Friday, June 4, 2010
by Mike Smith
According to most experts, the result this year's FIFA World Cup will likely come down to a toss-up between closely matched favorites Spain and Brazil.
But ask EA's best-selling 2010 FIFA World Cup, and you'll get a more precise answer: the rivals will meet in a nailbiting final game that sees Brazil take a 30th minute 1-0 lead -- only to be beaten by their European adversaries 3-1.
According to the simulation, "Brazil put on a dazzling display of free-flowing samba style soccer early on against the Spaniards," said EA, "taking a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute with a Felipe Melo strike from just inside the box."
"It didn't take long for Spain to level the score after a goalie error that left striker David Villa in the clear. He tapped in his 6th goal of the tournament in the 42nd minute. The second half saw fortunes turn in favour of Spain, as their disciplined build up play and domination of possession paid off with a goal in the 61st minute when Villa connected for his second goal of the match, off of Andres Iniesta's driven cross. "
The coup de grace -- "a splendid counter attack goal from Cesc Fabregas" -- will come in the 88th minute. According to the game, of course.
England will take the third place trophy, EA predicts, after losing to Brazil in the semi-final on penalties and beating Argentina 2-1 in the third-place game. That'd be England's best World Cup result snce winning the tournament in 1966.
As for the USA, expect a second-place finish in Group C, and a dramatic exit in the Round of 16 at the hands of Germany, again on penalties. You can see the predicted results of every single game right here.
EA's sports games have a pretty credible record of calling major sporting events: earlier this year, Madden NFL correctly predicted the surprise outcome of this year's Super Bowl, making it the sixth time in the last seven years the game has got it right.
Will FIFA's predictions be on the money? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Via Shacknews.
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