Argentine government declares national holiday on Tuesday ahead of championship parade after 2022 FIFA World Cup success
The Argentine government has declared Tuesday, 20 December a bank holiday following Argentina's 2022 FIFA World Cup win against France.
The country is preparing for the arrival of the victorious Albiceleste and a grand championship parade at the Obelisk monument in Buenos Aires to celebrate the momentous achievement.
According to a report from ESPN, the Argentine government declared the holiday so that the entire country "can express their deepest joy for the national team."
Argentina have declared tomorrow a national holiday to celebrate their World Cup triumph in Buenos Aires 🏆🎉 https://t.co/6aHeRjSqo0
The World Cup win has assumed added importance due to the involvement of captain Lionel Messi. This was the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) playmaker's fifth and last appearance in the competition. The World Cup trophy was the only meaningful piece of silverware missing from his trophy cabinet.
Messi came out all guns blazing from matchday one and finished the competition with seven goals and three assists. This included a brace in the final, which finished 3-3 in extra time before being decided on penalties.
The Argentinian captain converted his spot-kick, which was the first of four successful ones from Argentina. Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni's misses proved to be decisive as Les Bleus failed to defend the title they won four years back in Russia.
The former Barcelona forward has confirmed that winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup doesn't mean he is retiring from international duty. But he has previously stated that this will be the last time we see him play in this tournament.
It seems like a long time ago when the South American nation lost to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the World Cup group-stage. The Saudi government declared 23 November a national holiday following their 2-1 win over Argentina. Now, it is the three-time World Cup winners' turn to do the same, and their reasoning for it is a tad more important.
Sergio Aguero sends message to Lionel Messi after Argentina's 2022 FIFA World Cup triumph
Following his heart condition which forced him to retire from football last year, Sergio Aguero was an obvious exclusion from Argentina's 26-man FIFA World Cup squad in Qatar.
But that didn't stop him from celebrating his country's win on the field. As per SportBible, the former Manchester City striker has been present at his country's camp in the Middle Eastern nation for the past week.
Aguero was present at the Player of the Match trophy presentation ceremony after Argentina's win over Croatia in the FIFA World Cup semi-finals. He was then spotted running onto the pitch in an 'Otamendi 19' shirt after the win against France.
He played 101 times for his country over the course of 15 years before being forced to retire. Following the final, he posted a photo of Messi atop his shoulders and tweeted:
"The best in the world has to win the world cup. I love you friend"
El mejor del mundo tiene que llevarse la copa del mundo. Te amo amigo 🇦🇷 https://t.co/SeD0kYKhpq
The people of Argentina are gearing up to celebrate this historic World Cup win with Messi and his teammates and are eagerly waiting for the trophy parade to take place at the Obelisk monument in Buenos Aires on Tuesday.