Topline
An online sports bettor who wagered $300,000 that Portugal wouldn’t win its World Cup match against heavy underdog Democratic Republic of the Congo profited nearly $1 million when the African team managed a surprising tie Wednesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal reacts during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group K match between Portugal and Congo on June 17, 2026.
FIFA via Getty Images
Key Facts
Prediction market site Polymarket reported shortly before the game started in Houston that someone with the username “BreakTheBank” bet just under $300,000 that Portugal wouldn’t win the game.
Odds of winning the bet were listed at 23% at the time but paid off when the score was 1-1 at the final whistle.
The bet returned $1,249,918.80, for a profit of more than $957,000.
Portugal, one of the pre-tournament favorites and the No. 5 team in the FIFA rankings, raced into an early lead but the No. 46 Congolese team fought its way back with a Yoane Wissa goal just before halftime.
Sports writers have called Congo’s performance “highly competitive” and pointed to a lack-luster match for Portugal’s star, Cristiano Ronaldo, who contributed no shots on goal and created no chances in the game.
SURPRISING FACT
Wissa’s goal was the first ever scored in the World Cup by the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The country has played only three other World Cup matches—in the 1974 tournament—and lost to Yugoslavia 9-0, Scotland 2-0 and Brazil 3-0.
CONTRA
Another Polymarket bettor lost just under $1 million after betting $986,388 that Portugal and Congo would score more than a combined 2.5 goals in the match. The bet, which was listed with a 55% chance of winning, would have paid out $1.78 million.
BIG NUMBER
$4.4 billion. That’s how much research firm Eilers & Krejcik Gaming estimates will be wagered in the U.S. alone on the World Cup, the first tournament taking place when a clear majority of the U.S. population has legal access to sports betting. Dan Singer, head of McKinsey & Company’s Sports and Gaming practice, told the New York Times the amount of money being bet could reach the level of “eight to 10 Super Bowls.”
FORBES VALUATION
Forbes ranks Ronaldo, among the world’s most famous athletes, as the highest-paid athlete globally. We estimated in May he made $300 million over the past 12 months and, in 2020, became the first active team-sport athlete to surpass $1 billion in career earnings.