The first several days of World Cup 2014 matches are in the books, with plenty more excitement ahead. Using FIFA 14's new World Cup mode, I've been simulating each match to see how EA's engine fares in determining the results.
Did FIFA 14 Predict The Netherlands Upset Over Spain?
Between Brazil's controversial opener, Netherlands' unexpected demolition of Spain, Uruguay's collapse, Italy's superiority over England, and Switzerland's very late winner, the competition has so far offered plenty of entertainment and plenty of goals.
Moving on to today's fixtures, there's a tantalizing match between Germany and Portugal on tap, and FIFA 14 predicts the former to walk away with the victory. Lukas Podolski will open the scoring in the first half, finishing from a sharp angle at the near post. Portugal then leveled the game through who other than Cristiano Ronaldo, who beat his man on a cross to head home in the 52nd minute.
EA Sports Simulation Predicts Germany Will Win World Cup
Germany had the final say, however, with Klose inching closer to the all-time World Cup goal-scoring record through a finish from inside the box 10 minutes later. It finished 2-1, Portugal unable to break down the German defense for the rest of the match, and I'd have to anticipate a similar score line in real life myself.
As for the simulations of the previous matches, FIFA 14 predicted a Cameroon win over Mexico, as did I, but the African side simply did not look up for it. They lost 1-0, though Mexico deserved two more goals that were wrongly called offside.
Spain vs. Netherlands was undoubtedly the shock of the tournament so far with the reigning champions being dismantled 5-1 after taking an early lead, but my simulation predicted the correct winner. FIFA 14 also said Brazil would walk away with a victory over Croatia (dubious penalty aside), and simulated a comfortable Chile win.
The game didn't do too well in two of the more recent matches, getting its prediction for the Colombia and Greece match wrong, and thinking England would defeat Italy. Hopefully it will get back on track today--tune in at 12 p.m. EST to watch Germany take on Portugal.
