18/7/2026

SPORTS SATURDAY | JULY 18, 2026

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2026 WORLD CUP

Bellingham calls for unity

achieve big things,” the Real Madrid player said. Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers set up Gordon for England’s opener against Argentina and said he was “dev astated” following the defeat. “We gave so much to reach this far and for it to end the way it did hurts,” he said, external. “We shared memories that will last for a lifetime and I lived a childhood dream to represent my country at a World Cup. We will be back, mark my words.” Gordon, who has moved from

A NGST-RIDDEN Argentine football fans are putting their faith in good luck rituals ahead of Monday’s (3am Malaysian time) World Cup final against Spain. Lionel Messi’s men are just one game away from retaining their title after beating old foes England 2-1 in Wednesday’s semifinal in Atlanta. But as adrenaline levels soar, supporters need something to calm the nerves. Good luck rituals are common across the South American nation and a healthy dose of supersti tion is helping fans cope with the pressure. During the match, “no one moves from the spot they occupied the last time,” Andres Gonzalez told AFP in the working-class Liniers neighbor hood of Buenos Aires. The self-declared “football addict” believes it is essential for everybody to follow the rules. “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. Gonzalez is referring to a “cabala” – a ritual believed to bring good luck. Such practices take place throughout society, with Argentine President Javier Milei disclosing his own special habits yesterday. “Under no circumstances” would Milei break his custom of watching World Cup matches from the presidential residence, he told El Observador radio. 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. “In the match against England, since he’s an English bulldog, we put an Argentina jersey on him,” the 65-year-old said. “For Spain, rain or shine, he stays outside.” In Graciela Campos’s home, it is her mother-in law who has to leave the room. “She goes into the kitchen and knits a blue and-white scarf,” Campos said. These wacky habits are no joke to those who practice them. “In football, Argentines don’t feel like specta tors but like protagonists,” sociologist Diego Murzi told AFP . “Rituals are part of that – feeling involved by bringing good luck and warding off bad luck,” he said. IT IS not the first time England have been accused of becoming too defensive in key games. It was a similar situation under former manager Gareth Southgate when they went 1-0 in front against Italy in the Euro 2021 final before conceding an equaliser and losing on penalties. Under Southgate, England also lost a World Cup semifinal to Croatia in 2018 and were beaten by Spain in the Euro 2024 final. Opta stats show that, since 1998, England have been eliminated every time they have faced a top-10 ranked nation in the knockout stages of the World Cup. “Going for glory doesn’t always mean you will get it,” added Bayern Munich for ward Kane, who has scored six goals during the tournament. “You have to fight for it, get knocked

win against the co-hosts before beating Norway 2-1 after extra time prior to the game against Argentina. England attacking midfielder Jude Bellingham, like Kane, scored six goals as he starred during the tournament. He said he “was really struggling to find the right words” following England’s exit but shared a four-page poem titled “The Lions Way” , written by the team’s driver Michael Chandler, which “pretty much hits the nail on the head”. The poem finished with the line “a soul made strong, a soul assured” as Bellingham also called for “unity”, exter nal following England’s defeat. “Don’t let the unity and love we’ve seen in our country end with this cam paign. When we’re together we can

down, pick yourself up and go again and that’s what we will do, there’s no other way but to keep believing and keeping pushing.” England started their World Cup cam paign with a 4-2 win against Croatia after the game was tied at 2-2 at the break. Following the game, Kane said the team’s improved second half perform ance came after Tuchel had told them “if we lose, we lose in our way” in his halftime team talk. England drew 0-0 with Ghana and beat Panama 2-0 to finish top of their group before coming from a goal down to beat DR Congo 2-1 in the last 32. They went down to 10 men against Mexico but earned a hard-fought 3-2

Newcastle United to Barcelona, added: “I genuinely thought this was our time to win after waiting so many years but it wasn’t to be and it’s going to hurt for a while. I’ve never wanted to win so badly, not just for the trophy but for everything we built as a group and what it would have meant for England.” – Agencies Argentina’s superstitious charge

Lucky shirts, familiar seats and well-worn rituals are helping Argentina’s nervous supporters cope ahead of World Cup final

An Argentina fan places a trading card featuring England’s Jude Bellingham in a freezer to “freeze” the rival as one of his superstitions before the World Cup semifinal on Wednesday. – REUTERSPIC

Argentina didn’t score”. “You know what?” she continued. “In the sec ond half I turned her around, and that’s when the result turned around.” Football legend Diego Maradona, who died in 2020, remains a figure of reverence in Argentina. Maradona’s former home in the Villa Devoto neighborhood in Buenos Aires is the site of an altar to honor the beloved No. 10. Nor has the age-old tradition of freezing Argentina’s opponents faded. “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. – AFP

call that phone, have the same player answer, and make sure no one responded.” 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. “All my rituals work every time,” said retiree Lidia Otero, who adores the national team just as much as her beloved Boca Juniors. The 74-year-old walked AFP through the spe cific gestures and chants she hurls at the TV when the other team is in possession. In the first half of the semifinal against England, she said, “the dog sat watching the TV and

“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. 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. The sociologist recalled the story of a phone that rang in the locker room during Argentina’s first match. “A player picked it up, and no one answered,” he said. “Bilardo saw that and, since Argentina won, before every match he would have someone

‘Messi effect’ a dream for MLS: Garber

leading scorer for La Liga club Atletico Madrid, who said the level of competition at MLS is above what it was in years past. “The World Cup also helps so all kinds of American kids can enjoy football and want to start kicking a ball,” he said. “Hopefully, we can put on a show in the stadiums to make kids want to play football.” – Reuters

then take off his Argentina jer sey and put on an MLS jersey. “I never dreamed that that could happen,” Garber told Reuters last month that he views the quadrennial show piece tournament on home soil as a launchpad for a new era in the US league. That growth may be helped by the arrival of Orlando City’s recently acquired forward Antoine Griezmann, the all-time

to his club.

he signed with LA Galaxy and Golden Boot contender Messi has had his own profound impact three years after sign ing for the Beckham-owned MLS side. His heroics on the sport’s biggest stage, including two last-gasp assists to get Argentina past England in the semi-final on Wednesday, stand to make him an even bigger draw when he returns

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER is counting on a blend of home grown talent and global superstars to keep the momentum going after the World Cup, with Lionel Messi ready to switch from Argentina blue to Inter Miami pink after Monday’s final. Former England captain David Beckham kicked the domestic league into another gear two decades ago when

“None of us in the league understood what Messi was when he was playing at Barcelona, other than as fans,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. “The fact that he would have a right-footed cross at the last moment – see, I even know what that is – and be able to win a game in front of the world and be in the final, and