Gambler loses big bet as Spain ties with Cape Verde in World Cup opener
A football fan has suffered a heartbreaking loss after Spain’s surprising 0-0 draw with Cape Verde. Since Spain are the Euro 2024 champions, everyone expected them to easily win against Cape Verde, a team playing in their first-ever World Cup. The match took place at Atlanta Stadium and was expected to be a routine win for Spain.
But Cape Verde showed they shouldn’t be underestimated, holding the European giants to a scoreless draw and earning a valuable point in their World Cup debut. This result dashed many bets and accumulators hoping Spain would start their campaign with a big win.
One fan feels this disappointment more than most, as it turns out they lost a jaw-dropping seven-figure sum betting on Spain to win. Before kickoff, Polymarket shared on social media that this person had placed $1 million (about £744,500) on Spain’s victory. If Spain had won, the payout would have been $1,085,943.48, a profit of just under $86,000 — small compared to the huge bet.
Instead, this fan now has to face losing an amount that most people can only dream of having.
But while some lose big, others win big, and that was true for this match too. Another bettor put $400,000 on Spain not to win, meaning a draw or loss would win them money. Thanks to Cape Verde’s strong defense, this punter cashed out an impressive $4,702,769.23 (around £3.5 million).
After Spain’s tough start to the 2026 World Cup, much talk will focus on the worrying records set during the game and what this means for their chances in the tournament. However, fans shouldn’t be too down — history shows that not winning the opening match can sometimes be a good sign. The last time Spain failed to score in their first World Cup game was in 2010 when they lost 1-0 to Switzerland. And of course, Spain went on to win the whole tournament that year, beating the Netherlands 1-0 after extra time.