Argentines dance, cry and cheer as World Cup winners return

Hundreds of thousands – millions by some estimates – of ecstatic Argentines flooded onto the streets of Buenos Aires Tuesday to cheer the country’s World Cup-winning soccer squad led by Lionel Messi after their plane landed in the pre-dawn hours.

The team arrived in the early hours at Ezeiza airport where despite it being around 3am thousands were waiting with banners, flags and flares, and howling in joy after 36 years since the country’s last World Cup victory.

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By around midday, hundreds of thousands had congregated in downtown Buenos Aires, with major roads shut down for the parade.