Perhaps nobody was more excited when France reached the 2022 World Cup Final on Wednesday than Daniel Forte. The recreational bettor put together a massive seven-leg parlay with odds of +2145200. It included the Kansas Jayhawks to win the NCAA men’s basketball title, the Golden State Warriors to win the NBA title, the Colorado Avalanche to win the Stanley Cup, AC Milan to win Serie A, Los Angeles FC to win the MLS Cup, and Manchester City to win the Premier League. Now that all those previous bets have miraculously hit, the last leg hinges on a France World Cup victory.
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Forte’s $26 wager would return $557,770.91, Fanduel offered him the option to cash out for $80,000, and raised it to $83,000 after France reached the knockout stages of the World Cup, but he’s held firm.
In the quarterfinals, France faced its toughest test against England but escaped with a 2-1 win when England striker Harry Kane missed his second penalty kick late in the second half with a chance to tie the score.
“I’m two games away,” Forte said after that game. “The heart is racing. I’ve never had an intense feeling during a game like this before.”
Kylian Mbappe has been leading the charge for France while missing Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante because of injury, and other players stepped up Wednesday, with goals from Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani in a 2-0 win against Morocco that sent it to the final.
France is the first team to reach back-to-back World Cup Finals since Brazil in 1994-98. You have to go all the way back to 1964-68 to find a team that has won consecutive World Cups (also Brazil).
It’s unclear if Daniel Forte has made a decision on whether he will hedge his bet before the final. But either way, you’d think he’ll be pulling for France to finish off his parlay and make history Sunday.
Per DraftKings, France is a slight -120 betting favorite to win the World Cup.
