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.
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.
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.
