Cristiano Ronaldo’s superfan and viral streamer IShowSpeed has conceded that Argentina officially broke the so-called “Speed Curse” football fans were discussing. The internet personality admitted to wearing the team’s signature blue-and-white shirt as a ploy to publicly support Argentina since every team he backed during the 2026 FIFA World Cup failed to have a successful run.

As he hoped to see for himself if the running joke actually held ground, IShowSpeed, who is also known as Speed, was forced to leave the stadium without a smile on his face when the Lionel Messi-led Argentine squad earned a resounding 3-1 win against Switzerland.

Having actively covered the 2026 FIFA World Cup, for each of his livestreams in North America, Speed opted to support a specific team. He’s exhibited it through the choice of jersey he wears on match day. Witnessing the so-called “cursed” streak in real time, football fans started fearing for their FIFA favourites if Speed showed up wearing their country’s jersey.

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However, it all turned around in a shocking streak-breaker when Speed decided to put on Argentina’s jersey for the July 12 quarter-final match between the South American country and Switzerland. Luck was definitely on Argentina’s side as the team led by captain and football ‘GOAT’ Lionel Messi secured its place in the forthcoming FIFA semi-final after a massive 3-1 victory.

Messi and Argentina break ‘Speed curse’

Given how popular this “curse” conspiracy theory has grown over the course of this year’s FIFA tournament, the American influencer couldn’t help but acknowledge the running gag.

“Game’s over with,” he says in a post-match video. “The act is over with. They broke the ‘curse.’ Congratulations Argentina. I support Argentina today to see if it was real. Seems like that they broke the curse.”

Fans couldn’t help but notice that Speed wasn’t too enthusiastic as he witnessed the South American team “break” the supposed “curse.”

For the unversed, the popular social media personality is widely considered one of the most passionate fans of Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, whose name is often brought up against Lionel Messi’s in the never-ending debate about who’s the ‘greatest of all time’ (GOAT).

In a different video extracted from his livestream, Speed confessed that he will be wearing an England T-shirt for the upcoming England vs Argentina World Cup semi-final.

“Now we know the Speed curse is not real… I’m rocking a full-on England shirt,” he said after Argentina’s win against Switzerland.

Speed is famously known as a Ronaldo superfan

In the aftermath of Portugal’s elimination from the FIFA World Cup by Spain earlier this week, IShowSpeed was evidently overcome with emotion on a YouTube stream. The game didn’t just mark the end of Portugal’s World Cup dream, but also served as the final World Cup game of Speed’s favourite player.

The streamer broke down in tears on camera as Ronaldo appeared on the jumbotron and walked off the pitch after his team was eliminated from the 2026 FIFA run.

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“I thought they was gonna win it all. I thought they was gonna win it all, man. I thought they was gonna win it all, I swear to God, Wallahi,” he said. “I prayed. I prayed. I prayed, I prayed, and I prayed. I prayed…my prayers wasn’t answered.”

Sending a heartfelt message to his idol and Portugal’s fan, Speed also said, “Ronaldo, I love you. I’m so sorry that you lost the World Cup. I’m sorry. I was cheering for you. I wanted you to win. I genuinely wanted you to win, and I’m sorry to everybody who was cheering for Ronaldo.”

A visibly disturbed Speed almost even got into a fight with football fans, who appeared to tauntingly chant “Messi,” as he left the stadium after Portugal’s FIFA defeat.

Fans react to ‘Speed Curse’

“Messi cursed Speed’s curse,” wrote one user.

Another person commented, “Whenever he is at the stadium to watch Messi, Messi ends up winning, but he is yet to figure it out.”

In a previous World Cup antic, Speed appeared to aggressively shout and gesture at Messi to look at him as he stood right behind the goal post in the stands while the Argentine skipper took a penalty kick against Egypt in the Round of 16 match. That day, the streamer wore Egypt’s jersey and was eventually accused by social media users of attempting a full-blown distraction strategy against Messi.

Yet another user quipped, “Now try it again with Portugal next match and restart the curse again. Messi always breaks every curse.”

A fourth X user chimed in, “Speed tried to jinx Argentina, but you can’t jinx the GOAT!!”

Someone else wrote: “IShowSpeed thought wearing the Argentina jersey would jinx them, but it turned out to be lucky instead… they won. What an unlucky World Cup for Speed. Feel for him.”

A user even pointed out, “The jinx doesn’t work if you’re aware of it.”

Disclaimer: The content in this article is based on a viral social media discussion and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. The opinions mentioned are personal to the user. This story does not constitute financial advice or an endorsement of any specific investment strategy.