Skip to main content

EA Sports Predicts Spain to Win the World Cup

Image used with permission by copyright holder

It was a tense final, with five time World Cup champions Brazil looking for their sixth star, against the European champions, Spain. The action was fierce on both sides, and Brazil took an early lead on a goal from Felipe Marko. The Spaniards equalized with a shot from David Villa (his sixth of the tournament) to end the first. Then the second half belonged to Spain as their teamwork and stifling defense managed to frustrate the Brazilians. Villa scored his second in the 61st minute, while Andres Iniesta put in Spain’s 3rd,to lead the number two ranked team in the world overd the top ranked Brazilians in a memorable 3-1 final! Or at least according to the game 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.

Recommended Videos

EA ran a simulation of the entire tournament, from the group stages through the finals, and Spain came out victorious. Each year, EA does a similar event for the Super Bowl, playing out the game and announcing the champion with eerily accurate results. In the seven years that the Madden franchise has run the simulation, it has predicted six correct champions, including this year’s New Orleans Saints, who were the Vegas underdogs going in.

The US begins its World Cup run this Saturday versus England, a game that EA predicts will favor England 2-1, although both teams are predicted to advance to the knock out stage where the US will lose to Germany in a shoot out. The semi-finals will see Brazil take out the English in a penalty shootout, while Spain knocks off Argentina. England then goes on to win third place with a 2-1 victory over rival Argentina.

The game also predicted that Spain’s David Villa would win the Golden Boot with 7 goals, and Brazil’s Kaka would be the Golden Ball winner.

It should be noted that in 2006, EA predicted the Czech Republic to win the Cup in a 2-1 victory over Brazil. Unfortunately, the Czech Republic failed to make it out of the first round.

Ryan Fleming
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…
Steams says it wasn’t hacked and your account is safe
A Steam Deck sits in a dock, as Ender Magnolia plays on its screen.

Yesterday, news broke that more than 89 million Steam accounts had been put up for sale on the dark web, prompting users to rush to change their passwords. Steam says that's false and that you don't need to worry about your account. Although there was a leak, it wasn't one that would compromise the security of your PC game library.

Steam says that although a leak did take place, it was not a breach of the Steam systems. "We’re still digging into the source of the leak, which is compounded by the fact that any SMS messages are unencrypted in transit, and routed through multiple providers on the way to your phone," the announcement reads.

Read more
Roblox creators can now sell physical merch in-game
A laptop with a Roblox wallpaper.

Purchasing in-game items is nothing new to Roblox, but now users can shop for actual physical merch and receive an avatar item on top of it. Eligible creators can bundle digital items with physical purchases, according to Roblox's announcement, and it opens up more avenues for creators to generate revenue in-game.

"Our vision for the future of shopping is an experience that’s more exciting and social than the traditional online shopping experience. On Roblox, you can explore virtual stores, try on clothes, and share the experience with others," the post reads. "This naturally builds interest and purchase intent. Now we’re taking it one step further, bridging the gap between virtual and real-world shopping by enabling Roblox users to purchase physical items."

Read more
All Elder Scrolls games in order, by release date and chronologically
A mage looking over morrowind in Elder scrolls online.

There are few fantasy worlds as fleshed out and deep as the Elder Scrolls' Tamriel. We were first introduced to the series in the early '90s, and now eagerly await Elder Scrolls 6 to show us a new chapter of this tale. Until that upcoming video game makes its way to our PCs and consoles, we love to revisit these games to see how they have evolved and reimmerse ourselves in the lore. Similar to the GTA games, you'd be missing out on over half the games if you think there are only 5 Elder Scrolls games out right now. Surprisingly enough, every single game is considered canon and contributes to the ongoing story of the world. While you could always jump into whatever game looks most interesting, we think playing either in release order or chronologically is a better approach. This is the official order for the entire Elder Scrolls series in release and chronological order.

All Elder Scrolls games in release order

Read more