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.
Klement’s statistical model factors in a wide range of variables, including GDP per capita, population size, the cultural importance of football in a country, FIFA world rankings, and a randomness component he says is essential to reflect the sport’s unpredictability.
Using the model, he predicts the Netherlands will defeat Spain in the semi-finals before beating Portugal in the final. In the other semi-final, he expects Portugal to overcome England.
Despite his track record, Klement is cautious about how seriously his forecasts should be taken.
“It’s completely irrational,” he said. “It’s like playing the lottery. I always say that if anyone places a bet based on my prediction of who will be the next world champion, they’re beyond help.
“It’s like tossing a coin. You might predict that the coin will land on heads four times in a row rather than tails, and that might well happen. But that doesn’t guarantee it will happen again next time.”
The Netherlands remain one of football’s strongest national teams never to have won a World Cup, despite reaching three finals in their history.
Ronald Koeman’s side will begin their 2026 campaign against Japan on June 14, with Sweden and Tunisia completing their Group F fixtures.
