Saudi World Cup Upset Leads To $1.5M Winning Bet

The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup is one of the biggest sports tournaments and the greatest in the world of football. It attracts billions of football enthusiasts and general sports lovers across the globe. The 2018 tournament drew more than 3.5 billion viewers. About 1.1 billion watched the final match between France and Croatia.

If the current statistics are anything to go by, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 could surpass those numbers. In fact, FIFA President Gianni Infantino believes that the number of viewers could go as high as 5 billion–-63% of the world’s population.

So, why does this tournament attract this many people? For one, renowned football stars showcase their talents on one stage. As such, the lovers of the game don’t want to miss any moments of magic from the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Leonel Messi, and Neymar Junior. It also gives countries from different continents a chance to win the big prize. That’s why even the non-football fans follow the proceedings as they support their nations.

For many other people, it’s an opportunity to bet and win big if results go their way. It’s not always easy, though, especially with the favourites like Argentina losing what many thought would be a straightforward win. Saudi Arabia dramatically winning over the Messi-led Argentina squad has not only caused joy and jubilation throughout the Arabian Peninsula, but one gambler also won $1.5M betting football partially as a result of this historic upset.

Trainwreck’s big win

Tyler Faraz Niknam, or Trainwreck, is a popular Twitch streamer running the TrainwrecksTV YouTube and Twitch channels. He started streaming gaming content in 2015 and has since gained millions of followers. Niknam’s popularity became evident during the 2020 United States Presidential Election when he became the second most-watched Twitch streamer, hitting over 600,000 hours.

Trainwreck’s main niche has always been chance-based gambling. Since the launch of TrainwrecksTV, one of the channel’s most-streamed games has been slots–-28.5% of total streamed hours. But Twitch recently banned chance-based gambling games on its platform. As a result, Niknam shifted to sports betting.

Trainwreck has had many ups in his streaming career, but his recent win could be one of the best in the history books. As many football fans were enjoying thrilling moments in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Niknam was celebrating one of his biggest football betting results.

With wins from Saudi Arabia and France as well as draws in the Denmark-Tunisia, Mexico-Poland matches, Twitch gambling streamer “TrainwrecksTV” tweeted the betting slip of his crazy 4-team multi-bet wager on Stake.com turning a USD$25,000 wager into a USD$1.5M payout.

How did Trainwreck-backed teams perform?

TrainwrecksTV selected four matches which included the big guns and some exciting teams. Argentina and France were the strongest teams in Trainwreck’s unbelievable multi-bet selection. So, how (and why) did he bet on these matches? Here’s everything you need to know about TrainwreckTV’s USD$1.5M winning bet:

Saudi Arabia v Argentina

The first match featured on the multi-bet was Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina against Saudi Arabia. This was the first game of the third 2022 World Cup matchday following two thrilling opening matchdays. By this day, all results had gone as predicted by most football fans and punters.

As such, it was expected that the Messi-led Argentina team would follow suit and win its tournament opener. However, Trainwreck and perhaps most of the Saudi Arabia fans hoped for a different result.

Things went as planned for the Argentines in the first half as they began on the front foot. Messi forced a save from the Saudi Arabian goalkeeper within the first two minutes. It wasn’t long before Argentina’s superstar could add to his World Cup goals tally. The little maestro netted from the spot in the 10th minute to give Argentina the lead.

The rest of the first-half was quite exciting for the neutrals but frustrating for the Albicelestes. Lautaro Martinez saw his two brilliant runs count for nothing as the goals were disallowed for offside. Messi also netted almost immediately after the spot kick only to be ruled offside by the linesman.

Saudi Arabia rode on its first-half luck and gave Argentina a bitter end to the game. Two quick goals from Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari secured the win for the Saudis.

This is the 6th time Argentina has lost a World Cup opener, but it definitely matches the biggest upset it suffered in 1990 against Cameroon. As for Trainwreck, it was a good start to the day as one of his four bets was already marked in green.

Denmark v Tunisia

The second match of the day saw Kasper Hjulmand’s Denmark take to the pitch against a defensively-committed Tunisian side. This was a tough one to call as the two sides had only met once before the 2022 World Cup. Their first meeting was in May 2002 as they prepared for that year’s World Cup tournament held in Japan.

Denmark ran out winners in that friendly match, but it was Tunisia that begun their first competitive meeting well. Kasper Schmeichel was called to action a few times in the opening 45 minutes. However, in spite of their energetic press, Tunisia’s forwards didn’t really trouble Schmeichel’s goal that much.

On the other end of the pitch, Christian Eriksen found it difficult to create clear-cut chances for his side. He was expected to use his creativity to break Tunisia’s defensive wall but that wasn’t to be. The match ended goalless as both teams tied in the first spot of Group D, at least for a few hours.

Mexico v Poland

Mexico, the 1986 World Cup hosts, was next in line. The North American side went head-to-head against Poland. The two teams had played each other in three occasions before this, one of which was a World Cup match in June 1978. Poland went on to win the game and proceeded as the group winners of Group 2 which included West German and Tunisia.

Of course, many things have changed over the last 44 years. As such, this match was going to be a difficult one to call, even for the best punters like Trainwreck. The game was played at 1900hrs (UTC+3), which was quite favorable for the players in the hot Qatari climate.

The first half ended goalless with neither side threatening their opponent’s defense. In fact, the only notable save of the half was by Poland’s Szczesny as he tipped Jorge Sanchez’s effort over the bar. Mexico controlled most of the ball, but it lacked the cutting edge to open up the resilient Polish defense.

