Spain-Argentina: "No way," the surprising reason why Argentine President Javier Milei will not attend the final

While Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will attend the 2026 World Cup final to support La Roja, Argentine President Javier Milei will not be there to support the Albiceleste. And the reason is quite unusual.

The entire elite of world football and numerous international political figures will be present at the kick-off of the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina (Sunday, July 19 at 6 p.m.). All except one of the key figures: Argentine President Javier Milei. Despite being a close ally of his American counterpart Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Milei announced on Buenos Aires radio station El Observador that he would not be traveling to New York for the final.

"Absolutely not," the controversial executive replied when asked about his intention to come to MetLife Stadium. A scheduling conflict? A personal issue? None of the above: his absence is a matter of superstition.

Because, as with Argentina's first seven matches, all of which ended in victories, Javier Milei will watch his national team's game from home. "I will continue to watch all the matches from Olivos," he said, referring to his presidential residence.

"I took it off, and we conceded a goal."

And the 55-year-old politician's superstition goes even further. Besides his desire to watch the matches from his residence, the South American president admitted to wearing the same jacket since the start of the World Cup, except for a few minutes against Switzerland. A change he deeply regretted. "Since it's cold and I don't turn on the heat, I've been wearing a jacket with an oil company logo. On the day of the match against Switzerland, I was very hot. I took it off, and we conceded a goal. I put it back on and haven't taken it off since," explained Javier Milei.

He is not the first Argentine president to firmly believe in a correlation between his behavior and the Albiceleste's results. Since 1990, successive Argentine heads of state have avoided attending their national team's crucial matches for fear of bringing bad luck.

The most recent person to do so was Carlos Menem. The then-president visited the Argentine national team just before their surprise 1-0 defeat to Cameroon in the opening match of the 1990 World Cup. At the time, he was labeled a "mufa," a kind of jinx. Since then, no sitting Argentine president has attended a national team match.