Polymarket Bettor Loses $1 Million as Cape Verde Stuns Spain

A Polymarket user bet $1 million that Spain would win against Cape Verde. However, the underdogs held the favorites to a 0-0 draw, leaving the bettor with a seven-figure loss. Spain, ranked No. 2 by FIFA, was heavily favored to win, with Polymarket trading showing a 92% chance of victory. Cape Verde, ranked 67th in the world by FIFA, grabbed a point in the Group D standings, which also includes Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.

Spain controlled much of the action, outshooting Cape Verde 23-6 and controlling the ball for 74% of the time. However, the Spanish couldn’t put the ball into the net. Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha was the star of the match with eight saves. “He was overwhelmed with emotion,” Cape Verde manager Bubista told ESPN. “He is quite an experienced player and has struggled throughout all of these years to be here at this world stage. It was also a cry of resilience.”

While one Polymarket bettor lost big on the results of the match, another cashed in. A trader with the name fishalive bet $400,000 that Spain wouldn’t win and collected $4.7 million for the draw. The World Cup is being played in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada and is expected to produce a record $2.9 billion in betting in the U.S. By comparison, the Super Bowl brought in a betting total of $1.76 billion, according to the American Gaming Association, and March Madness produced $3.3 billion.