Mexico's resident "Grand Warlock" has cast a spell aimed at ending his country's decades of futility in the big tournament and, so far, it seems to be working. Normally known for his annual predictions concerning politics and pop culture, Antonio Vazquez decided to use his purported gift to help the Mexican national team at the start of this year's festivities. The proverbial performance enhancer of psychic goodwill was likely inspired by the fact that Mexico has failed to get past the knockout stage of the tournament in nearly 25 years.
Flanked by a pair of priestesses and wielding a wand resembling Quetzalcoatl, Vazquez called upon the Mesoamerican god in his quest to boost the team. "Give me all your force and power to break through heaven's doors," he reportedly declared, "let Mexico reach the fifth match. Quetzalcoatl, let it be so." Whether the warlock's request will prove successful remains to be seen, but some are suggesting that it has already proven fruitful as, in their tournament debut, Mexico shockingly defeated Germany for the first time in World Cup history on Sunday.
To his credit, Vazquez is simply asking for some small success for the Mexican team and was a bit more vague when it comes to prediction an actual winner of the tournament. When pressed, he envisioned that "a Latin American country" will be the ultimate victor, naming "Brazil, Portugal, or another from the Americas" as possible contenders. One may wish to hold off on putting any money down on his prognostication as he also predicted that Germany would win the World Cup back in January.
Strangely enough, perhaps the best bellwether for the warlock's forecasting skills may be the fate of pop star Shakira, who he mused may be cursed about at the start of 2018. "I sense someone has cast a spell on her," he said at the time, "I don't think she'll recover." It would seem, in this case, that Vazquez missed the mark as the artist behind hits like 'Hips Don't Lie' and 'She Wolf' just launched a comeback tour earlier this month. For the Mexican national team's sake, let's hope the warlock's work is more successful this time around.