The $1m World Cup fail that proves this game makes fools of us all: Day five recap – The Athletic
The Athletic has live coverage of Iraq vs. Norway and Argentina vs Algeria in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The World Cup saw one of its biggest-ever surprises when Cape Verde, playing its first game at the tournament, held Spain — European champions and many people’s favorites to win this summer — to a 0-0 draw.
The first round of games in Group G ended with all four teams on one point, as another shock was avoided by a late goal from Maxi Araujo, as Uruguay came from behind to salvage a draw against Saudi Arabia.
Romelu Lukaku made an immediate impact by forcing an equaliser for Belgium, after it had spent much of the game in Seattle trailing to Egypt, while the other game in that group saw Iran come from behind twice to earn a draw with New Zealand.
The Athletic will provide daily recaps of the World Cup’s biggest talking points throughout the tournament. This is what happened on Matchday 5…
Matchday 5 results:
Group H: Spain 0-0 Cape Verde
Group G: Belgium 1-1 Egypt
Group H: Saudi Arabia 1-1 Uruguay
Group G: Iran 2-2 New Zealand
This game makes fools of us all. Is that why we love it?
The mystery Polymarket speculator probably thought they were helping themselves to a free $85,000 when they put $1million on Spain to beat Cape Verde in Atlanta.
Because the result was inevitable, right? There was no possible way that tiny Cape Verde, ranked 64 in the world and playing at their first World Cup, was going to do anything but roll over for Spain. It’s nice that it’s here, and we all enjoyed the joyous scenes when it qualified, but Cape Verde were definitely going to lose to Spain.
Not so much.
It was a magnificent performance from the African minnows, the third-smallest nation to appear at a World Cup with a population of not much more than 500,000, combining mental fortitude, a good tactical plan and a steadfast refusal to panic in the face of Spanish attack after attack.
After the game, coach Bubista tried not to single anyone out for praise, but the consensus hero was 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, who burst into tears at the end of the game: he explained that his emotions stemmed from the fact that his grandparents, who essentially raised him, had passed away before they saw his crowning achievement, and his mother couldn’t travel to the United States because of the onerous cost of a visa from Cape Verde.
But even with a magnificent performance from an inspired goalkeeper, there’s no way that this result should have happened, even with Luis de la Fuente’s decision to leave Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams on the bench. Both eventually came on, but it did no good.
It’s been said plenty of times that even with everything unpleasant that has surrounded this World Cup, the games will never let us down. And they haven’t, because you never know what trick is going to be pulled next. Pretty much anything is possible in this game, and it will make fools of us all.
There is a slightly masochistic streak in any fan, because we know that we love a game that has the power to make us look utterly ridiculous. Perhaps not $1million ridiculous for most of us, but ridiculous all the same. And in the end, that’s why we love it.
What’s the problem with the South American teams?
In the end, Uruguay was a little unlucky not to beat Saudi Arabia.
It was pressing for a winner until the last, and nearly got it a few times. Uruguay was the better team, but still didn’t get the victory. And that’s been a theme of the tournament, for the South American teams.
Brazil drew with Morocco and was generally a little underwhelming; Ecuador’s famously strong defence was eventually breached by Amad as it lost to Ivory Coast; and Paraguay was taken to the cleaners by the USA, thoroughly outclassed by Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun and everyone else.
Not only have the four sides not won a game yet between them, but they haven’t held the lead yet: this represents their worst collective start to a World Cup since 1974.
Messi’s World Cup campaign begins Tuesday (Juan Mabromata/AFP via Getty Images)
What does this mean? What has gone wrong for the South American sides? Have they fallen behind the rest of the world? Is this an equalising of quality throughout the world?
Well, perhaps we can’t start to answer those questions until all six South American sides have played, and maybe not until the end of the group stage.
And especially not until Lionel Messi and Argentina have made their bow: they face Algeria today, and it will be the biggest surprise of the lot if they don’t manage a win in that. And if Colombia don’t beat Uzbekistan on Wednesday… then it really will start to look like a pattern at this World Cup.
Iran shouldn’t stand a chance at this World Cup, yet it still persists
One slightly underreported element of how Iran have prepared — or rather, have been forced to prepare — for this World Cup is that the country’s domestic league, the Persian Gulf Pro League, was effectively suspended in February because of the war.
That means 17 members of its squad, and six of those who started their opening game against New Zealand, have not played any competitive games for four months. While there’s always a debate about whether a gap in a player’s schedule means they are well-rested or have lost match sharpness, everyone can probably agree that four months is too long to go without any meaningful action.
And of how Iran’s preparation for this World Cup has been disrupted, this is definitely among the more minor.
From the basic stress of playing in a country with whom their own is at war, to being forced to move their training base to Mexico, to a number of their backroom staff being denied visas and a whole range of other elements that can only have been detrimental to how they have approached this tournament, Iran has surely been the most distracted team at this tournament.
From a purely playing perspective, it simply isn’t fair. These are players who have worked hard and earned their place here, some of whom will only play at one World Cup, and they have been put at a colossal disadvantage.
It’s impossible for the players to have a normal World Cup, to approach the tournament on anything close to equal terms to their opponents. “It’s a bad situation, and we’re just tired,” said captain Mehdi Taremi after the draw with New Zealand. “Actually everything is a disaster for us.”
Which makes their performance all the more remarkable. On paper, this was the team ranked 23rd in the world only managing a draw against the side in 82nd: not something to necessarily be celebrated or praised.
But Iran came from behind twice and, for the most part, played pretty well, gaining a point which could prove crucial in securing its place in the knockout rounds for the first time.
These guys shouldn’t stand a chance. Circumstances have put them at every possible disadvantage. And yet they’re still there, still fighting, still getting a result. In the context of everything else, this was one of the World Cup’s most remarkable performances.
Mohammad Mohebbi celebrates with team-mates after scoring Iran’s second goal against New Zealand (Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
What to know about Tuesday’s games
France make its first appearance at this World Cup, having reached the final of the last two, and they face a familiar opponent who may well bring back some bad memories. It was Senegal that shocked then defending champions France in 2002 and set in train its dreadful campaign, knocked out in the group stages.
Norway, with Erling Haaland, make its first appearance at a World Cup since 1998, and it will be interesting to see how it lives up to their status as many people’s dark horses when they face Iraq, itself ending a long dry spell, having not reached this stage since 1986.
Can Erling Haaland get Norway through to the knockouts? (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Then Argentina start their defence, Messi and pals opening up against Algeria. Four years ago, France broke the run of reigning champions crashing out in the first round, but it will be interesting to see how an Argentina side that isn’t massively different to the one that succeeded in Qatar fare four years on.
And finally, the third of the first-timers arrive, with Jordan playing Austria in Santa Clara: it’s been mixed fortunes for the debutants, with Curacao going down 7-1 to Germany while Cape Verde achieved what it did against Spain.
Matchday 6 fixtures
Group I: France vs Senegal, 3pm ET (8pm BST)
Group I: Iraq vs Norway, 6pm ET (11pm BST)
Group J: Argentina vs Algeria, 9pm ET (2am BST)
Group J: Austria vs Jordan, 12am ET (5am BST)
