England will win the 2022 World Cup in Qatar by beating Spain on penalties, according to Football Manager 2023, the popular soccer management simulation game and soccer’s answer to a ready-made supercomputer.
Gareth Southgate’s side has been tipped to finish top of Group B ahead of the USA before going on to defeat the Netherlands, reigning world champions France, and pre-tournament favorites Brazil to reach the final.
However, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are set to crash out in the group stages with the game predicting that Argentina and Portugal will both suffer early exits from the World Cup.
That will leave Harry Kane to claim the Golden Ball award as the tournament’s outstanding player, with Kylian Mbappe topping the charts for goals scored to take the Golden Boot trophy with eight goals in five games.
He scored five of those goals in two key games as France beat Denmark 4–1 in the group stage, with Mbappe bagging a hattrick before the Paris Saint-Germain striker put away two more in a 6–3 victory over Poland in the second round.
Despite picking up a groin injury that ruled him out of England’s final games, Kane did just enough to be named the player of the tournament by captaining his country to only their second-ever major international title.
His four goals in six games helped England to finally follow up on their first World Cup title win, secured on home soil all the way back in 1966, and have another chance to get over the line after losing to Italy on penalties in the final of Euro 2020.
However, history almost repeated itself again in their showdown with 2012 champions Spain. Marcus Rashford put England ahead early in the first 16 minutes and at half-time, the scoreline stood at 1–0.
Then came the second half and, just as was the case against Italy in 2021, the momentum of the game shifted. Luis Enrique’s side struck back with two goals of their own, and while Phil Foden and Callum Wilson were able to respond with goals later in the match, a late Carlos Soler tied the score at 3–3 to send the final into extra time and then penalties.
The shootout didn’t get off to a good start. Declan Rice and Soler each missed the opening spot kicks for their respective sides to ramp up the tension. It all came down to Ferran Torres, who stood up to take the fifth and final penalty for Spain with Jordan Henderson having already scored.
The Barcelona forward missed and the cup belonged to England.
In the third-place play-off, Brazil beat USA 4–3 with goals from Éder Militão, Fabinho, Richarlison, and Thiago Silva canceling out two strikes by Christian Pulisic and a third by Josh Sargent.
According to FM23, Gregg Berhalter’s side could be the big overachiever in Qatar. In the simulation of the tournament, they finished behind England in Group B by beating Iran and Wales and drawing with the eventual winners and going on to defeat Ecuador and Mexico before losing to Spain.
The long-running Football Manager series has long since evolved into becoming a reference point and tool for coaches and fans in the real world. It is used by some to identify the biggest soccer stars of the next generation due to the game’s track record of forecasting talent over the years.
In 2014, a deal was even struck with Prozone, a sports performance analysis firm working with professional clubs, to use the game’s database of players and staff created in the development of the series year after year to track injuries, transfers, and more.
The 2022 World Cup final takes place on Sunday, Dec. 18. After predicting that England will replace France as champions of the world, with the USA finishing fourth behind Brazil, all eyes will be on whether Football Manager’s famous powers of prophecy will be proven right again.
