‘Not so’ – Why Argentina’s president refused to watch the World Cup final with Trump and Infantino
Argentina’s president Javier Milei will not attend the World Cup finals because of superstitions.
La Albiceleste booked their place in Sunday’s match against Spain with a stunning 2-1 win over England in the semi-finals.
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Powered by Lionel Messi, Argentina are looking to defend their World Cup title at the MetLife Stadium, and win the tournament for the fourth time.
But the president of the country will not go to New York for what will be the biggest sporting event of the year.
Instead, Milei will be watching from home.
He has done this in the last seven games for this team which he has won, he does not want to get into the habit of winning now.
When asked on Thursday if he would travel to the United States to watch the match alongside Donald Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino, the superstitious leader replied: “Not at all.”
“I will continue to watch all Olivos games,” he told El Observador, a local Buenos Aires radio station.
Quinta de Olivos, located in the north of the city of Buenos Aires, is the presidential residence of Milei.
And in a bid to help his team get over the line, the politician added that he’ll be wearing his trusty heavy jacket as he watches, too.
“Since it’s cold and I don’t turn on the heat, I wear a jacket with the name of the oil company,” explained Milei.
“On the day of the Switzerland match, I was very hot, I took it off, they scored a goal against us.
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“I put it back and never took it off again.”
Argentina’s presidents have a long history of World Cup superstitions
Milei is far from the first Argentine president to rely on superstitions when it comes to soccer.
The leaders of the South American nation have long been wary of going to the World Cup games at a high level, to avoid bringing bad luck to the teams.
The legend dates back to the 1990 tournament, when former president Carlos Menem visited defending champions Argentina before their first defeat to Cameroon.
In that competition held in Italy, this team also reached the finals, but lost to West Germany.
Menem was named a jinx after visiting the team, and no Argentine president is known to have attended a national team game since.
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In 2026, Milei will hope that her defending champions avoid the same fate, if only she doesn’t close out the tournament.
Like their president, most people living in Argentina have what are called ‘cábalas’ — beliefs and practices that carry unusual weight and reflect the intensity with which they view their national team.
Some wear the same clothes for every game, and refuse to wash their jerseys during the World Cup.
Others, like Milei, will watch the game from the same place.
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With the schedule down to a T, and the president not attending MetLife on Sunday, it will be up to Messi and his teammates to get the job done on the pitch and become the third country to win back-to-back World Cups.
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