Tears, Dance & Firecrackers: India Erupts as Messi Ends World Cup Drought
16:38 19.12.2022 (Updated: 17:06 19.12.2022)
© AP Photo / Bikas Das
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Lionel Messi's Argentina ended their 36-year wait for a FIFA World Cup title, beating France 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out in an epic final in Doha on Sunday.
Jubilant celebrations erupted across India after Lionel Messi-led Argentina won their third World Cup title in Qatar during the weekend.
Messi's long cherished dream of lifting the biggest football trophy in his arms finally came to fruition after La Albiceleste managed to hold onto their nerve during the dramatic penalty shoot-out after a 3-3 thriller across 120 minutes.
Following Argentina's triumph, the Rosario-born football star's vast legion of Indian admirers burst crackers, broke into dance, and even made their way onto the streets in the team's blue and white jersey.
On the other hand, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner's Indian supporters also carried Argentina's national flag in their hands as they paraded through localities across cities Kolkata, Kolhapur, and other parts of the country.
Some even shed tears of joy as they saw their favourite hero lift his maiden World Cup trophy, thus cementing his place in the annals of the sport.
#Argentina fans in one part of the city are celebrating with Jumma Chumma De De! #Kolkata’s colour scheme is anyways similar to #Argentina! #Messi𓃵 #Messi #LionelMessi𓃵 #LionelMessi #FIFAWorldCup #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/kMLXRgg9ZD
— Saurabh Gupta(Micky) (@MickyGupta84) December 18, 2022
#FIFAWorldCup : How people in #Kerala celebrated #Argentina winning the #WorldCup.#ArgentinaVsFrance #WorldCupFinal #Messi𓃵 #WorldCup2022 #WorldcupQatar2022 @TheSouthfirst pic.twitter.com/tD0fsyAKcE
— Ajay (@ajaytomarasks) December 18, 2022
#FIFAWorldCup : More visuals from #Kerala after #Argentina won the #WorldCupFinal.#FIFAWorldCupFinal #ARGFRA #FIFAWorldCup2022 #ArgentinaVsFrance #Kochi @TheSouthfirst pic.twitter.com/1WRzAAb7nT
— Ajay (@ajaytomarasks) December 18, 2022
Messi Leaves Emotional Message After Win
Just like his Indian fans, Messi was over the moon with his side's World Cup victory as he penned an emotional message for his countrymen.
"CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD!!!!!! I dreamed it so many times, I wanted it so much that I still haven't fallen, I can't believe it", La Pulga wrote on his social media account.
"We demonstrate once again that Argentines when we fight together and united we are capable of achieving what we set out to do. The merit belongs to this group, which is above individualities, it is the strength of all fighting for the same dream that was also the dream of all Argentines...".
Besides securing the World Cup title, the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) attacker became the first player ever to claim the Golden Ball award twice. He was named the best player of the tournament in 2014 as well when the South American side was beaten by Germany in the final.
