World Cup Rituals, Habits, and Superstitions: The Unique Traits and Lucky Charms Behind Every Team

Last updated: Jun 22, 2026

Every World Cup team carries a secret weapon that has nothing to do with tactics: its rituals and superstitions.

Just for fun, here are the most colourful rituals and superstitions behind the teams worth watching.

Table of Contents

Argentina: cábalas and an army of witches

Argentina may be the most superstitious football nation on Earth.

The national obsession is the cábala, a good-luck ritual you repeat without fail while the team is winning.

According to Argentina’s official tourism board, that can mean watching every match in the same seat, same shirt, same channel, with the same people.

During the 2022 run, a self-organised collective of clairvoyants nicknamed “La Brujineta” claimed to shield the squad from bad energy. The Buenos Aires Herald reported that tens of thousands of witches focused their energy on protecting Lionel Messi.

Fans in Buenos Aires also leaned hard on history. The Seattle Times noted the eerie parallels Argentines drew between 1986 and 2022, right down to the kick-off time of both finals.

Brazil: faith first, football second

For Brazil, the pre-match ritual is overwhelmingly spiritual.

Players pray together before and after games, and several stars are openly evangelical. Evangelical Focus has documented how the squad kept praying as a group even after FIFA restricted religious messaging on the pitch.

The roots run deeper than any single faith. Brazilian athletes have long taken to the field with crosses, saint medals, or wrist tape honouring Candomblé deities, a blend of belief as colourful as the team in Rio de Janeiro itself.

Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo’s right foot rules

Cristiano Ronaldo never steps onto the pitch left foot first.

He plants his right foot first every single time, sometimes adding a little skip to make sure he gets it right, as SportBible has detailed.

It is less personal quirk than national habit. Tribuna traces it to the Portuguese saying entra com a direita — “enter with the right” — a custom that brings luck to anyone leaving Lisbon for the World Cup.

Japan: the cleanest team at the tournament

Japan’s most famous ritual happens after the final whistle, not before kick-off.

Their fans stay behind to clean the stands with bin bags, while the players leave the dressing room spotless — chairs stacked, towels folded in the centre.

TNT Sports reports that organisers routinely rate Japan’s locker room as the cleanest of any team.

It is a tradition fans from Tokyo have kept at every World Cup since their 1998 debut. After Japan’s 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in Dallas, supporters once again won hearts by tidying the stadium, as CBS News covered.

The habit comes from a Japanese phrase taught in primary school: Tatsu tori ato wo nigosazu, roughly, “a bird leaves nothing behind” — return a place the way you found it.

South Korea: the Red Devils paint the streets red

South Korea’s superstition is a colour: everything must be red.

The official supporters, the Red Devils, fill stadiums and city squares in red shirts and devil horns, a look popularised by the “Be the Reds!” slogan at the 2002 World Cup.

Their signature chant is “Dae~ Han-Min-Guk,” followed by five sharp claps, as the Korea Times documents.

The real ritual is the mass street watch-along.

South Korea’s official portal, Korea.net, notes that a cumulative 22 million fans flooded public squares across cities like Seoul during the team’s seven matches in 2002.

Morocco: mothers, and the sujood of gratitude

Morocco’s players celebrate by running straight to their mothers.

Achraf Hakimi sprinted to his mother for kisses after his decisive penalty against Spain, and Sofiane Boufal danced with his mum on the touchline — moments Al Jazeera called the team’s “magic potion.” FIFA credited much of the 2022 fairytale to the players’ families.

The other ritual is the sujood. As Religion News Service explained, players dropped into prostration — the prayer of gratitude known as sujood al-shukr — after big wins, a sight that united fans from Casablanca to the diaspora.

The Netherlands’ Oranje Fanwalk

Dutch fans turn match day into a moving street party, marching to the stadium dressed head to toe in orange behind a famous double-decker bus.

At one 2026 match in Houston, an estimated 10,000 supporters joined the Oranje Fanwalk.

If a Netherlands match is in your host city, the walk is free to watch and one of the most colourful sights of the whole tournament.

Germany: the legacy of Paul the Octopus

Germany’s most reliable World Cup oracle wasn’t a player — it was an octopus.

At the 2010 tournament, Paul the Octopus picked match winners by choosing between two flag-marked feeding boxes. He went 12 from 14 overall, including every German game and the final, as recapped by beIN Sports.

His prediction that Germany would lose to Spain sparked outrage back home. Fans in Munich half-joked about eating him, prompting Spain to offer the octopus state protection.

West African teams: the world of football juju

In parts of West Africa, a team’s most important match-day figure might be the witch doctor.

The practice — known as juju — treats spiritual rituals as performance enhancers, and many teams keep resident spiritualists alongside their physios. Sportskeeda details how deeply rooted it is in countries like Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon.

It occasionally spills onto the pitch.

Cameroon coaching figure Thomas Nkono was famously detained at the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations for allegedly planting charms near the goal, a reminder that for fans flying in from Accra, belief is part of the show.

And the fans? Just as superstitious

Supporters guard their own rituals as fiercely as any player.

Lucky jerseys, unwashed socks, the same bar stool, the same group of friends — fans repeat whatever they were doing the last time their team won. It is the global version of Argentina’s cábala, and it travels well.

If you are planning to chase your team across the 2026 host cities, the practical magic is booking early:

USA hubs: search flights to New York and flights to Los Angeles for the biggest match-day crowds.
Mexico: compare flights to Mexico City and lock in hotels in Mexico City early — fan demand is fierce.
Canada: check Toronto and Vancouver for the northern venues.

You can also keep an eye on schedules and disruptions with the Wego flight tracker.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a cábala in Argentine football?

A cábala is a good-luck ritual you repeat exactly while your team keeps winning. It can be anything from a lucky shirt to watching every match in the same seat.

Why do Japanese fans clean the stadium?

It reflects a cultural value learned in school: leave a place as clean as you found it. Japanese fans have done it at every World Cup since 1998.

Did an octopus really predict World Cup results?

Paul the Octopus correctly called 12 of 14 matches at the 2010 World Cup, including the final. His method was simply choosing between two flag-marked feeding boxes.

Which cities are hosting the 2026 World Cup?

Sixteen cities across the USA, Mexico, and Canada are hosting matches. Major hubs include New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Mexico City, Toronto, and Vancouver.