If it were up to Inter Miami winger Lewis Morgan, the headline to this piece would read "Lewis Morgan cheated out of the tournament."
The FIFA 20 tournament Stream Aid 2020 to raise money for the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund – over $2 million was raised early on during the 12-hour marathon involving sports, music and gaming personalities – was the first tournament the Scotsman had ever played.
It turns out that after surviving some early ribbing from his three other Inter Miami teammates, including the suggestion there was another player at the controls off camera, Morgan won his first two games. "I'm not surprising myself," he said after his second win to qualify for the final.
Morgan was playing with France's national team, and soon enough his other Inter Miami teammates caught on and decided to switch to France themselves.
"I thought we had to stick to one team?" questioned Lee Nguyen, who also eventually switched to France.
And so when it came to the final between Morgan and Rodolfo Pizarro – the two combined for the first goal in Inter Miami history – the group determined: No one was allowed to play with France in the final.
When Pizarro (England) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the final, Morgan (Belgium) sounded resigned: "You've ruined everything for me," he told Pizarro.
But Morgan fought back during regulation (two goals by Romelu Lukaku) to force a 45-minute tiebreaker. His bid to win it all fell short as Harry Kane clinched it for Pizarro with a goal seven minutes from time (watch Kane's goal below).
"This is the greatest football I've ever seen England play," quipped Nguyen.
Round-Robin Play
- Match 1: Lewis Morgan (France) 2, Julian Carranza (Argentina) 1
- Match 2: Lewis Morgan (France) 4, Rodolfo Pizarro (Belgium) 1
- Match 3: Rodolfo Pizarro (France) 3, Lee Nguyen (England) 1
- Match 4: Lee Nguyen (France) 1, Julian Carranza (Argentina) 1
- Match 5: Rodolfo Pizarro (France) 2, Julian Carranza (England) 1
Final
- Regulation: Rodolfo Pizarro (England) 2, Lewis Morgan (Belgium) 2
- Tiebreaker (45 minutes): Rodolfo Pizarro (England) 2, Lewis Morgan (Belgium) 1
