Articles Lifestyle Mr Old Man Mr. Old Man’s Superstition “Saved” Messi and Argentina from Salah and Egypt (!?) By Mr Old Man Posted on 1 minute ago 4 min read 0 0 0 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+ Share on Reddit Share on Pinterest Share on Linkedin Share on Tumblr Lionel Messi celebrates Argentina’s equalizer to make it 2–2 during Argentina’s 3–2 victory over Egypt in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Kansas City Stadium, USA, on July 7, 2026. Photo: AP Whenever I watch sports, I occasionally have to rely on… a little superstition to “save” the athlete or team I’m rooting for. Back in late January this year, the semifinal between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev at the 2026 Australian Open had me so nervous my chest felt tight. After winning the first two sets 6–4 and 7–6(5), Alcaraz looked ready to make short work of Zverev. But then Zverev fought back, taking the next two sets 7–6(3) and 7–6(4), before racing to a 3–1 lead in the deciding set. That was more than I could bear. So I pulled out my secret superstitious weapon: I turned off the TV. With one tiny hope in mind: “Maybe… if I stop watching, something good will happen!” And then… Good heavens! A miracle actually happened. Alcaraz not only escaped defeat but stormed back to win the fifth set 7–5. It was a heart-stopping comeback! That match took my “superstition level” to a whole new level. For the final against Djokovic, I didn’t even dare watch the match live. Instead, I secretly followed the live text commentary on VNExpress. The result? Alcaraz defeated Djokovic to win his first Australian Open title. I previously shared this rather unusual superstition in two blog posts: Mr. Old Man’s Superstition Saved Alcaraz from Zverev https://mroldman.net/kieu-me-tin-cua-mr-old-man-da-cuu-alcaraz-khoi-tay-zverev/ Mr. Old Man’s Superstition Just Reached the Next Level https://mroldman.net/trinh-me-tin-cua-mr-old-man-vua-len-mot-cap/ This time, in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, I resorted to exactly the same “superstitious trick” to… “save” Messi and Argentina from Salah and Egypt. In the 67th minute, after a lightning-fast counterattack, Mostafa Ziko tapped home from close range to put Egypt 2–0 ahead. I thought there simply wasn’t enough time left for Messi and Argentina to come back. So… I turned off the TV again. Maybe another miracle would happen. At around 1:00 a.m. this morning, I suddenly woke up. The first thing I did was grab my phone and check the score. I had to rub my eyes several times before believing what I was seeing. Argentina had beaten Egypt 3–2! Apparently, my superstitious trick still works. Once again, it had “saved” Messi and Argentina from Salah and Egypt! I really do feel sorry for Salah and Egypt… But once you’ve become a Messi fan… what can you do? ______ Mr. Old Man 8 July 2026