For years now, game developer EA Sports has been predicting the winners of the World Cup through their football simulation game FIFA. And they have been mostly correct: they’ve predicted the last three champions of the World Cup correctly, all the way back to 2010.
This year, EA Sports used FIFA 23 to do the same. FIFA 23 has predicted the final match to be between Brazil and Argentina, with Argentina taking the victory. However, in the real world, Argentina had a rocky start to this World Cup season, raising questions about the accuracy of this prediction.
Right off the bat, Argentina had a rough start. They lost in their first group stage match to Saudi Arabia, shocking many. Luckily for them, they were able to pull a victory against Mexico thanks to their favourite football son Lionel Messi.
FIFA 23’s prediction is that Messi will score the final goal, securing La Albiceleste’s win. It also predicted that he will win the golden boot and the golden ball in this final outing, awarded to the leading goalscorer and best player at the World Cup respectively. Going out as a champion with these awards would certainly be a powerful exit worthy of one of the world’s most famous football stars. This would be especially noteworthy since Argentina has not won a World Cup since 1986.
So far, it looks like their predictions are on track. Argentina beat Australia 2-1 in the first knockout round to secure a quarter final showdown against the Netherlands. Brazil will take on South Korea and they look likely to win too.
Then again, FIFA isn’t perfect. While they have accurately predicted the last three winners, the actual final scores and even the finalists in the winning matches did not align with predictions.
All we can say is, this World Cup is bound to be a wild ride. Let’s wait and see if Argentina (and Messi) can help EA Sports keep its streak.
