“How the H*** Did THAT Happen?!?!” - Rich on Spain’s Stunning World Cup Tie vs Cape Verde

Spain drew Cape Verde 0-0 in the World Cup, and Rich's reaction was equal parts disbelief and inspiration. "How the hell did that happen?" he asked, before deciding the upset proved something about his own tennis game.

The setup was Rich and the crew trying to process a result that didn't compute. The show admitted to Googling Cape Verde just to confirm it existed, learning it's an archipelagic country of 10 volcanic islands off the coast of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, with a combined land area of about 1,500 square miles. The math made the tie even harder to believe. Spain is 125 times larger than Cape Verde. Spain has 48 million people. Cape Verde has a half a million.

On the field, the gap was just as wide. Spain is the second-ranked football club in the world. Cape Verde sits 67th. The crew floated the obvious comparison: "Is this like the UMBC of the World Cup here?"

How did the underdog pull it off? "They apparently they're playing a real compact style, so it was just all defense," the show explained. Spain pressed, knocking on the door late and rattling a shot off the crossbar, but the scoreboard never moved. "0-0. This is absolutely stunning."

The standings told the rest of the story. One game into pool play, Spain has zero goal differential and as many points as Cape Verde, with two games still left to play.

Then Rich found the real lesson. "If this happened in the United States, people would be freaking out," he said, imagining the Spanish version of First Take the next morning. From there it turned personal. "It is inspiring not just to the rest of those around the globe," Rich said. "It's inspiring for anybody that wants to beat a Spaniard like me."

The Spaniard in question: Carlos Alcaraz. "If Cape Verde can draw Spain, I can get a point off of Alcaraz," Rich declared, building toward his thesis that "the entire Spanish sports scene is vulnerable." Reminded that Alcaraz is injured, Rich didn't flinch. "That's exactly when I want to play him. Is he ducking me?"

The crew tried to call it a bit. Rich refused. "It's not a bit. It's not a lie." If Cape Verde can tie Spain in a World Cup, Rich is taking his point off Alcaraz.