Argentina’s World Cup homecoming on Thursday night was something truly special.
Lionel Scaloni’s side played their first match since winning the sport’s biggest prize in Qatar.
The same XI that defeated France in the 2022 World Cup final played against Panama at the iconic Estadio Monumental – River Plate’s home ground.
Argentina won the friendly match 2-0, Lionel Messi scoring a magnificent free-kick to bring up 800 career goals, but it was all about the scenes prior and after kick-off.
Messi and his teammates received spine-tingling welcomes before the action commenced, with some of the team shedding tears during the national anthem.
Then after the match, the celebrations were turned up a notch.
Unsurprisingly, Messi was serenaded by the 80,000+ crowd on numerous occasions, and it’s a night no one who was present will ever forget.
What did Messi and Argentina teammates sing about France?
During the party inside Monumental on Thursday evening, a song was sung mocking Argentina’s victims in the 2022 World Cup final, France.
The two nations played out one of the greatest games in football history, with La Albiceleste eventually winning on penalties after an epic 3-3 draw.
Messi scored twice, while his PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe netted a hat-trick – the first treble in a World Cup final since Sir Geoff Hurst in 1966.
But the nature of the song heard at Monumental will certainly not increase Messi’s popularity in Paris, which unlike in Argentina, is not overly high.
Lionel Messi & co singing last night: “A minute of silence for… France, they are dead.” pic.twitter.com/NvVtscmp1X
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) March 24, 2023
“A minute of silence for… France, they are dead,” a line which may see Messi jeered louder than ever in Paris when club football returns.
Although given the fact he’s now a world champion and has 800 career goals to his name, Messi may not be overly bothered by that.
Brazil, Argentina’s fiercest rivals, were also incorporated into the chant, so they weren’t solely picking on France to be fair.
What did Messi write on Instagram after World Cup homecoming?
Messi wrote in an emotional post on the social media platform: “Many times I imagined what it could be to return to my country as a world champion, but now I have no words to explain what I feel, how grateful I am to all the people for the love…
“These are very, very special days and I can only tell you that I have an immense happiness to see all the Argentinian people enjoying and celebrating what was another success of all.”
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