when sports betting was first being legalized I didnt understand why everyone was seemingly so upset as its so normalized around the world, but wow seeing a polymarket ad every other post is really making me rethink if this should even be legal
π¨ π‘ππͺ: The economist who predicted the last three World Cup winners now predicts the Netherlands to win the 2026 tournament! π³π±π
β’ A German economist named Joachim Klement built a statistical model from scratch in 2014 that has correctly called every World Cup champion since.
β’ After nailing Germany in 2014, France in 2018 and Argentina in 2022, his system now forecasts the Netherlands as the unlikely 2026 champion.
β’ Klementβs model weighs factors like population size, GDP per capita, FIFA ranking, climate and socioeconomic elements.
β’ He openly admits the math only explains around 50% of the outcome, with the other half coming down to pure luck.
β’ The whole thing started as a joke to mock mathematicians who think they can predict everything with numbers.
β’ According to the projections, the Dutch will knock out France in the quarter-finals, Spain in the semis and Portugal in the final.
β’ The model also has Brazil crashing out in the round of 16 against Japan.