Poland’s Wojciech Szczesny admits to making ‘€100 bet with Lionel Messi’ before Argentina penalty
Poland’s penalty hero Wojciech Szczesny admits to making ‘€100 bet with Lionel Messi’ before Argentina had spot-kick awarded in World Cup clash… and jokingly warns he’ll now be ‘banned’ for the knockout stages
- Wojciech Szczesny has revealed he made a special bet with Lionel Messi
- The Poland goalkeeper denied the Argentinian with a brilliant penalty save
- But found himself on the losing end as Poland suffered a 2-0 World Cup defeat
- Messi was awarded a penalty after VAR deemed Szczesny had fouled the star
- The 32-year-old revealed post-match he now owes Messi €100 after the decision
- And joked that he would be banned by FIFA for breaching gambling rules
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No one would hold it against Wojciech Szczesny if he was angry after Poland’s World Cup defeat at the hands of Argentina on Wednesday evening.
The Poland goalkeeper played his part in securing the eastern European nation’s safe passage to the tournament’s knockout stages, despite losing 2-0 in Qatar as Brighton‘s Alexis Mac Allister and Man City striker Julian Alvarez both got on the scoresheet for the South American’s.
The 32-year-old Juventus shot-stopper denied Argentina superstar Lionel Messi from the penalty spot after VAR’s unjustly intervention awarded a penalty in the 34th minute.
Wojciech Szczesny has revealed he is out of pocket after losing a bet to Argentina’s Lionel Messi
Sczezny saved Messi’s penalty during Poland’s World Cup clash with Argentina on Wednesday
Szczesny’s glove delicately grazed Messi’s face as the striker tried to steer a header on target, with many including the goalkeeper, not immediately concerned that it was an even a foul.
The Poland penalty hero revealed he was so confident no foul would be awarded that he made a ‘€100 bet’ with Messi as VAR reviewed the situation inside Stadium 974.
Szczesny (left) bet Messi the penalty would not be awarded despite VAR’s intervention
Unfortunately, Szczesny will now have to dig deep into his bank account to find the cash after referee Danny Makkelie pointed to the spot having reviewed the incident on a pitchside monitor.
Speaking to Norwegian broadcaster TV 2 Sport post-match, the former Arsenal goalkeeper revealed the details of his and Messi’s bet before jokingly admitting he may now be ‘banned’ by FIFA for breaching betting rules.
‘No I didn’t [think the penalty would be given],’ said Szczesny.
‘We spoke before the penalty and I told him I can bet him €100 that he wasn’t going to give it.
Szczesny dived to deny Lionel Messi from the penalty spot against Argentina
Penalty-taker Messi (blue) puts his head into the ground as he rues his missed chance
‘So I’ve lost a bet against Messi. I don’t know if that’s allowed at the World Cup. I’m probably going to be banned for it. I don’t care right now.’
Hopefully for Poland this won’t happen with the in-form keeper’s mesmerising performance against Argentina the difference in seeing a poor Poland side qualify for the next round of fixtures.
Luck may not have been on his side when trying to guess the official’s decision, but Szczesny quipped he needed a dash of good fortune to deny a determined Messi from close-range.
This moment saw Argentina awarded a penalty as Szczesny’s hand grazed Messi’s face
Szczesny will be hoping his Poland teammates will be able to lend him a few quid to help out
‘I was fortunate twice this competition. It’s a great moment in the career of a player, the World Cup is the maximum and this is special,’ he told RAI Sport.
‘There’s a bit of work that goes into it too, but in order to save a Messi penalty, you need some luck as well.’
