Cape Verde achieved the biggest shock in World Cup history by holding off reigning European champions Spain in the first match despite suffering a huge loss for one punter.
Cape Verde score a memorable draw with Spain in the World Cup (Image: Getty Images)
One unlucky World Cup participant saw $1 million go to waste as Cape Verde suffered a shock draw with Spain. The small African nation pulled off one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history, drawing 0-0 with the reigning European champions in their first match of the tournament on Monday night.
Luis de la Fuente’s side had the upper hand for most of the match, but a combination of poor finishing and an inspired performance from Cape Verde goalkeeper Vosinha meant the game reached the end of the game.
One fan was so sure Spain would score a resounding victory that he was willing to bet $1 million (£745,405) that that was exactly what would happen. The bet would have netted a profit of £85,943.48.
Unfortunately for them, the result was that their bet ended up losing. But there was good news for another user who bet $400,000 (£298,000) on Spain without winning. The bet ultimately netted him a dizzying £3.5 million.
Both bets were made on a controversial platform, Polymarket, a US cryptocurrency-based website. The platform can count Donald Trump Jr., the son of the US president, as an advisor and investor. It is already banned in Brazil and France.
“We lacked freshness and finesse,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said after the draw against Cape Verde. “We need to improve our approach, improve our finishing and continue to be more clinical. In matches like this you get a lot of chances, but we lacked the sharpness we needed.
“They are a very organized team. From the first moment you could see all 10 players sitting deep, almost in front of the penalty area. It’s very difficult to create spaces like that. At times we lacked a bit of ball movement to keep the opponent off balance. When you don’t want the ball to go in, you don’t want the ball to go in either.”
“We had shots, we had chances and we wanted to end the game quickly. We have to keep going. We knew this was going to be a very difficult one. It’s a very difficult game to win.”
An exciting performance from Cape Verde goalkeeper Vosinha helped the Cape Verde national team secure a draw with Spain (Image: Getty Images)
Manchester City midfielder Rodri unleashed a relentless attack on Cape Verde, slamming their approach to the game. He said: “That wasn’t my intention. I can’t complain. I knew it was a game that required patience.”
“They moved back and quickly retreated. We couldn’t convert it. We created chances but couldn’t convert them. The good thing was they couldn’t create much against us. We need to improve our finishing.”
Asked why the team failed to find a breakthrough, he added: “That’s the way they are. They can’t get past the midfield. It’s a matter of improving our finishing.”
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