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.
The trend has generated a wave of social media memes and satire, and even the creation of an app that allows you to track where to get the coveted stickers. New stock has been selling out in a matter of hours.
Bikash Mohapatra salutes Argentine football leagend Diego Maradona, who turns 50 today.
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.
As the nation mourns the music icon, Namrata Thakker looks at Bappida's amazing life.
Maradona wore Argentina's No. 10 shirt in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England in Mexico
Maradona was a uniquely gifted player who rose from the tough streets of Buenos Aires to reach the pinnacle of his sport.
"I want to tell everyone that I am fine, that I am not, neither was I, interned," Maradona said in an Instagram post, responding to a media report that he had been taken to hospital.
The pair exchange gifts for the cameras when they met in Tunis on Monday with Bennaceur handing the former Argentina skipper a framed photo of himself, Maradona and Shilton, who captained England, before the match at the Azteca Stadium.
In a private chat with friend and author, Victor Hugo Morales, the Argentine football great revealed his nomination for the presidency of the global football body
'It was difficult, but we wanted to show an honest portrayal.' 'I was not trying to tear him apart.'
Argentine great Diego Maradona said England perpetrated a "monumental robbery" in their World Cup victory over Colombia and accused referee Mark Geiger of not being up to such a game.
The former Boca Juniors and Napoli player coached Argentina at the 2010 World Cup, where his team were beaten 4-0 by Germany at the quarter-final stage
He played professional football at 15, lifted the World Cup at 25 and was being called one of the greatest players ever by the time he was 30. And yesterday, Diego Maradona was in hospital fighting for his life.
Argentine football legend Diego Maradona reportedly withdrew a theft complaint against his former girlfriend on Tuesday, after a video surfaced that allegedly showed him hitting her.
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
In the streets of the capital, revellers partied early into the hours of Monday. Fans climbed onto bus stops and lamp-posts, blared horns, banged drums and set off fireworks into the night sky. Some even climbed the tall Obelisco monument.
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's two iconic players may be contrasting characters but they shared many traits
But after an exceptional transfer window and with Luciano Spalletti at the helm, Napoli dominated the title race while their main rivals all suffered slumps during the season.
The comparison with Maradona for the title of the greatest Argentine player of all time cannot be complete without a world title, which the late Maradona won almost single-handedly 36 years ago.
Diego Maradona, 58, now a technical director at Mexican club Dorados de Sinaloa, has five children from other relationships with different women.
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.
His goal in his team's 2-2 draw with Tunisia came 12 years after his first goal in the World Cup finals against Morocco in 1994.
Argentina striker Carlos Tevez has immediately walked into a potential storm after arriving in Brazil.
Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona underwent a gastric bypass in the western Venezuelan city of Maracaibo over the weekend and is recovering well, doctors said on Sunday.
Here is what you need to know about their route to the final
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
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.
The Argentine then lifted his shirt to reveal a red and black replica kit of his hometown club Newell's Old Boys bearing the number 10 which Maradona wore during his brief spell at the Rosario side in 1993.
Maradona's inheritance process is likely to be a messy affair between his large family, with eight children from six different partners
The 17-year-old midfielder, also called Diego Maradona, is currently at his father's former club Napoli in Italy's Serie B.
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.
Diego Maradona, one of soccer's most gifted players, said he was "enjoying" the spectacle of several of the world governing body's top officials charged with corruption after US and Swiss authorities announced investigations on Wednesday.
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.
Hundreds of thousands of Argentines poured into the sunlit streets of Buenos Aires on Sunday
Maradona was worshipped like a god for his genius with the ball.
Argentine football legend Diego Maradona has leveled charges against the FIFA president Sepp Blatter, accusing him of attempting to force him out of football.
Argentina president Mauricio Macri has personally contacted star striker Lionel Messi and urged him not to call it quits to the national team.
Sporting world lost some of its favourite stars this year.
