The Argentina team homecoming in Buenos Aires was a strong public event with thousands of fans welcoming the national team back from their loss to Spain in the FIFA World Cup 2026 final. The team’s low finish on the title was disappointing, but the response of people in the country was positive. The squad came back without captain Lionel Messi, who chose to go it alone to Miami before heading to Rosario for a brief break from the grueling run of the tournament. Head coach Lionel Scaloni and 16 players landed at Ezeiza International Airport.
The head coach Lionel Scaloni and 16 players were met with a formal red carpet ceremony and military band at Ezeiza International Airport. The mood of the team after the last loss was subdued. Emiliano Martinez, the goalkeeper, was amongst the players on an open-top bus which took the team through the streets, filled with fans, to the Argentine Football Association’s training base in Ezeiza.
The building, now called the Lionel Andrés Messi Centre in 2023, was the scene of the culmination of the parade, which included chants, music and fireworks. Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, has said the players did not feel the need to celebrate because of the emotional nature of the loss. But he called attention to the fact that Argentina had been at the top level consistently, with several times playing World Cup finals in the last few World Cups.
In his first eight games of the tournament, Messi sat on the bench for all but one and he is expected to return to Inter Miami CF as preparations get underway for the Major League Soccer season. The importance of continuity in a football team and the sense of its nationhood are always cherished, as much as trophies, with Argentina’s enduring football culture standing in full witness.
