Shamans gathered in front of the Estadio Nacional de Lima in Lima, Peru, on July 17. They were there to cast a spell for Peru’s victory in the South American Regional Qualifier match between Peru and Argentina for the 2026 North and Central American World Cup.
Whenever there is an important soccer match, Peruvian shamans cast spells on the opposing team to help their country win. Usually, they cast spells on the entire opposing team, but on this day, they focused on one player.
Messi. The spell is cast by placing a doll with a crooked leg on top of a photo of Messi in an old game, complaining of leg pain during the match.
Next to him, they hold up Messi’s jersey and chant. Presumably, they’re hoping for trouble with Messi’s leg.
The shamans predicted a Peruvian victory, and while rooting for your team to win is justified, it seems cowardly to cast spells on a sporting event that is supposed to be won on merit. So did the witchcraft work? Let’s see how the match turned out.
In the match the next day, on the 18th, Messi, as if to mock the witch doctors, scored a multi-goal performance in a 2:0 victory. The leg was still intact. 안전토토사이트
The win kept Argentina atop the South American qualifying standings with four points. The shamans’ predictions had missed the mark.
On New Year’s Day, Peruvian shamans gather on the hill of San Cristobal to read their fortunes and make predictions about what will happen that year.
This year, they held a snake to a picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s face, chanted a spell, and predicted that “the war in Ukraine will end next August (2024).”
Their fortune-telling and prophecies are “believe it or not”. But hopefully the prediction that peace will come to Ukraine is correct.