If Lionel Messi has heard it already, his heart will be pumping with joy as stockbroker Joachim Klement has predicted the Argentine to life the coveted World Cup trophy at this year’s showdown. The FIFA World Cup will be held in the middle-east for the first time ever as Qatar is hosting the tournament which will be played from November 20 to December 18.
While the pre-tournament favourites are already in, with holders France, 2014 winners Germany and traditional contenders Spain, Brazil, England in the fray, one team which has toppled every other in the predictions is Argentina. Their performance on international stage since the Lionel Scaloni took over the job has been commendable, as they are on an unbeaten streak of 34 games which dates back to July 2019.
Klement predicts an Argentina vs England final, with Lionel Messi co. as the ultimate world champions
From time to time, many have predicted the outcomes of the FIFA World Cups, with Paul the octopus the most famous one who rightly picked Spain as the winners of the 2010 edition. It’s high time a human did some prophecy as London-based stockbroker Joachim Klement rolled-up his sleeves to do the same. The famous personality is known for his 2014 and 2018 picks, as he named Germany and France respectively to be crowned as the world champions, which were on point.
The stockbroker has now predicted Lionel Messi will lead his beloved country Argentina to glory in Qatar, which could also be his final appearance at the tournament. The ‘La Pulga’ once came close to getting his hands on the trophy, in 2014 when he almost single handedly dragged the La Albiceleste to the honour, only to fall in final hurdle against Germany, which indeed was also predicted by Klement.
However, Klement says he feels there is no stopping the seven-time Ballon d’Or this time, who just won his first major international trophy with his nation last year, lifting the Copa America. Moreover, Klement further adds that Argentina will beat their traditional rivals England in the final to claim the crown. The two teams share a long history of rivalry, right from Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” in 1986 to David Beckham’s unfamous red card in 1998.
Klement, regarding his predictions said:
“Unlike in previous World Cups, players like Robert Lewandowski are more likely to be fit and at the peak of their abilities. They have played fewer matches in their domestic leagues or the Champions League and thus are less exhausted.
“I have been working in the financial services industry for more than 20 years and if I have perfected one thing, it is how to find excuses for faulty predictions. If I am right, it’s skill and if I am wrong, it’s somebody else’s fault.”
The stockbroker reportedly takes in consideration various factors such as factors such as GDP per capita, population size and even the temperature, as well as FIFA rankings to name his pick. However, he still insists that all these factors only make 45% of his success variation, while 55% is purely based on luck. Nonetheless, Argentina are indeed hot favourites to finally lift their third World Cup title, with Lionel Messi spearheading their challenge.