Dutch economist and football forecaster Joachim Klement made the headlines recently for his predictions for the on-going FIFA World Cup 2026 across the United States of America, Canada and Mexico. Klement used complex economic models to determine the outcomes of a few matches in the Round of 32 as well as the final.
Joachim Klement’s predictive model was not taken lightly by anyone, given the fact that his predictions about the World Cup winners have proved to be true for 3 consecutive editions, starting with Germany in 2014, France in 2018, and Argentina in 2022.
For the 2026 edition, his model was confident about Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands winning the quadrennial trophy for the very first time in the history. Other than predicting the champions, Klement’s system also had its say on a number of major upsets in the knockout rounds.
One of the most interesting one was the Round of 32 fixture between Japan and Brazil. His model had predicted that the Blue Samurai would turn out victorious against the 5-time world champions and that Carlo Ancelotti’s men would be knocked out of the competition much earlier than expected.
The Dutchman also calculated that Germany would easily sail into the tournament’s last 16 and for a fact, most of us believed, not only because of his past correctness but also for the unpredictable nature of the FIFA World Cup. However, the reality was absolutely different this time around with all of Joachim Klement’s calculations proving wrong.
The Netherlands, who opened the first-ever 48 team edition strongly by topping their group, crashed out of the tournament abruptly from the Round of 32. The Oranje struggled in their last 32 fixture against Morocco who advanced to the last 16 for the 2nd time in a row through a tense penalty shootout where the Dutch unit missed three of their kicks to hand the African champions a 3-2 win on penalties.
This shocking exit ended Klement’s 12-year streak of perfect World Cup predictions. A night before, Brazil squeezed past Japan with a narrow 2-1 victory with Gabriel Martinelli saving the day for La Selecao with a late injury time goal in the 2nd half.
To make matters even more worse for Klement’s model, Germany also exited the tournament after a shocking defeat against Paraguay on penalties. All three of the Dutch economist’s predictions failed in the same week.
He later published a confession on his investment blog, admitting that his luck has finally run out, though he noted his original goal was ironically to prove that economic models are unreliable.
Following Brazil’s survival, Neymar Jr mocked the economist on social media, posting a message on X that told Klement to try again in the next World Cup edition in 2030. “Mr Joachim Klement … Please try again in the next World Cup,” Neymar wrote.
How to watch and stream FIFA World Cup 2026 in India?
Multiple group-stage matches that will take place simultaneously will be aired across Zee5 app and website. Live telecast of the FIFA World Cup 2026 will also be available on the Unite8 Sports 1, Unite8 Sports 1 HD, Unite8 Sports 2, and Unite8 Sports 2 HD TV channels in India.
