German mathematician Joachim Clement, known for his accurate World Cup predictions, has seen his forecast for the 2026 tournament fail for the first time. Clement had predicted the Netherlands would win the World Cup.
The Netherlands were eliminated in the 1/16 finals after losing to Morocco 3-2 in a penalty shootout, following a 1-1 draw. Clement had previously correctly predicted the winners of the 2014 (Germany), 2018 (France), and 2022 (Argentina) World Cups.
He uses a "reconstructive analysis" method, considering national prosperity, football popularity, and luck. Clement had described the Netherlands as "the strongest football team that has never won the World Cup."