Punter loses eye-watering bet as Spain draw with Cape Verde in World Cup opener

One football fan has lost a devastating amount of money after Spain's shock 0-0 draw with Cape Verde.

When the Euro 2024 champions face a nation competing in their first-ever World Cup, a routine win was all but certain.

At least, that's what everybody expected ahead of Spain facing Cape Verde in their 2026 World Cup opener at the Atlanta Stadium.

However, the small African nation were not to be underestimated, as they held the European giants to a 0-0 draw to secure a point in their outing at a World Cup.

In doing so, they no doubt ended countless numbers of bets and accumulators counting on Spain to get their World Cup campaign off to a flying start.

And there's one fan in particular that will be feeling this pain more than anybody else as it's been revealed that they lost an eye-watering SEVEN figures betting on the fixture.

Ahead of the match kicking off, Polymarket revealed on social media that one punter had put $1million ( ~£744,500) on Spain to win their match against Cape Verde.

Had it been successful, the bet would have paid out $1,085,943.48, representing a profit of $85,943.48, a comparatively small amount when considering the massive stake.

Instead, the fan will have to come to terms with the fact that they have lost a sum of money that many punters can only dream of winning.

READ MORE: Spain star makes history with unwanted World Cup record that may never be broken

However, with every punter that loses a stunning amount of money, there's another winning just as much, and that was exactly the case following Spain v Cape Verde.

Also on Polymarket, one fan put $400,000 on Spain not to win vs Cape Verde, meaning a loss or a draw would be enough to cash in.

And after what would have no doubt been a nervy 90 minutes, the punter cashed out $4,702,769.23 (£3,503,821.73) thanks to the African side's impressive defensive performance.

Spain tipped to win the World Cup despite 0-0 draw with Cape Verde

Following the disappointing start to their 2026 World Cup campaign, much of the discussion around Spain will be around the concerning records set during the match and what the performance could mean for their hopes of winning the tournament.

However, when consulting the history books, fans of the Spanish national will be encouraged to know that failing to win their first match could actually be a promising sign.

That's because the last time that Spain didn't score in their World Cup opening match was back in 2010, when they were beaten 1-0 by Switzerland.

Of course, Spain went on to lift the trophy at the 2010 World Cup, beating The Netherlands 1-0 after extra time.