The Spanish national team will receive a rapturous welcome on Monday upon their return from North America, with nearly a million people expected to gather in Madrid to celebrate the team securing its second-ever FIFA World Cup title, following their 1-0 extra-time victory over defending champions Argentina on Sunday.

The triumph has sparked an overwhelming wave of national pride in football-obsessed Spain, as many young fans had never seen the men's team lift the World Cup, their only previous title coming 16 years ago in the 2010 South Africa finals.

Joy turns to sorrow

However, a shadow was cast over the national euphoria on Monday after local authorities announced the death of a teenager following the collapse of a fountain he had climbed with others to celebrate the win in the west of the country.

Coach Luis de la Fuente's squad is scheduled to arrive in Madrid at 12:50 p.m. (10:50 GMT), with King Felipe VI and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expected to greet the players, having both been present at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.

An open-top bus will await the players for a celebratory parade through central Madrid starting at 4:30 p.m.

Francisco Martin, the central government's representative in Madrid, told state television that the parade would depart from the vicinity of the Moncloa Palace, the official residence of the Prime Minister, heading to Cibeles Square, the traditional site for Spanish national team fan gatherings and celebrations.

Martin anticipated that nearly a million people would line the parade route, with additional security measures and bolstered public transport services being implemented to accommodate the crowds.

He noted that 2,050 police officers and 400 Civil Guard personnel will be deployed.

However, the exact schedule for the festivities had not been fully confirmed in the early hours of Monday, especially after it was previously announced that Pedro Sanchez would make a brief visit to Algeria before returning to Spain in the afternoon.

The Royal Palace has also yet to confirm whether the King will participate in the celebrations.

These scenes are expected to evoke memories of the celebrations that followed Spain's first World Cup win in 2010, when Madrid's streets were packed with hundreds of thousands of fans who turned out to welcome the team back from South Africa.

World Champions

While the country awaits the team's arrival, celebrations continued throughout Sunday night from Madrid to the smallest of Spanish villages.

The capital was buzzing with activity following the final match, as thousands of fans who had watched the game in bars and three designated fan zones poured into the streets to celebrate.

Car horns blared and fireworks lit up the sky as streets and squares filled with fans moments after the final whistle, despite a tense match during which the Spanish team struggled for long periods to break through the Argentine defense.

At Madrid's Colon Square, where a fan zone was set up, people draped in the red and yellow Spanish flag were seen singing and dancing late into the warm summer night, while others set off flares and fireworks, according to an AFP journalist.

Joyful fans chanted "Campeones, Campeones! (Champions, Champions!)".

Others shouted "Long live Spain!" celebrating an achievement that comes just two years after "La Roja" won the 2024 European Championship, while the women's team still holds the World Cup title they won in 2023.

But the celebrations turned to tragedy near midnight in the western town of Ciudad Rodrigo, after a fountain collapsed under the weight of revelers who had climbed on top of it.

The municipality announced the death of a 13-year-old boy and the injury of another youth.

It stated: "What should have been a celebration of the Spanish national team's World Cup victory has turned into a tragedy."