Football Daily | Animal instinct and maths boost Netherlands’ hopes of World Cup glory

THE FUTURE IS ORANGE When Paul the Octopus sadly died at an aquarium in Germany in 2010, there was a massive void to fill in the World Cup prediction space. It seemed a huge ask to find a tipster on the same level as the eight-legged maverick one-off. Others tried but Leon the Porcupine, Anton the Tamarin and Petty the Pygmy Hippopotamus were all woefully wide of the mark; this was no golden generation of animal oracles. Things turned dark in 2018 when a new octopus, Rabio, appeared on the scene but was killed by a Japanese fisher despite the sea-dwelling savant getting it right with all three of the Samurai Blue’s group games. The best of the rival bunch at World Cup 2010 was Mani the Parakeet. The Singapore-based budgie produced a clean sweep of winning tips in the quarters but then blew it in the final by selecting the Netherlands to beat Paul’s pick, Spain. There was only one winner. Predicting the Dutch to lift the World Cup has been an exercise in frustration after their defeats in the finals of 1974, 1978 and 2010. But could that all be about to change in 2026? Joachim Klement is a German mathematician. And while not as big a household name in his field as Pierre de Fermat, Albert Einstein or Johnny Ball, he could be coming to a TikTok timeline near you if the Netherlands finally get it done this year. …