On Thursday night, the White House confirmed that President Donald Trump will watch the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina in New Jersey. He will be joined in the stands by Spanish King Felipe VI and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. According to Spanish newspaper As, the initial plan was for Sánchez not to fly to the United States for the final, but on Friday the government confirmed that Sánchez, an outspoken Trump critic, will attend.
However, they will not be accompanied by Argentine President Javier Milei. But there has been no rift between the presidents. Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his support for Milei; instead, it is a matter of superstition.
Watching at home
In an interview with radio station El Observador, he was asked if he would go to the United States to watch the match, and the answer was clear.
Not under any circumstances, he said.
Since he has so far watched all the matches from the presidential residence in the Olivos area of Buenos Aires, he will continue to do so, all in order not to break the Argentine winning streak.
But the superstition doesn't stop at where he watches the matches - it's also about what he wears. During every match, he's worn the same thick jacket and, no matter how hot it gets during the final, he doesn't plan on taking it off.
A shaky tradition
"I got really hot in it during the match against Switzerland so I took it off for a while. Then they scored against us, then I put it on and will never take it off again," he said.
By not attending the match, Milei is also following a strange tradition that accompanies the office. It dates back to the 1990 World Cup, when former president Carlos Menem visited the Argentine World Cup squad before the opening match against Cameroon. Argentina surprisingly lost the match and since then, a sitting president has never seen an international match at the venue.