Given Saudi Arabia’s shock result against Argentina earlier on, this was a match neither side wanted to lose. Therefore, a draw would be a good point for both teams as they’d be above Argentina on the table. But Poland felt it should have had more as Robert Lewandoski failed to convert a penalty kick in the 58th minute of the game.

The referee blew the final whistle after eight minutes of added time, and Trainwreck celebrated his third green mark of the day. He was now waiting for the final match to see if his USD$25,000 would turn to USD$1.5 million.

France v Australia

The reigning champions, France, came to the tournament with a lot of confidence but also a little tension. Given the history of recent World Cup winners, you’d understand why everyone affiliated to the French team had their fingers crossed. Four of the past five World Cup winners haven’t made it out of the Group Stage in what’s now dubbed the World Cup curse.

Italy, Spain, and Germany have all been there. France also faced the same fate in 2002 when it was humiliated after winning its first World Cup in 1998. However, Les Blues hoped that things would change this time round as they took on Australia in their first World Cup 2022 match.

The Blues had one of the youngest squads in the 2018 World Cup, with Kylian Mbappe being the most notable name. The Paris Saint-Germain man looked to continue his impressive run as he linked up with Giroud, Griezman, and World Cup debutant Ousmane Dembele. With this exciting talent, France was favorite against Australia, and that’s why Trainwreck backed the team.

However, the match took an unexpected turn as the Aussies took an early lead in the 9th minute. But Craig Goodwin’s goal was wiped out by two quick France goals from Adrien Rabiot (27th minute) and Olivier Giroud (32nd minute). The early scare suffered by Trainwreck and other gamblers was subdued as Didier Deschamps’ men took control of the contest.

Les Blues put the game beyond Australia’s reach as Mbappe guided Dembele’s superb cross into the net. As if that wasn’t enough to secure Trainwreck’s USD$1.5M win, Giroud netted his second goal to give France a comfortable 4-1 win.

Other upsets in World Cup 2022

The unexpected results are what make World Cup football interesting, and the 2022 tournament has certainly lived up to the billing. In fact, this year has had a record number of upsets in the Group Stage round alone.

As such, it’s been quite difficult for most bettors to predict the outcomes as others feast on their high-risk bets. Here are the rest of the surprising results in FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022:

Germany v Japan

Just like the Argentina-Saudi clash, the favourites began this match quite well. Germany almost went behind within the first eight minutes but Japan’s goal was ruled offside. The Germans dominated the rest of the half and won a 33rd-minute penalty which Gundogan slotted home.

The Japanese team was lucky not to concede more in the first half and early in the second half. Hajime Moriyasu, Japan’s coach, made sure his team rode on that luck as he made a raft of substitutions. Goals from Ritsu Doan (75th minute) and Takuma Asano (83rd minute) were enough to give Japan one of its best World Cup results.

Belgium v Morocco

Belgium was among the serious contenders for the world’s biggest football trophy. The Belgians fielded Kevin Debruyne (Manchester City), Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois, and the Hazard brothers. They hoped to follow up their win against Canada with another three points. However, that wasn’t going to be easy given Morocco’s strength both in defense and attack.

Roberto Martinez’s side was facing a Morocco side that hadn’t conceded a single goal in their last five matches. Morocco’s defensive resilience was evident in this match as Debruyne and his fellow stars struggled to connect a few passes, let alone create chances. Hakim Ziyech showed his brilliance as he assisted the second Morocco goal in the 92nd minute after his side had taken the lead in the 73rd minute through Roman Sais.

Tunisia v France

France went into the match with its mind set for the round of 16 after confirming its qualification. On the other hand, Tunisia needed an unlikely win against Les Blues to hope for a favourable result in the Australia-Denmark match. In spite of its hard-fought win against a very good French team, Tunisia still failed to qualify as Australia beat Denmark 1-0.

Japan v Spain

Japan followed its impressive victory over Germany with a loss against Costa Rica. As such, it needed a win against an exciting Spanish team to proceed to the next round. A goal from Morata in the 11th minute, however, made it a more challenging task for the Asian side.

But the Japanese team wasn’t ready to lose hope just yet. Its magnificent second-half display rewarded it with two quick goals from Doan (48th minute) and Tanaka (51st minute). Moriyasu’s team held on to the lead and finished top of the group while knocking Germany out of the group.

South Korea v Portugal

As if those weren’t enough upsets, South Korea also wrote its name in the history books in December 2, 2022. The Ronaldo-led Portugal took the lead in the 5th minute, and South Korea equalized mid-way through the first half. The Portuguese team was stunned as South Korea’s star Heung-min Son assisted Hwang’s goal in the 91st minute. This was enough to secure South Korea’s qualification even as Suarez’s Uruguay recorded a win against Ghana.

Cameroon v Brazil

Brazil was also on the wrong end of a shock result as Cameroon became the first African team to beat it. The 1-0 win later proved inconsequential, but at least the Indomitable Lions had something to celebrate.

Conclusion

Trainwreck stopped streaming gambling games on Twitch after Twitch’s ban. But if his recent win is anything to go by, then he seems to have found another home in sports betting. His unbelievable win featured a multi-bet of four games. The Argentina-Saudi was the biggest upset, but Trainwreck managed to take advantage of it. This wasn’t the only upset in the 2022 World Cup campaign, and there could be more in the upcoming rounds.

Photo by Unsplash