a priority for some, despite a sluggish economy, painful inflation estimated to hit 100% this year and currency controls that push up the price of travelling overseas.
Captain Lionel Messi inspired Argentina to an emphatic 3-0 victory against Italy in a heavyweight clash billed as the 'Finalissima' in London on Wednesday.
He has won a Copa America, 11 league titles, four Champions League titles, three Club World Cups and three UEFA Super Cups. Now he has the most coveted one of all.
Argentina are on a 36-match unbeaten run with top scorer and captain Messi playing his fifth and last World Cup in search of the elusive honour
The stadium erupted in cheers once more with Fernandez's late strike which sealed Argentina's first win in the tournament and rekindled Messi's hopes of a first-ever World Cup title.
Julian Alvarez bagged Argentina's second from close range in the 57th minute after fatal hesitation from Ryan with the ball at his feet following a backpass.
Messi's Instagram post with the Copa America trophy has become the platform's most-liked sports photograph.
Argentina and Mexico fans lit up the World Cup on Saturday with their vast and vociferous followings creating a thunderous atmosphere in and around Qatar's Lusail Stadium.
Religious nurses, ex-cops, dedicated lawyers share a common purpose -- justice goals are served on OTT this week. Sukanya Verma gives you your OTT fix of the week.
Eight years is a long time in the life of an athlete. But just like Messi, Di Maria has preserved and persisted towards his childhood dream, points out Deepti Patwardhan.
Legendary Argentine World Cup winner Diego Maradona died following a heart attack on Wednesday, aged 60.
Hundreds of thousands of Argentines poured into the sunlit streets of Buenos Aires on Sunday
"Our parents talked to us about Maradona, and we will talk to our sons about Messi. We hope that we will win the cup, and we can celebrate with him and all the people in Argentina," said Nicolas Gomez, a fan from Argentina.
Argentina dominated the opening stages and earned the penalty when Di Maria was fouled by Ousmane Dembele, with Messi sending France keeper Hugo Lloris the wrong way to move to the top of the goalscoring charts in Qatar.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
As the nation mourns the music icon, Namrata Thakker looks at Bappida's amazing life.
Saudi Arabia, FIFA's 51st ranked team and who have suffered 5-0 and 8-0 World Cup defeats down the years, roared back to claim an astonishing 2-1 victory that will go down as one of the greatest shocks in any sport ever.
Real Madrid through to next round, win 6-2 on aggregate, Liverpool ousted
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup semi-final between Argentina and Croatia played at Lusail Stadium on Tuesday.
Putting their bitter club rivalries aside, Kolkata's Big Three football clubs joined in to mourn the loss of Pele and remember his magical presence that wowed the metropolis 45 years back.
Messi has spoken at length about the dream of winning a title with Argentina and his compatriots know how much an international trophy means to him.
Cristiano Ronaldo tucked away a penalty and slammed home a free kick as he set a new record for the most international caps
How expensive was this 'picture of the century'?
Playing against Mohun Bagan on a slushy and jam-packed Eden Gardens on September 24, 1977 in the twilight of his career, the three-time World Cup winner was overwhelmed by the depth of talent a "little known" Indian club possessed.
Messi's image is everywhere, adorning the sides of buildings.
Sporting world lost some of its favourite stars this year.
Paris St Germain had a chance to extend their Ligue 1 lead to five points after RC Lens drew 1-1 at Troyes and Olympique de Marseille and Monaco shared the spoils on Saturday.
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