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Former England international Gary Linekar’s son, George, won £4276.40 after making unbelievably accurate bets involving Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Argentina in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final.
Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties to win the FIFA World Cup in Qatar on Sunday (December 18) night. Angel Di Maria and Messi gave Argentina a 2-0 lead but Mbappe fired a late second-half brace to restore parity.
With the scores level at 2-2, the game went to extra time, where Messi and Mbappe scored once apiece. The game then went to penalties, where Messi and Mbappe scored again, before Argentina came out on top.
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George Linekar stunningly predicted that both Paris Saint-Germain superstars would score, the game would be 2-2 after 90 minutes, and La Albiceleste would win on penalties.
He also predicted that the game would have more than five corners and at least one yellow card would be shown. He shared a screenshot of his winnings on Twitter, showing how his £20.03 stake turned into £4276.40 via an intricate seven-fold sweep.
Messi, Paulo Dybala, Leandro Paredes and Gonzalo Montiel put away their efforts for Argentina in the shootout. Mbappe and Randal Kolo Muani converted theirs for France, but Kingsley Coman (saved) and Aurelien Tchouameni’s (wide) misses turned out to be decisive for Les Bleus.
Lionel Messi knew 'God' was going to give the FIFA World Cup to him
Eight years after losing 1-0 to Germany in the 2014 World Cup final, Lionel Messi’s Argentina finally won the trophy they longed for the most. When La Albiceleste fell to a shock 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in their campaign opener, not many could fathom such a stunning turnaround, but the iconic no. 10 never stopped believing.
Speaking to SPORT after the final at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, the 35-year-old said:
"It's crazy that it happened this way. I wanted it very much. I knew that God was going to give it to me, I had a feeling that it was going to be this. Now to enjoy."
The Paris Saint-Germain ace ended the tournament with seven goals and three assists in seven games. His heroics deservedly won him the FIFA Golden Ball, making him the first player in history to win the accolade twice (first in 2014).
