12 pictures as huge crowds welcome Lionel Messi and Argentina team after World Cup victory

Thousands of fans lined up in the middle of the night to try to get a glimpse of the Argentina football team that won one of the greatest World Cup finals of all time, ahead of what is scheduled to be a day of celebrations in Buenos Aires.

Members of the team, led by captain Lionel Messi, were all smiles as they descended from the plane in Ezeiza, outside Argentina’s capital, shortly before 3am on Tuesday, on to a red carpet that had been rolled out for the squad.

The bus moved at a snail’s pace as fans, many of whom were waving Argentine flags, swarmed towards it, eager for a glimpse of the players as law enforcement officers tried to keep them at bay.

The players will sleep at AFA headquarters for a few hours before boarding the bus later that will take them to the Obelisk, the Buenos Aires landmark that was a sea of people on Sunday after the team won the country’s third World Cup, and its first since 1986.

Almost 200,000 people were tracking the plane carrying the players online and news channels gave live coverage of the arrival.

In the afternoon, people started arriving at the airport and outside the AFA headquarters in the hope of getting a glimpse of the team.

Many were also already at the Obelisk, seemingly ready to spend the night there to ensure a prime spot for Tuesday’s festivities.

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