Legendary soccer announcer Andres Cantor recounts his native Argentina’s World Cup victory

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• Judy Woodruff:

  Two days after winning the World Cup, Argentina's national soccer team arrived home today to a thunderous and joyful welcome.

  A victory parade for the team led by star player Lionel Messi spread across the capital. Millions of ecstatic fans flooded the streets of Buenos Aires to celebrate the historic win on what was declared a national holiday.

  The world watched the extraordinary final match against France. And it was especially extraordinary for one sports commentator.

  Jeffrey Brown tells us about that.

• Jeffrey Brown:

  His is perhaps the best known and best loved shout of goal in the world. And, on Sunday, Argentine American Telemundo sportscaster Andres Cantor got to make the call as Argentina won the World Cup in the most dramatic fashion.

  Take a listen.

  (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

• Andres Cantor, Telemundo:

  (SPEAKING SPANISH)

• Jeffrey Brown:

  "Argentina is champion of the world" over and over again, you in tears.

  I don't know if, several days later, that emotion has worn off. How do you feel today? Does it feel like a dream.

• Andres Cantor:

  The emotion has not worn off a bit.

  I watch on social media plays of the match, and the reaction to that clip, and I still get very, very emotional. You got to understand that the person I was holding on to is a former Argentine world champion in 1986. So it meant a lot to him, to me, and to all Argentines.

• Jeffrey Brown:

  I wonder if you can give Americans a little perspective on what it meant. Watching this, I couldn't help thinking — I grew up in Boston, where we waited for 80-some years for the Red Sox to finally win a World Series, several generations.

  But this is an entire country. It is a national obsession. Give us some perspective.

• Andres Cantor:

  It is a national obsession. That is very well said.

  Soccer is part of every single Argentine DNA. It's very hard to explain. So, we have been waiting 36.5 years for this moment. Every World Cup since Diego Maradona won the 1986 World Cup and Mexico has been very, very close for Argentina. They were runner-ups in 2014, had a horrible World Cup four years ago in Russia in 2018.

  And we had the sense that this could be it. So, this meant so much for the country. And, especially, it had a fairy tale ending for Leo Messi, who was playing his fifth World Cup, most likely his last. I think he, more than anybody, deserved to win the World Cup.

• Jeffrey Brown:

  Tell us a little bit more about him, because it was — there was so much focus, 35-year-old. As you say, he had already declared this was his last World Cup, considered widely the greatest player perhaps in history, but with that shortcoming, I think, of never having really delivered at the biggest stage for Argentina.

• Andres Cantor:

  Exactly.

  He took a lot of a load off his back a couple of years ago winning Copa America, but then he had this last dance in the World Cup to see if he could win it. I don't know what his legacy would have been if Argentina would have come up short, but, definitely, now he's up there with the greatest players of all time, Pele, Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff, undoubtedly.

  And, for many, he will be remembered as the best in history.

• Jeffrey Brown:

  What about the match itself, speaking of considered the best in history?

  What stands out for you a few days later about the competitiveness, about the play itself?

• Andres Cantor:

  It's very strange that, in a World Cup final, you will get to see six goals, that you will see a player score a hat trick, like France's Kylian Mbappe did.

  It was a roller coaster of emotions for the Argentinean fans, for sure. I do not remember a more dominant team over the other for 76, 77 minutes. Argentina played very, very well. And the defending world champions, France, did not. And then just a few mistakes, and, in two minutes, France ties the match.

  I think that the player of the World Cup has to be Argentina's goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez. I'm going to share my thoughts with your audience. It was you know one on one. Kolo was definitely going to score.

  So I'm processing, as an Argentine, my grief for the World Cup slipping away, because I was sure he was going to make it. And then the Argentine goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez, had a tremendous save with his leg in the minute 122 and 36 seconds out of 123.

  So, then the game was tied 3-3. We go into the penalty kick shoot-out, and that was just absolutely crazy, because you know how it is. It could go either way. Luckily, for Argentina, it went their way.

• Jeffrey Brown:

  It's a huge victory, but this is a difficult time for Argentina, poverty — rising poverty, inflation near 100 percent.

  And you just wonder, how much does a victory like this matter? What can it mean?

• Andres Cantor:

  It meant absolutely everything. I don't know if you have seen the scenes today.

  There were five million people around the city in the victory parade that had to be cut short because the bus could not advance any farther, and they had to evacuate the players on three helicopters.

  But at least it's a relief. It's just joy right before the holidays, because Argentina is an obsessed soccer country. And this will not take away the poverty index or all the things are going on in Argentina, but, definitely, people are very, very happy. At least — I don't know how long it will last, but this obviously made the people very, very happy.

• Jeffrey Brown:

  All right, Andres Cantor, exciting moment for everybody. Congratulations to Argentina. And we're happy for you.

  Thanks for joining us.

• Andres Cantor:

  Thank you. Thank you for having me on your show.