Man Loses $1M on a World Cup “Sure Thing”
Scott Morris | June 18, 2026
Spain is a soccer heavyweight. They were co-favored to win the World Cup at SportsBetting.ag at the start of play.
Cape Verde is a 50 year old island nation off the coast of Africa. It is known for its beautiful beaches and mountains. It is also known as one of the steadiest economies in Africa. It has just over half a million residents.
Coming into this game, Spain were -1500 favorites to win. Cape Verde was getting +3500 and the Draw was +1000.
A sports bettor placed a $1M bet on Spain to win this game to win $86,000 at Polymarket. Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalie named Josimar José Évora Dias made seven saves to force the Draw, stunning fans and bettors alike.
This is why I hate betting soccer. The third option on the side is annoying. This is also why I am not a huge fan of watching the sport. Any game where you plop down 2-3 hours of your time to watch and it could easily end with a 0-0 tie is a tremendous waste of time. There should be a “sudden-death” round to decide to winner like there is in so many other sports.
We don’t know who the $1M loser is but if he has $1M to throw down on this game then he most likely has millions more in the bank. So, he isn’t going to starve. But I guarantee you that loss hurt. He probably guzzled a bottle of Dom P. to get to sleep that night.
Anyway, Spain is now #2 on the board to win it all at +600 odds (behind France at +400). Cape Verde is still near the very bottom at +200,000.
World Cup Futures as of June 18, 2026
odds by BetOnline.ag
France +400
Spain +600
England +600
Argentine +850
Portugal +1050
Brazil +1300
Germany +1500
Netherlands +2200
Norway +3300
Colombia +4500
Morocco +4500
USA +4500
Belgium +5000
Japan +5500
Mexico +6000
Switzerland +10000
