Video game predicts that Germany will win in Brazil

The company behind the Fifa World Cup computer games have run a simulation exercise that predicts Germany will win the upcoming tournament in Brazil.

EA Sports ran all 32 teams through the simulator in an effort to predict the winner.

In an exceptionally tight final, Germany edged out Brazil 2-1, winning its fourth World Cup title and becoming the first European country to win it in South America.

It wasn’t easy.

Germany overcame a big challenge from Spain in the semi-final, beating the defending champions 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out after a scoreless match.

Brazil had their own problems reaching the final, only beating Uruguay in the quarter-final with a penalty shoot-out victory after a 2-2 draw.

The final game was equally tense.

Star forward Neymar drew first blood, scoring his sixth goal of the tournament to give Brazil an early lead.

The Germans wouldn’t give up another, however, eventually levelling with a Per Mertesacker header and ultimately winning it all in extra time thanks to a late goal from Miroslav Klose.

That was his second goal of the tournament and his 16th in World Cup play, a new all-time record.

That, at least, is how EA sees it playing out.

And while it’s easy to write this off, there’s a precedent: EA’s 2010 version of Fifa World Cup correctly predicted Spain would win the trophy.

EA also has a solid track record predicting the Super Bowl with its Madden games, racking up an 8-2 record before getting it totally wrong for February's Super Bowl XLVIII.

With Paul the octopus sadly out of the picture (he passed on shortly after the 2010 World Cup), Fifa might be your best bet for picking a World Cup winner… unless those baby pandas start grabbing the right flags.