On November 10, EA Sports posted about a recurring pastime in the FIFA series. The actual event ended this past Sunday with Argentina vs. France, a final that will go down as one of the greatest games of all time. After extra time, the score was 3-3, with Argentina ultimately winning after a penalty shootout.

Well: FIFA 23 is right. They predicted that the eventual winner of this World Cup would be Argentina, although, of course, not all the results of the tournament. Furthermore, they predicted that Lionel Messi would be the leading scorer of the championship with eight goals (Messi scored seven goals in the tournament). He even correctly predicted that Argentina's Emiliano Martinez would win the Golden Glove as the tournament's best keeper.

Not all were correct: FIFA 23 thought that Messi would win the Golden Boot for his huge performance, but in fact it went to French sensation Kylian Mbappe, who scored eight goals (including a hat-trick in the final). FIFA 23 also thought Argentina would beat Brazil 1-0 in the final and France would finish third.

Yes, this is all just goofing around, exactly the same as asking an octopus to pick a winner. Although, if you ask me, the best predictor animal for the World Cup is this insanely cute otter.

One striking thing, however, is that EA Sports can legitimately claim that this is no coincidence: the World Cup version of FIFA 23 may not have played out exactly the same way as the actual World Cup, but the FIFA video game did predict the World Cup winner Incredibly, this is the fourth time it has correctly predicted the winner: Spain in 2010, Germany in 2014, and France in 2018; EA got Spain right in 2010, Germany in 2014, and France in 2018.

Sheep's fur jacket lovers may be disappointed to learn that Sports Interactive didn't do a comparable simulation in their own Football Manager; it appears that FIFA has retained bragging rights for now, and the game is now available on the EA website.

But even if EA Sports gets it right again in 2026, this will be the last bow for the game called FIFA. Following the collapse of its long-term contract with FIFA, the world governing body, EA will rebrand the series as EA Sports FC starting next year. This is a risk, but given FIFA's legacy and quality, it will work out well for the publisher; FIFA has been looking for a new partner, and so far, it has not worked out embarrassingly well.