Key Takeaways
- Spain’s newly crowned FIFA World Cup champions arrived in Madrid on Monday.
- One million fans are expected to greet the team during a victory parade.
- The celebration marks Spain's second World Cup win, after 2010.
Spain’s football heroes returned home to a hero’s welcome as they landed in Madrid on Monday. The team, which clinched their second FIFA World Cup title with a 1-0 victory over Argentina on Sunday, was greeted by thousands of jubilant supporters who lined the streets.
Captain Rodri held aloft the World Cup trophy as he descended from the Iberia plane that brought the team back from the United States. The victory, secured by Ferran Torres' extra-time goal, has sparked an outpouring of national pride in a country where football is deeply ingrained in the culture.
The celebrations were so intense that Madrid’s main avenue, Castellana, bore the marks of a raucous evening, with tarmac strewn with trash and broken glass. Many supporters, who had been celebrating all night, slept on the pavement or staggered home under the influence of alcohol.
Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida acknowledged the late-night revelry, stating that it was 'a little more difficult for all of us to fall asleep.' The mayor also confirmed that the players would be received by King Felipe VI at Zarzuela Palace and then met by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez at La Moncloa.
The team will enjoy an open-top bus parade starting from Moncloa, heading to Cibeles square. A ceremony involving the players is scheduled for later in the evening, with around one million people expected to line the route. Additional security and transport measures have been planned to handle the crowds.
Some supporters, like 32-year-old financier Bruno Gonzalez del Yerro, are planning to celebrate again. 'We’ll have to celebrate it one way or another, given that it only happens every four years and that Spain hadn’t won it for about [16] years now — it definitely deserves a party,' he said.
The victory is particularly significant as Spain’s women's side also won the World Cup in 2023, making this the first time a country has both trophies at the same time. In 2030, Spain will defend its crown on home soil, one of the World Cup hosts along with Portugal and Morocco.
I didn’t sleep much, because… (of) the celebration and then the tension of the match — I think it was a little more difficult for all of us to fall asleep.
Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida, Madrid Mayor
We’ll have to celebrate it one way or another, given that it only happens every four years and that Spain hadn’t won it for about [16] years now — it definitely deserves a party.
Bruno Gonzalez del Yerro, 32-year-old financier
