It was a close call.
Argentina’s 2022 World Cup celebrations took a near tragic turn when a low-hanging power line nearly knocked Lionel Messi and four of his teammates off a moving open-top bus in Buenos Aires on Tuesday.
Footage from the team’s World Cup victory parade shows Messi, Leandro Paredes, Angel Di Maria, Rodrigo De Paul and Nicolas Otamendi sitting on the roof of a bus, when De Paul notices the wire and tells his teammates to duck. As the bus carrying the team continued down the parade route, all five players went under the power line with seconds to spare.
However, Paredes was left behind after his hat snapped off an electrical wire and hit his head. The incident happened when Argentina’s national team was traveling on the streets around 2am as fans celebrated the team’s World Cup win over France.
A TV parade commentator can be heard saying: “What a moment! Be careful, guys!”
More than a million fans are expected to attend the World Cup parade after Argentina beat France 4-2 in a dramatic penalty shoot-out in the final on Sunday, according to the Telegraph.
After winning the World Cup, Argentina arrived in Buenos Aires on December 20, 2022 for a celebratory parade.
Argentina national team players celebrate on a bus surrounded by fans after winning the 2022 World Cup on December 20, 2022.
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Argentina national team players celebrate on a bus surrounded by fans after winning the 2022 World Cup on December 20, 2022.
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The Argentine government has reportedly declared Tuesday a holiday for fans to attend the festivities.
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