Cape Verde's Shocking Tie With Spain Cost Polymarket Bettor $1 Million

BreakingBusinessCape Verde's Shocking Tie With Spain Cost Polymarket Bettor $1 MillionByMary Whitfill Roeloffs,Forbes Staff. Mary Roeloffs is a Forbes breaking news reporter covering pop culture.Follow AuthorJun 15, 2026, 03:58pm EDTToplineAn online sports bettor who wagered $1 million that Spain would beat Cape Verde in the island nation's first-ever World Cup match—a bet with 92% odds when it was placed—is out the massive sum after Cape Verde managed a shocking draw Monday. Steven Moreira #22 of Cabo Verde reacts after the 0-0 draw against Spani on June 15, 2026 in Atlanta.FIFA via Getty ImagesKey FactsPrediction market site Polymarket reported shortly before the game started in Atlanta that someone put more than $999,000 on Spain to win the match. Spain, one of the World Cup favorites, was far and away the predicted winner of the game against No. 67-ranked Cape Verde and, if Spain had managed to come out on top, the Polymarket bettor would have pocketed $85,943.48. But the Cape Verdeans fought their way to an improbable 0-0 draw against the No. 2 team in the FIFA rankings in by far the most shocking result of the World Cup so far. if (!window.cnxel) { window.cnxel = {}; window.cnxel.cmd = []; var iframe = document.createElement('iframe'); iframe.style.display = 'none'; iframe.onload = function() { var iframeDoc = iframe.contentWindow.document; var script = iframeDoc.createElement('script'); script.src = '//cd.elements.video/player.js?cid=62cec241-7d09-4462-afc2-f72f8d8ef40a'; script.setAttribute('defer', '1'); script.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript'); iframeDoc.body.appendChild(script); }; document.head.appendChild(iframe); const preloadResourcesEndpoint = 'https://cds.elements.video/a/preload-resources-ovp.json'; fetch(preloadResourcesEndpoint, { priority: 'low' }) .then(response => { if (!response.ok) { throw new Error('Network response was not ok', preloadResourcesEndpoint); } return response.json(); }) .then(data => { const cssUrl = data.css;...