Argentines let loose on Sunday, and streets across the South American country became places of celebration. That’s because half a world away, in an epic World Cup final, the national football (soccer) team beat France on penalties.
It was Argentina’s third World Cup title, and the first since 1986. National pride and love for the game brought together people of all ages and places in life.
“I’m very happy. We really deserved this. The team suffered quite a bit, but it recovered as time went on,” says Josefina Villalba. The 55-year-old nanny joined hundreds of fans at one of the many public plazas where giant screens were set up to watch the long-awaited match.
Millions of Argentines cried, yelled, and hugged as they followed the game, which was an emotional roller coaster.
Throughout the match, the crowd watching in a public square in Buenos Aires chanted the name of captain Lionel Messi. He had long talked of yearning for a World Cup victory.
“I feel an immense happiness in my heart, because this is the first World Cup I truly enjoy,” Hector Quinteros, a 34-year-old security guard, said as his eyes welled with tears.
After 36 long years, Argentina finally took a World Cup title. The win erased years of doubts about whether a country known for some of the world’s greatest soccer players could really perform on an international stage.
At the end of the first half, Argentina led 2-0 and clearly dominated the match.
But happiness turned to anxiety for Argentines as France caught up, leaving the score at 3-3 before Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties.
For some, the agony leading to victory made it all the sweeter.
“When you suffer over something so much, the satisfaction is greater,” 45-year-old video editor Fabio Villani says.
It also felt par for the course for Argentina, a country known for seemingly endless economic crises.
“Suffering is something that is very Argentine,” says Maria Isabel Ayala, a 53-year-old hairdresser. “If we suffer, it’s because we truly feel it in our hearts.”
“In some ways we’re used to it,” adds Gonzalo Nogueria, a 34-year-old photographer.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. — Romans 8:18
(Argentine soccer fans celebrate their team’s World Cup victory over France in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 18, 2022. AP/Gustavo Garello)
