Canadian hip-hop superstar Drake has placed a $300,000 bet on a victory by his 2024 Copa América semifinal opponent Lionel Messi and Argentina.
Should Canada win the tie, Drake will win a whopping $2.88 million.
Though Canada is the underdog in this one, for Drake, it’s no surprise that he’s riding for his country.
Known not to shy away from his hometown teams, Drake’s spirited co-sign came in the form of a cheeky social media post captioned, “This could get Messi.” All this was really setting up Canada’s topsy-turvy run to the semifinal—one of the most exciting plot lines in the tournament so far.
Under head coach Jesse Marsch, the team goes into the Copa América ranked 11th out of the 16 participants by FIFA rankings. This will be Canada’s very first Coppa América, and it is in pursuit of the first senior tournament title for the men’s national team since the 1990 North American Nations Cup.
Tuesday’s match will be Canada’s second meeting at this year’s Copa América against Argentina.
The two teams met initially June 20 in the group stage. Argentina won that 2-0. Previously, the only other matchup between the two nations had been a 2010 friendly, also won by Argentina, 5-0.
Moreover, the head coach of Argentina, Lionel Scaloni, confirmed that Messi is fit to play the semifinal.
The 37-year-old superstar sat out the final match in the group stage against Peru due to a thigh injury but returned to play every minute in the quarterfinal against Ecuador.