LUCKY CHARMS AND RITUALS! World Cup superstitions putting a spell on players

MOSCOW — Some players believe World Cup success is earned through exercise, diet and endless practice drills — others are convinced it's a matter of wearing lucky underwear.

Players and coaches can be a superstitious bunch and often have a ritual or item of clothing they believe is a charm that has contributed to a winning run.

They range from former Colombian keeper Rene Higuita's insistence on wearing blue underpants to current German striker Mario Gomez's habit of only using the far-left urinal to relieve himself before a match.

Gomez's Germany teammate Julian Draxler gives himself a spritz of scent before a big match.

"Sometimes my team-mates ask me if I'm not right in the head," the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder said.

"Every player has a ritual before a match and I usually hold my bag in my locker and I throw on two or three sprays of perfume. It gives me a feeling of happiness."

Sports psychologist Dan Abrahams, author of the book Soccer Tough, said so many match-day factors are beyond a player's control that adopting a ritual or lucky charm provides something to focus on and take charge of.

"Logically, these kinds of rituals aren't linked to performance," he told AFP.

"However, if a player creates the perception that they are, then the action can become a hinge factor for how a player feels," said the specialist, who works with Premier League club Bournemouth.

England's Dele Alli is using the same shin guards he has worn since childhood when he plays in Russia, hoping they bring the good fortune that has long eluded the Three Lions at international tournaments.

"I've had the same shinpads since I was 11. They are battered (but) I am very superstitious," the Tottenham midfielder told Fifa.com.

Some players such as England's Phil Jones do not like stepping on white lines, while Brazil defender Marcelo always runs onto the pitch right foot first.

The habit is so ingrained that during training in Rostov-on-Don he left the pitch and re-entered after realising he had accidentally led with his left foot.

"Everybody likes to enter with the right foot, right? I'm no different," he laughed when quizzed by reporters.

Morocco coach Herve Renard has worn a white shirt on the sidelines since he took Zambia to a surprise victory at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2012.

He is doing so again in Russia, although it has not proved so lucky this time as Morocco will be heading home after the group stages.

France are convinced superstition played a part in their 1998 World Cup win, when Fabien Barthez's teammates rubbed the goalkeeper's bald head for good luck.

Defender Laurent Blanc planted a big kiss on Barthez's pool-ball pate before every match, right up to the final against Brazil.

Perhaps the strangest example of the power of suggestion helping a team to World Cup glory is Argentina's triumph in 1978.

In an era of short shorts and long hair, Argentina's star striker Mario Kempes was a dedicated follower of fashion, sporting a stylish horseshoe moustache and flowing locks.

But Kempes failed to find the net in the group stages, prompting coach Cesar Luis Menotti to offer a suggestion to the forward nicknamed "El Matador".

Menotti, who had omitted a teenage prodigy named Diego Maradona in favour of Kempes, pointed out that when he visited the striker in Spain before the tournament he was clean-shaven and scoring freely for Valencia.

Why didn't he get rid of the moustache and see if it brought a change of fortune?

The impact was immediate. Kempes scored two goals in his next match against Poland, then two more against Peru to seal a spot in the final.

Another two goals in the decider against the Netherlands saw Kempes claim the Golden Boot and gave Argentina their maiden World Cup title.

"The moustache had to go... that was the start of a new chapter for me," Kempes later said.

"After that, every time (Menotti) saw me he'd say 'You're due a shave today Mario, aren't you?'." — AFP.

Brazil v Costa Rica (14.00) RIDING in on a wave of expectation, with the painful end to the last Fifa World Cup™ seemingly just a footnote, Brazil did not get the all singing, all dancing start to Russia 2018 they were hoping for. Costa Rica, by contrast clinging onto the joyful memories from four years ago, similarly did not get going as they would have hoped.

Following an opening that promised much against Switzerland, Brazil’s spark fizzled as the clash in Rostov-on-Don progressed, before ultimately being pegged back by the resilient Alpine outfit. The team will have been buoyed by the news that Neymar trained on Wednesday having experienced some pain in his ankle the previous day.

There was always the chance of meeting the expectations superbly raised by Costa Rica’s run to the quarter-finals in Brazil. Serbia only edged them thanks to a sensational free-kick by Aleksandar Kolarov but they need to discover a cutting edge that was absent in their opener.

Serbia v Switzerland (20.00) Two enticing and confident teams are set to go head-to-head in Kaliningrad on 22 June in an allEuropean clash. Fresh from a 1-0 win over Costa Rica in their opening game, Serbia now face a Switzerland team that held group favourites Brazil to a 1-1 draw.

Should they beat Die Nati, The Eagles will soar into the Round of 16 of the Fifa World Cup™ for the first time since they started competing as an

Nigeria v Iceland (17.00) HAVING pulled off one of the shocks of the opening round of fixtures at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™, Iceland will be hoping for all three points against Nigeria at the Volgograd Arena on Friday. In their opening match of Group D, the fearless tournament debutants managed to hold Argentina to a 1-1 draw thanks to a compact and hard-working collective performance. When an unnerved Lionel Messi missed a penalty that could have won the game, the Icelanders visibly grew in confidence and now Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side are in with a decent chance of qualifying for the Round of 16.

On the other hand, Nigeria go into this fixture under significant psychological pressure, as defeat would consign them to an early exit from the tournament. Gernot Rohr’s team were independent nation. Knowing what is at stake, and fully aware that they have lost only twice in 13 matches against the Swiss, the Serbians will certainly not be lacking for motivation.

However, they are coming up against resolute opposition. And while a win would not fully guarantee Switzerland’s place in the second round, the three points would see them take a decisive step towards achieving that aim. Furthermore, whenever the Helvetians have previously drawn their opening match at a World Cup, they have ended up qualifying from their group (in 1938, 1994 and 2006). — Fifa.com. unconvincing in their first match in Russia, when they looked predictable in attack and less than assured defending set pieces in a fully deserved 2-0 reverse to Croatia.

Meanwhile, Iceland’s players will be allowed to have sex ahead of their Soccer World Cup match against Nigeria, as long as it’s with their wives, coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said yesterday.

According to the Reuters website, when an Icelandic reporter asked if sex was banned for members of the squad, Iceland captain Aron Gunnarsson said, laughing: “For the time being, yes.”

Hallgrimsson interjected: “At least as long as the wives have not arrived. No, sex is not banned, it’s bulls***.”

Iceland’s final group stage match is against Croatia on Tuesday, June 26. — Fifa-comSport24.