EA Sports FC predicted the World Cup winner — and nailed it for the fifth time in a row

Football sim EA Sports FC has turned into a crystal ball again: even before the 2026 World Cup kicked off, the game ran the entire tournament through its in-game stats and named the future champion in advance. Last Sunday, the prediction came true down to the last detail — Spain lifted the trophy. And this is already the fifth correct call in a row, so it's less about luck at this point and more about some kind of supernatural intuition.

The final near New York was tense and grinding. Spain pressed for the entire match, but only managed to break through Argentina's defense in extra time: in the 106th minute, substitute Ferran Torres poked the ball into the net from close range, sealing a 1-0 win for his team. It's Spain's second World Cup title in history — the first came in 2010, which EA, incidentally, also called correctly.

The publisher shared its prediction back at the start of last month, right as fans were just starting to place their bets, and took the opportunity to remind everyone of its past hits. Before this, the game had correctly called four World Cup winners in a row: Spain in 2010, Germany in 2014, France in 2018, and Argentina in 2022. Now the 2026 tournament joins that list — five for five.

The mechanics behind it are simpler than they sound: the game pulls real player attributes from its database and simulates the entire run from the group stage to the final. In Spain's case, the game bet on the trio of Rodri, Pedri, and young Lamine Yamal under coach Luis de la Fuente. Skeptics will point out that all five "predicted" teams were already the top favorites going in, and picking the champion by betting on a top team isn't exactly rocket science. Still, five accurate calls in a tournament where a single controversial penalty or red card can decide everything is impressive regardless.

EA Sports FC 26 itself launched on September 26, 2025, on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, and remains the top football sim on the market. So if the game keeps up this pace, by the next World Cup its prediction might as well go straight to the bookmakers.

Do you think it's the strength of the simulation, or has EA just picked the obvious favorite five times in a row? Tell us in the comments who you'd crown champion of the 2030 World Cup, share your impressions of the tournament, and let us know who you were rooting for.