Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Alexis Mac Allister has a World Cup winner’s medal after Argentina beat France in the final in Qatar.
The 23-year-old player signed for Albion from Boca Juniors in 2018 and didn’t make his Seagulls debut until March 2020.
Mac Allister, who turns 24 on Christmas Eve, was credited with assisting Argentina’s goal second in a match that ended 3-3 after extra time.
The midfielder was substituted with five minutes of extra time remaining.
But he made his mark throughout a riveting match which Argentina won 4-2 on penalties.
It is not thought that Mac Allister will he available for selection against Charlton Athletic in the League Cup 4th round tie on Wednesday (21 December).
But Albion fans will look forward to seeing him bring his World Cup form back to the Amex.
Mac Allister was one of eight Brighton players at this year’s finals. The others were Leandro Trossard (Belgium), Robert Sánchez (Spain), Kaoru Mitoma (Japan), Tariq Lamptey (Ghana) and three Ecuador internationals – Moisés Caicedo, Jeremy Sarmiento and Pervis Estupinan.
England also faced a former Seagull in the group stage when Alireza Jahanbakhsh represented Iran.
Albion weren’t represented at the World Cup finals between 1986 and 2018.
Until Qatar, only five players had represented their country at the World Cup finals during their time at Brighton.
Steve Foster played for England in Spain in 1982 while Sammy Nelson represented Northern Ireland.
And in 1986 Steve Penney played for Northern Ireland in Mexico – the last time Argentina won the tournament.
Four years ago Maty Ryan played for Australia in Russia while Jose Izquierdo appeared for Colombia.
Nigeria defender Leon Balogun had signed for Brighton just before the 2018 World Cup finals but had yet to train with the Seagulls – let alone appear in a match.
