Amazing moments occurred during Argentina's first game after their 2022 Qatar World Cup victory. To cap off their World Cup victory celebration, the team flew back to Buenos Aires as heroes.
As a result, more than 80,000 supporters present at the Stadium Monumental were in a festive mood. Lionel Scaloni started the same lineup that defeated France in the Final last December, which added an extra layer of intrigue to the game.
And when those 11 players were on the field against Panama in a friendly, they were greeted by a very electric crowd. With all the hoopla, the 2-0 victory by Le Albiceleste was ever hardly registered.
Watch: How did Argentina opt to pay homage to Lionel Messi?
Lionel Messi was crucial to his side's success at the World Cup in Qatar last year. The 35-year-old scored seven goals and had three assists as Argentina defeated France in the championship game to earn the Golden Ball as the tournament's outstanding player.
For this reason, the Argentine Football Association was eager to express their appreciation to their most well-known ambassador. The Argentine soccer's governing body announced on Saturday that the national team's training facility would henceforth be known as 'Lionel Messi National Training Center' in honor of the team's inspirational captain and his stellar World Cup and career performances.
"We lived a historic day in our Casa de Ezeiza, which from today will be renamed Lionel Andres Messi, in homage to the best player in the world. I want to thank all the managers, players and employees of AFA for having been with us, once again", the federation's president Claudio Tapia took to Twitter to write.
After celebrating achieving 800 career goals in that encounter in Panama, the 35-year-old capped off an important week on a personal level with the aptly called 'Lionel Andres Messi' camp. "I feel very happy. This tribute is very, very special. Knowing it will be named Lionel Andres Messi is something very beautiful", the PSG ace said after revealing the plaque in his honor.
