Wizards from Peru also take part in the South American qualifiers: they performed the ceremony of canceling Messi against Argentina | Football | Sports

A dozen Peruvian shamans used swords, amulets and rag dolls on Monday to perform rituals to intercept Lionel Messi as Argentina face Peru in Lima on Tuesday for a fourth-round South American qualifying match for the 2026 World Cup. the match of.

Ten shamans from the mountains, jungles and Peruvian coast, dressed in colorful traditional woolen garments, prayed to “Tayta Inti” (the sun god) after drinking ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic drink, preaching benefits to the Inca group mantra.

“We are cutting back Messi, the star player, so that he can play a bad role in the game,” shaman Walter Alarcon told AFP in front of Lima’s National Stadium, where Tuesday’s game will be played.

“We had it in our heads and we watched it all night. “We inserted steel swords and thorns into it with all the ancestral rituals we’ve known since ancient times,” he added.

A colorful traditional altar was erected on one side of the National Stadium, with amulets, swords, flags of both teams and photos of players from both teams.

The therapist used a brown rag doll with a picture of Messi on it.

They also placed a sword and thorns on a picture of defender Nicolas Otamendi.

“We’ve got him under control, we’ve brought stagnant water and made him very nervous and cramped. Let him get hurt,” said shaman Felix Londan, who was wearing a fleece jacket.

The shamans held up a picture of Peruvian striker and scorer Paulo Guerrero as Argentina’s executioner.

Argentina has won all three games and ranks first in the World Cup with 9 points, while Brazil and Colombia have 7 and 5 points respectively. Peru ranks second from last with one point. (Four)