With the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup only 10 days away, football fever is well and truly on. Flexes and banners have come up around the world, and fan battles are heating up both on social media and otherwise.
Predictions, too, have started coming in. One that has caught everyone's attention is by EA Sports, which develops FIFA video games, using simmed matches on FIFA 23.
EA Sports has simulated all 64 matches of Qatar 2022 and predicted that Argentina will win this year's World Cup. What makes the prediction interesting is that it had correctly predicted the winers in the last three editions – 2010 (Spain), 2014 (Germany) and 2018 (France) – using the same method.
According to the simulator, tournament favourites Brazil, Argentina, France, and Germany all qualify for the Round of 16 as group winners.
In the round of 16, Argentina beat Denmark to progress to the quarterfinal, where they edge the Netherlands 1-0, thanks to a goal by Lionel Messi.
France, Portugal and Brazil, too, make the semifinals.
In the first semifinal, the La Albiceleste manage to beat defending champions France 1-0 win.
The second semifinal - between Brazil and Portugal – goes into penalties, where the Selecao prevail, to set up a final date between two of football’s greatest rivals. It will be their first meeting in a FIFA World Cup since 1990, and the first time ever in a final.
In a repeat of the Copa America final last year, Argentina edge out its arch-rival 1-0. Messi, who scores the winner in the final, gets the Golden Boot for his eight goals.
It might sound like a fairytale finish for the Argentine legend, and his fans will be hoping that EA Sports get it right the fourth time, too.
