In this feature we are going to simulate the World Cup Matches using 2014 Fifa World Cup Brazil, and compare them to the real World Cup Results. At the end of the tournament, we will see how accurate the game turns out to be against real life, and measure it in the end.

FIFA had a good start yesterday, correctly predicting the first game, and being off by one goal only. For today’s fixtures, FIFA made bolder predictions. Were they right? Lets find out!

Day 2

Mexico VS Cameroon

FIFA Result

Mexico 0- Cameroon 1

Mexico- 0

Cameroon 1
Eto’o (90′)

This result might seem surprising, except that Mexico had a really sub par qualifying campaign. Cameroon did have most of the possession and created the most chances, but a general lack of accuracy hurt them. It wasn’t until the closing moments of the match when the always dangerous Samuel Eto’o slipped past an exhausted defense, that the deadlock was broken. Mexico just didn’t show much. The biggest issues was its midfield, which just didn’t seem to find a way to get past the Cameroonian defense and leave their players in a good position to strike at goal.

World Cup Game Result

Mexico 1- Cameroon 0

Mexico 1
Oribe Peralta (61′)

Cameroon 0

In football you can make many predictions, but in the end you have to play the games. After an entertaining first half, Mexico proved it came to play controlling the game and keeping possession. Mexico had a disallowed goal, and generally controlled the game. Despite this, the first half ended in a draw. It would take up until the 61st minute for Oribe Peralta to finally break the deadlock. On the soaking field, Cameroon simply could not find any way to break through the Mexico defense and find a good position to strike at goal. It was a complete reversal from the game’s prediction, and truly, the scoreline could have easily been 3-1.

Spain Vs Neatherlands

FIFA Result

Spain 0- Netherlands 0

Spain 0

Netherlands 0

It is not uncommon for two big teams playing each other in the first round of cup to draw. It pays to be conservative in these situations. However, this is a repeat of last World Cup’s final so many expected more fireworks. The game ended in a 0-0 draw, as neither team could find a good way around the other’s defense. There were two clear chances that were missed. In minute 43, Busquets hit the post in a position where he should have score. Likewise, in minute 60 Van Persie shot over the bar when he was in a one on one situation against the goal keeper, so it could have easily been 1-1. Still a draw, though.

World Cup Game Result

Spain 1- Netherlands 5

Spain 1
Xabi Alonso (P)(27′)

Netherlands 5
Robin Van Persie (44′)
Arjen Robben (53′)
Stefan de Vrij (64′)
Robin Van Persie (72′)
Arjen Robben (80′)

Um… Wow. There is no way that FIFA was going to predict the brutal victory that the Netherlands had over Spain. This was a grudge match between last World Cup’s finalists, and man, can the Netherlands hold on to a grudge. It is hard to be too harsh on FIFA for getting this one wrong, when I don’t think anyone on this planet saw this one coming.

This is what was playing during the game

Most brutal massacre since “that one”.

Chile VS Australia

Chile 0- Australia 2

Chile 0

Australia 2
Bravo (OG) (45′)
T. Oad (84′)

Chile had control for most of the game, an unfortunate mistake by Bravo late in the first half cost them, as an own goal put them behind going into the break. Chile tried to react, but they met an Australia that hung out at the back. Australia defended well, and in the 84th minute they were able to finish the game on a counterattack goal from T. Oar. This was supposed to be an easy win for Chile, instead they will have to play Spain and Netherlands on must win matches.

World Cup Game Result

Chile 3- Australia 1

Chile 3
Alexis Sanchez (12′)
Jorge Valdivia (14′)
Jean Beausejour (92′)

Australia 1
Tim Cahill (35′)

Australia seemed nervous when the game started. They were clunky and imprecise, a weakness that Chile wasted no time in taking advantage of. Chile scored two goals in quick succession, but the Australians regained their composure and managed to fight back. They even scored a goal in the first half and looked like they might score an equalizer during the second half. It was a hard game, with the Australian side using physical power to try to make up for a Chilean side that was clearly outmatching them. They were successful in one thing though, exposing the weakness of the Chilean defense on air plays. They weren’t able to take advantage of it, and Chile finished them off with an injury time goal.

Conclusion

A bad day for FIFA, where it didn’t even manage to guess one match correctly. It is true that prior to the game, it was reasonable to expect that Cameroon could beat Mexico. No one would have seen the result between the Neatherlands and Spain coming either, so it is hard to blame the game for that. Chile was always a clear favorite to beat Australia, and so that result is suspect and very interesting. It should have been an easy pick for the simulation to guess correctly, instead it caused the FIFA to go from 100% accuracy, to only 25%. Hopefully tomorrow it can rectify that.

Day 2 table

Tomorrow we have:

Colombia VS Greece
Uruguay VS Costa Rica
England VS Italy
Ivory Coast VS Japan

Think you can do better than FIFA? Tell us your predictions of tomorrow’s games.