The prospect of a World Cup 'holy war' pitting Pope Francis's Argentina against Germany, the homeland of retired Pope Benedict was confirmed with Argentina's semi-final victory over the Netherlands yesterday.

But several Argentina fans had been gearing up for it well in advance, even dressing up as popes, as these pictures show.

Both the present and former Popes are known to follow football.

"The sport of football can be a vehicle of education for the values of honesty, solidarity and fraternity, especially for the younger generation," Pope Benedict told Gazzetta dello Sport in 2008.

His successor, Francis has echoed those remarks, and even promised not to pray for Argentina.

But a Catholic who met Pope Francis this week to discuss more serious matters said that the pontiff seemed to be secretly pulling for his home team, according to CNN.

"He absolutely wants for Argentina to win," Peter Saunders, a victim of sexual abuse from England who met Francis on Monday, told the Boston Globe. "He didn’t say it out loud, but you could see it in his eyes, he’s a closet fan."

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