Crowds fill Cibeles Square in Madrid on Monday to welcome Spain's World Cup-winning squad. [AFP]
Crowds fill Cibeles Square in Madrid on Monday to welcome Spain's World Cup-winning squad. [AFP]

About 2 million people flooded the Spanish capital to welcome the national football team home after it claimed the FIFA World Cup title for the first time in 16 years — but the celebrations were marred by a fatal accident that killed a 13-year-old boy.

The squad landed at Madrid's Barajas Airport on Monday, returning immediately after winning the World Cup final in New Jersey. Captain Rodri stepped off the plane holding the trophy aloft, while fans waving Spanish flags packed the terminal to greet the players.

The team then visited Zarzuela Palace for an audience with King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia before meeting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez at Moncloa Palace.

King Felipe VI praised the squad, saying, "It was a magnificent victory," and adding, "The joy of bringing the trophy home after enduring hardship and criticism is beyond compare."

Rodri said winning for his country was "the most beautiful thing in the world." "I grew up watching Casillas and Iniesta lift the trophy in 2010, and now we have lived that dream ourselves," he said.

The team then held a bus parade from Moncloa Palace to Cibeles Square in front of Madrid City Hall. Fans packed the streets to cheer the players on despite evening temperatures reaching 34 degrees Celsius.

The Madrid regional government estimated that about 1.8 million people lined the parade route. Local media put the total number of participants in Madrid alone — including those who gathered at the airport — at about 2 million.

However, the festive atmosphere was overshadowed by a tragic accident.

In the northwestern province of Salamanca, a 13-year-old boy died in the early hours of Monday after part of a fountain structure collapsed during World Cup victory celebrations. The BBC reported that two more youths were taken to hospital, including one child suspected of having suffered a broken leg.


sjy@heraldcorp.com