EA Sports FC Nails Its Fifth World Cup Prediction in a Row
The World Cup wrapped up with a long, tense final between Argentina and Spain. Spain edged it with a goal in extra time, giving the country its second title.
Plenty of people made bold calls before the tournament. Streamers, pundits, even a few superstitious fans with lucky shirts. But the pick that actually landed came from a football game.
Five tournaments, five correct picks
EA Sports FC has been posting its World Cup winner on X for years now, and the run is getting hard to ignore:
- 2010: Spain
- 2014: Germany
- 2018: France
- 2022: Argentina
- 2026: Spain
Every single one was right.
Two days before this year's tournament kicked off, the account posted that it had four correct calls already and had run the simulation again. The answer was a Spanish flag. A month later, the Spanish squad was holding the trophy in the air.
How the pick is made
This is not someone in the social media team throwing a dart at a map. The developers actually run the whole tournament inside the game.
The simulation uses current player ratings and stats, the real bracket, and the fixtures each team would face along the way.
The game plays out every match and spits out a champion at the end. Same engine millions of players use at home, just pointed at a real question.
Given the results, it is doing something right.
Worth checking in 2030
A streak like this could snap at any moment. Football is messy, injuries happen, and one bad afternoon can end a favourite's run.
Five in a row might just be a very good coin flip. To be fair, it should be impossible.
Still, when the next World Cup rolls around, it costs nothing to check what EA posts. If your country shows up on that screen, you might want to clear some space on the shelf. Then, you can go up to your friends and throw that prediction, if it hits, you're the new alpha. Haha.
