Argentina, minus Messi, return home after World Cup final heartbreak

Thousands wait to greet the team, who return without captain Messi and a few other players after the World Cup.Thousands of Argentinians lined up to welcome their football team, who returned without iconic captain Lionel Messi and a few other players after their loss to Spain in the World Cup final in the United States.The Argentinian Football Association (AFA) said on Monday that some squad members would not be on the flight, and Messi was not seen descending from the aircraft in images broadcast on local television.Coach Lionel Scaloni and the rest of the team were welcomed with a red carpet outside the aircraft and a military band.Thousands of fans braved the cold and the rain, waiting outside the AFA training complex near the Ezeiza international airport to welcome home the players, draped in flags and holding blue-and-white umbrellas to shield them from the drizzle.It was not the homecoming Argentinians had hoped for, four years after millions filled the streets to celebrate their team’s victory in 2022, but many turned out to thank the team for their performance.A fan waves a flag bearing images of Messi [Luis Robayo/AFP]‘Thank you to Messi’“Argentinians will celebrate anyway,” said Marga Ledezma, 36, who thanked Messi for “all the years he made us happy”, urging him not to quit playing for Argentina.Argentina lost 1-0 to Spain, failing to win back-to-back World Cups in a match that has been criticised for a plethora of fouls and displays of poor sportsmanship from La Albiceleste.“I think they criticise us because we know what it’s like to suffer, that we get up, we fall down again, and we keep going,” said Ledezma.