In contrast to the men’s World Cup, EA SPORTS’ FIFA 23 Oracle was way off the mark in the women’s tournament. Instead of the USA, the Spanish women were ultimately crowned world champions.
Germany loses to the USA in the final, host nation Australia is eliminated in the quarter-finals. This is how the Women’s World Cup should have gone according to EA SPORTS’ prediction. Looking at the men’s World Cup counterpart, the FIFA Oracle seemed to be reliable. For the last four male title holders, the publisher was all correct.
The women’s tournament in Australia and New Zealand was different. Even before the final whistle blew, it was clear that EA’s oracle was way off the mark. As mentioned, the USA and Germany should have played for the title. But this scenario was no longer possible after the group stage. It was the team of national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg that could not overcome this hurdle. But the USA also fell short of expectations – for Megan Rapinoe & Co. it was over after the round of 16.
Australia defy oracle – England and Spain without early exits
Co-hosts Australia were also supposed to be eliminated in the last 16 according to the publisher’s simulation – but finished fourth on the real pitch. The two finalists England and Spain were also eliminated early in EA’s World Cup. While Jorge Vilda’s team was eliminated in the round of 16 against Norway, England lost against the DFB team with 2:4.
In the end, Spain became women’s world champions for the first time in the federation’s history after a high-class final. The golden goal was scored by Olga Carmona Garcia in the 29th minute. As if that wasn’t enough from EA’s point of view, the prediction for the Golden Shoe – for the tournament’s top scorer – wasn’t accurate either.
With six goals and two assists, Alexia Putellas impressed in FIFA 23 and thus secured the trophy. In reality, however, the ailing world footballer often only started from the bench. She was only able to provide one assist. A small consolation for the publisher: according to the prophecy, Alexandra Popp was among the top goal scorers. The Wolfsburg player scored four goals both in the simulation and on the real pitch. After all, a small real tip.
