June 11, 2026
German mathematician Joachim Klement has forecast that the Netherlands will emerge as champions of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, continuing his unusual record of accurately predicting past tournament winners.
Klement previously predicted Germany’s triumph in 2014, France’s victory in 2018 and Argentina’s success in 2022, making his model one of the most closely watched — and debated — in football analytics.
He has previously admitted that his original aim was to prove that such predictions were unreliable, especially given the unpredictable nature of international football.
“The first time I was horrified when Germany became world champions in Brazil, also because all the experts had pointed out that no European team had ever won a World Cup in South America,” he said.
