The Netherlands' elimination from the 2026 FIFA World Cup has brought an end to the remarkable prediction streak of German mathematician Joachim Klement, İdman.Biz reports.
The Dutch were knocked out in the round of 32 after losing to Morocco on penalties. The match in Guadalupe, Mexico, finished 1-1 after extra time before Morocco secured a 3-2 victory in the shootout to advance to the round of 16.
Before the tournament, Klement had predicted that the Netherlands would become world champions based on his statistical model. However, the Dutch exit means his forecast can no longer come true.
Klement had earned worldwide attention by correctly predicting the winners of the previous three World Cups. His model identified Germany as champions in 2014, France in 2018 and Argentina in 2022, making his forecasts one of the most closely followed ahead of the 2026 tournament.
In interviews explaining his methodology, Klement said his model combines a range of statistical factors to estimate each team's chances of winning the World Cup. While it proved highly accurate over the past three editions, the 2026 tournament has finally broken its perfect record.
