Argentina seek to avoid 'Drake curse' in World Cup final
By Henry Burt
Argentina have overcome the odds to reach the World Cup final.
After losing 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in their opening fixture, the odds were stacked against La Albiceleste if they were to reach the latter stages of the competition. Speculation was rife over whether head coach Lionel Scaloni was out of his depth, and whether Argentina were wrong to still be relying on 35-year-old Lionel Messi.
Argentina defied expectations to get where they are today. Now, though, they must tackle their biggest challenge of all: overcoming the legedary Drake curse.
Drake might be one of the biggest stars in the music industry, but the man simply does not know ball. Every team the rapper backs to succeed invariably ends up falling short - most recently Canada, who, following the ringing endorsement of their country's biggest cultural export, picked up zero points and went out at the group stage.
Now, Drake has thrown his support behind Argentina. In a video posted online, the 36-year-old can be heard saying: "I'll take Argentina, he'll take France. That will be a vibe," in reference to who will be backing which side out of him and a friend.
Could he have just ruined Messi's chances of lifting his first World Cup?
In addition to his unsuccessful footballing predictions, Drake also lost over $2m betting on former UFC champion Israel Adesanya to defend his title against Alex Pereira.
He also lost $649,000 on an accumulator in which he predicted Barcelona to beat Real Madrid in El Clasico earlier in the season.
Time will tell whether Messi and Argentina can lift the World Cup - but if they don't, blame Drake.