Follow all the action in our live blog above.<\/p>\n
Lionel Messi becomes just the second player to appear in three World Cup finals after Brazilian great Cafu as Argentina meet Spain in New Jersey.<\/p>\n
Angst-ridden Argentine football fans are putting their faith in good luck rituals ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final against Spain.<\/p>\n
Lionel Messi’s men are just one game away from retaining their title after beating old foes England 2-1 in Wednesday’s semi-final in Atlanta.<\/p>\n
But as adrenaline levels soar, supporters need something to calm the nerves.<\/p>\n
Good luck rituals are common across the South American nation and a healthy dose of superstition is helping fans cope with the pressure.<\/p>\n
During the match, “no one moves from the spot they occupied the last time,” Andres Gonzalez told AFP in the working-class Liniers neighborhood of Buenos Aires.<\/p>\n
The self-declared “football addict” believes it is essential for everybody to follow the rules.<\/p>\n
“If you went to the bathroom and there’s a goal, we lock you in. You stay there until the match is over,” the 48-year-old accountant explained with conviction.<\/p>\n
‘Cabala’<\/p>\n
Gonzalez is referring to a “cabala” – a ritual believed to bring good luck.<\/p>\n
Such practices take place throughout society, with Argentine President Javier Milei disclosing his own special habits on Thursday.<\/p>\n
“Under no circumstances” would Milei break his custom of watching World Cup matches from the presidential residence, he told El Observador radio.<\/p>\n
Over in saleswoman Estela Vargas’s house, match rituals are set in stone – everyone wears the same clothes and sits in the same chair, while the dog must stay outside.<\/p>\n
“In the match against England, since he’s an English bulldog, we put an Argentina jersey on him,” the 65-year-old said.<\/p>\n
“For Spain, rain or shine, he stays outside.”<\/p>\n
In Graciela Campos’s home, it is her mother-in-law who has to leave the room.<\/p>\n
“She goes into the kitchen and knits a blue-and-white scarf,” Campos said.<\/p>\n
‘Feeling involved’<\/p>\n
These wacky habits are no joke to those who practice them.<\/p>\n
“In football, Argentines don’t feel like spectators but like protagonists,” sociologist Diego Murzi told AFP.<\/p>\n
“Rituals are part of that – feeling involved by bringing good luck and warding off bad luck,” he said.<\/p>\n
“It’s something very present throughout the world of football,” Murzi added, pointing to former coach Carlos Bilardo as a prime example of the phenomenon.<\/p>\n
Bilardo, who coached the team that won the World Cup in 1986, is “a man of science, but a superstitious person to an extreme degree”, said Murzi.<\/p>\n
The sociologist recalled the story of a phone that rang in the locker room during Argentina’s first match.<\/p>\n
“A player picked it up, and no one answered,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Bilardo saw that and, since Argentina won, before every match he would have someone call that phone, have the same player answer, and make sure no one responded.”<\/p>\n
‘Works every time’<\/p>\n
Wild excitement and frayed nerves come together in many of the capital’s neighborhoods, almost all of which are decked out in blue and white.<\/p>\n
“All my rituals work every time,” said retiree Lidia Otero, who adores the national team just as much as her beloved Boca Juniors.<\/p>\n
The 74-year-old walked AFP through the specific gestures and chants she hurls at the TV when the other team is in possession.<\/p>\n
In the first half of the semi-final against England, she said, “the dog sat watching the TV and Argentina didn’t score”.<\/p>\n
“You know what?” she continued. “In the second half I turned her around, and that’s when the result turned around.”<\/p>\n
Football legend Diego Maradona, who died in 2020, remains a figure of reverence in Argentina.<\/p>\n
Maradona’s former home in the Villa Devoto neighborhood in Buenos Aires is the site of an altar to honor the beloved number 10.<\/p>\n
Nor has the age-old tradition of freezing Argentina’s opponents faded.<\/p>\n
“I grab the player’s sticker and put it in the freezer. My grandpa taught me that,” said 11-year-old die-hard Messi fan Rodrigo Serna.<\/p>\n
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