Football once again proved that it does not respect favorites.
According to a Bloomberg report, a bettor on the Polymarket platform suffered an astronomical loss of nearly $1 million after the historic draw between Cape Verde and Spain this Monday (15), one of the most unlikely results in recent World Cup history.
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The man responsible for the bettor’s “nightmare” was Vozinha, the experienced 40-year-old goalkeeper and the standout star of this early stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
With a masterful performance that left him in tears at the final whistle, the veteran made seven crucial saves, shutting down Spain’s powerful attack and frustrating those who expected an easy win for the reigning European champion.
The scale of the upset 🦓
The million-dollar bet was placed on a Spain victory, a result that analysts and probability models (such as Goldman Sachs’, which gave Spain a 26% chance of winning the title) considered almost certain.
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On the other side, the picture was the opposite: Cape Verde, making its debut in this World Cup, has no internationally renowned players at major clubs.
The technical gap between the two national teams was enormous, making the draw one of the biggest shocks of this 2026 World Cup.
Curiously, the star of the match, Vozinha, is going through a moment of uncertainty in his career.
The goalkeeper ended his contract with Chaves, in Portugal, at the beginning of this month and is currently without a club.
After this heroic display on the global stage, it is to be expected that the veteran’s phone will start ringing soon, transforming his professional situation after what he himself described as the moment he had worked for “his entire life.”
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
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