EA Sports FC simulations correctly predicted the FIFA World Cup winner would be Spain, and it’s not the first time it has happened
EA Sports FC has correctly predicted the FIFA World Cup winner for the fifth consecutive tournament, after Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in the 2026 final. The publisher announced its prediction on June 6, before the tournament began, and the simulation accurately forecasted Spain’s victory through all group stage and knockout round matches.
This marks an unprecedented streak of accuracy spanning 16 years. EA’s predictions have been correct since 2010, when it first predicted Spain would win the World Cup. The publisher subsequently predicted Germany’s victory in 2014, France’s in 2018, Argentina’s in 2022, and now Spain’s second World Cup title in 2026. EA’s success demonstrates the sophistication of its simulation algorithms, which model complex tournament dynamics and team performance variables.
Notably, EA’s predictive accuracy has continued even after losing the official FIFA license. Despite this licensing change, the company’s annual soccer game series maintains its track record of accurately forecasting tournament outcomes. EA’s simulation runs through every match in both group stages and knockout rounds to generate its predictions, providing a comprehensive computational approach to tournament forecasting.