Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates will make a triumphant return in their homeland on Thursday when they play their first match since winning the World Cup in Qatar. More than 1.5 million (15 lakh) fans applied for 63,000 available tickets for the match against Central American minnows Panama at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires. Football-mad Argentines were out in even larger numbers following the Albiceleste’s dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over France in December. 

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