Emotions run high in Argentina as a second consecutive World Cup win is in sight (ROBERTO SCHMIDT)Angst-ridden Argentine football fans are putting their faith in good luck rituals ahead of Sunday's 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 semi-final 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 superstition 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 neighborhood 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.- 'Cabala' -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 on Thursday."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.- 'Feeling involved' -These wacky habits are no joke to those who practice them."In football, Argentines don't feel like spectators 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'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 call that phone, have the same player answer, and make sure no one responded."- 'Works every time' -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 specific gestures and chants she hurls at the TV when the other team is in possession.In the first half of the semi-final against England, she said, "the dog sat watching the TV and Argentina didn't score"."You know what?" she continued. "In the second 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 number 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.sa/lm/mcd/cc/jw

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Argentina's players might have stumbled upon a few secrets in their victory over England that could be helpful moving forward. Following Argentina's 2-1 victory in the 2026 FIFA World Cup semifinal on Wednesday, Lionel Messi and Argentina teammates Nico Gonzalez and Enzo Fernndez huddled around a water bottle. They read the back of it as if it had a secret recipe. It might as well have, as it seemed to show a strategy for how England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford would have approached each Argentina player if the match were to go to a penalty shootout. For Messi, it read "Fake Left Dive Right." For defender Nahuel Montiel, it said, "Dive Left." What would Pickford do if Leandro Paredes stepped up to the spot? "Stand Left Dive Right," according to the water bottle. Pickford would have been more precious about keeping his water bottle, and his secrets close to his chest had the game gone to a penalty shootout. So don't blame Argentina for being curious once Pickford left his trash behind. In fact, it might help them moving forward. While every goalkeeper certainly goes about their penalty-shootout prep differently watching different film, gathering different information they might think alike. Argentina's players got a look into that thinking. The information could help them prepare for a potential penalty shootout against Spain and goalkeeper Unai Simn. It could also result in the opposite Argentina's players getting in their heads and doubting their approach because the goalkeeper knows their tendencies. In the end, penalty shootouts are a game of strategy and mentality. The manager chooses who gets to step up to the spot, and the penalty taker has to have the confidence to come through. This information being out there only adds to that intrigue, that suspense, as certain players will weigh the importance of it differently.

Burns, 23, is one of the game's hardest throwers and recently earned his first All-Star selection

CHARLOTTE You can usually count on James Franklin to say the thing you would expect James Franklin to say and do the thing you would expect James Franklin to do.Among the many college coaches who have turned an autopilot persona into tens of millions of dollars in career earnings, nobody has perfected the art of clean soundbites and zero risks like Franklin at Penn State.So it was no surprise that Franklins debut at ACC football media days, now wearing a paisley-patterned maroon tie instead of Penn State blue, felt like a concert of his greatest hits. When hes talking about the culture of the offseason program or the newfound millions Virginia Tech is pouring into athletics or why he decided to jump right back into coaching after his dismissal last fall, you could imagine Franklin giving the exact same speech in any schools colors. If you pay the man to sell Coca-Cola, hell sell Coca-Cola. If you pay him to sell Pepsi, hell convince you Pepsi is the greatest drink ever invented.There is, however, one topic Franklin cant explain with quite as much confidence. Even for a coach who has made a career out of projecting certainty, there is no blueprint for one of the biggest decisions of his current chapter.When he talks about hiring Brent Pry as his defensive coordinator yes, the same Brent Pry that Virginia Tech fired as head coach last year with a career record of 16-24 even Franklin cant sandpaper over whats obvious.The reality of walking back in that building and walking past the head coachs office, or I call him because I want to talk about something and Im sitting in his [old] office, Franklin said. If you dont have a real relationship and a tremendous history I couldnt do it. It shows his humility. It shows his love for Virginia Tech. But I think it also talks about our relationship.The personal dynamics that led to such an unusual arrangement are obvious. Jim Pry, Brents father, was Franklins offensive coordinator as a DII quarterback in the early 1990s. When Franklin got his first head coaching job at Vanderbilt, Pry was his most trusted assistant. At Penn State, Pry led defenses that were regularly ranked among the top 10 in the country.Their 30-year history has not merely been fruitful professionally, its built on genuine friendship and trust.And still, the awkwardness in this reunion at this school is undeniable.If we were [taking] one of these other jobs, he was coming with me, Franklin said. And when I said, Hey, if I take the Virginia Tech job, you got any defensive coordinators youd recommend, hes like, Well, me.Then it was like, OK, lets talk through this in detail, what its going to look like, what its going to mean and how were going to do it. Then you say we want to do this and you get into the contract, which is kind of messy. Youre trying to work through all those things and youve got to have real hard conversations on the front end.Theres nothing unique about a coach getting fired and taking a job the next year as an assistant to rehabilitate their reputation. Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian and Manny Diaz are among the current power conference head coaches who parlayed a coordinator stint into a second opportunity.But taking a demotion at the school that just fired you? Its unheard of and for good reason.When coaching tenures go wrong, especially at a school with Virginia Techs passion, the unpleasantness radiates to every part of life. In a small town like Blacksburg, theres nowhere to escape. When most coaches get fired, they want to get out of town as fast as possible and the fan base is happy to help them pack. By the end of Prys tenure, it was so ugly that the school had to make the change a mere three games into last season.It says a lot about Prys lack of ego that he would even consider coming back. He might be the only coach in the country that could pull it off.I wasnt really shocked, all-ACC defensive lineman Kemari Copeland said, I know his love for Virginia Tech and its a good thing [for the players] because weve been around him. If he were to go somewhere like Arkansas, hed have to get to know the players and learn a whole other culture. I think its an advantage for us.Whether its a good idea in this environment, though, remains to be seen. At a different school, Pry would be a big name with a good coordinator reputation. At Virginia Tech, every problem on defense will be framed by familiarity with his warts as a head coach.Thats an unpredictable and potentially volatile dynamic. Theres practically no precedent for it anywhere else. While theres a long track record on the football side of Franklins relationship with Pry to suggest it was the right move, theres a human nature component thats completely out of his control.I know he can do a phenomenal job, but theres going to be other issues that come up, Franklin said. I want to sit down and talk with him again because you get through the initial wave and theres still some other things. Theres going to be some differences for him and his family throughout the year that I want to make sure Im aware of and that Im being thoughtful about for him.I think the best thing that happened is when he walked back in and I introduced him in front of the team as defensive coordinator, the whole room gave him a standing ovation. I could not have written a better script because I think that allowed him to hit the ground running, too.Most college football observers believe Franklins arrival at Virginia Tech marks a real opportunity to revive one of the sports dormant powers. With two major donations totaling nearly $100 million since Franklin was hired, he has been given the resources to compete in the ACC and been granted a reservoir of trust that dried up by the end of his tenure at Penn State.With the unspoiled goodwill of a brand new fan base, any other coordinator hire would have been popular and noncontroversial. Bringing Pry back to the place where his name is associated with immense failure speaks to what Franklin thinks of him as a defensive coach and a surprising tolerance for public relations risk.Over his 15 years as a head coach, Franklin has perfected the art of driving the narrative around his program and staying relentlessly on message. But the way college football fandom works, its unavoidable that Prys performance will dominate the conversation to an uncomfortable degree.Coaching tenures dont usually rise and fall on a single decision, but Franklin cant afford to get that one wrong.

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