Argentina’s President Milei says superstition will stop him from going to the World Cup final

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The Independent

17 July 2026

Argentina President

Javier Milei

has said he won't go to the

World Cup

final because of superstition. Adding that he will also be wearing the same heavy jacket.

He will watch the big match between

Spain

and

Argentina

from home — where he has watched the defending champion's previous seven games.

In Latin America, and particularly in

, so-called “cábalas," or ritualistic beliefs and habits, carry unusual weight, reflecting the intensity with which many here watch their national team.

When asked on Thursday whether he'd travel to New Jersey for Sunday's game to watch alongside his close ally U.S. President

Donald Trump

FIFA

president Gianni Infantino, as was widely expected, Milei replied, “No way."

“I'm going to keep watching all the games from Olivos," he told a local

Buenos Aires

radio station, El Observador, referring to his presidential residence.

The journalist asked if he's staying home for superstitious reasons. Milei said yes, going on to explain another of his rituals: "Since it's cold and I don’t turn on the heat, I wear an oil company-branded jacket. The day of the Switzerland game, it made me really hot. I took it off, and they scored a goal against us. I put it back on and never took it off again.”

open image in gallery

Argentina President Javier Milei (AP)

Like Milei, most

Argentines

have cábalas that require they stick to the exact same routine if the team is winning. Some wear the same clothes during every match, refusing to wash their jerseys for the duration of the

. Some watch each game in the same spot — or are not allowed to watch at all, as can be the case with those who happen to be in the bathroom when

scores.

The smallest actions take on extraordinary meaning. In one widely shared video from this

, a group of fans began reading from the Bible just as

started scoring against Egypt, obliging them to repeat the ritual at every match since. One common ritual to impact the rival team involves freezing figurines of players or pieces of paper with opponents' names on them.

Argentine presidents have long been cautious about attending high-stakes

matches to avoid bringing bad luck to their teams. The superstition dates back to the 1990 tournament, when then-President Carlos Menem visited the Argentine squad right before it suffered a stunning opening loss to Cameroon.

Menem was branded a “mufa," a jinx. No sitting Argentine president is known to have attended a national team match since.

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