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Argentine President Javier Milei will not be in the stands for Sunday’s World Cup final against Spain despite calls to join the US president Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino in New Jersey. Instead, Milei says he will stay at the presidential residence in Buenos Aires, confident that sticking to his matchday routine gives Argentina the best chance of retaining the World Cup.The Argentine leader revealed on Thursday that superstition — known locally as cábalas — was the sole reason for his decision to miss football’s biggest game. Argentina have won all seven World Cup games they have watched from home during the tournament, and Milei doesn’t want to risk ending that streak.“No way,” Milei said when asked by Buenos Aires radio station El Observador if he would travel to New Jersey for the finals.“I will continue to watch all the games from Olivos,” he added, referring to the presidential residence.The decision means Milei will miss the chance to watch the final alongside Trump, one of his closest international allies, and Infanta, who are expected to be present for the post-match trophy presentation.
Lucky jacket and football rituals
Milei also revealed another ritual that has become part of Argentina’s unbeaten streak.“Because it’s cold and I don’t turn on the heating, I’m wearing a jacket with the brand of an oil company. On the day of the match with Switzerland, I was very hot. I took it off, and they scored a goal for us. I put it back on and never took it off again,” he explained.The president’s routine reflects a much wider soccer culture in Argentina, where cábales hold an almost sacred place during major tournaments.Many fans refuse to wash their jerseys during the World Cup if the team keeps winning. Others insist on watching every game from the same chair or with the same group of friends. Some fans even believe that they must stay in the exact location where Argentina previously scored, while others avoid changing any pre-match routine.One viral video during this World Cup showed a group of fans reading passages from the Bible just as Argentina started to score against Egypt. After the victory, they repeated the ritual before every next game. Other fans resort to freezing figurines or pieces of paper with the names of opponents in the belief that this will bring bad luck to opposing teams.
A long-standing presidential superstition
Milea’s decision also follows an unusual tradition among Argentine presidents.The belief dates back to the 1990 World Cup, when then-president Carlos Menem visited the Argentine national team shortly before their shock defeat to Cameroon. Menem was subsequently branded a “mufa” – a bribe – and since then current Argentine presidents have largely avoided attending key World Cup matches involving the national team.For many Argentines, the superstition has become part of football folklore, and Milei seems determined not to become a leader who breaks it.
Trump will attend the final
While Milei remains at home, the White House confirmed that Trump will attend Sunday’s final at New York-New Jersey Stadium.White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said the US president was looking forward to the match, describing the tournament as “the most watched, safest and most successful World Cup in American history”.Trump is also expected to attend a FIFA reception at Trump Tower before the final. Infantino confirmed that the US president is expected to join him in presenting the World Cup trophy to the winning captain, continuing a tradition followed by the host nation’s leaders at previous finals.At the awarding of the 2022 trophy in Qatar, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is with Infantino as Lionel Messi lifted the World Cup, while Russian President Vladimir Putin joined the FIFA boss during France’s 2018 triumph.This time, however, the Argentine president will be watching from hundreds of miles away, wrapped in the same lucky jacket, hoping that keeping faith in his cabal is enough to help the defending champions lift the World Cup again.
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