Mathematician predicts surprise World Cup winner

Nick's ESL News Lessons

A printable worksheet for news-based English conversation classes.

Date: 2026/06/05

Difficulty: Intermediate B1

PDF: Mathematician predicts surprise World Cup winner

Vocabulary Match

mathematician •• forecast
predict •• number draw
opinion •• do, act
advises •• expert in maths
perform •• thoughts
lottery •• guides

Vocabulary Answers

mathematicianexpert in maths
predictforecast
opinionthoughts
advisesguides
performdo, act
lotterynumber draw

Article

A German mathematician named Joachim Klement has predicted that the Netherlands will win the 2026 World Cup. He uses a mathematical model for his prediction, not just his personal opinion.

Klement's predictions are interesting because he correctly guessed the winners of the last three World Cups: Germany in 2014, France in 2018, and Argentina in 2022. However, Klement advises people not to take his prediction too seriously.

He explains that football matches often depend on luck, referee decisions, and how players perform on the day. Klement even compared predicting the winner to playing the lottery, saying, "It's not easy to be sure who will win."

Quiz

  1. Who is Joachim Klement?
  2. What did Klement predict for the 2026 World Cup?
  3. What did Klement say football matches depend on?
  4. What does Klement compare predicting the winner of the World Cup to?

Quiz Answers (examples)

  1. A German mathematician
  2. The Netherlands will win
  3. Germany in 2014, France in 2018, Argentina in 2022
  4. Playing the lottery

Conversation

A:Hey, did you hear about Klement's prediction?
B:Yes, he thinks the Netherlands will win in 2026!
A:Can we really trust his prediction?
B:Well, he did guess the last three winners correctly.
A:True, but he says it's like the lottery.
B:I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

Discussion

  1. Do you think math can predict sports results?
  2. What jobs do you think use maths every day?
  3. Have you ever won a lottery or a prize?
  4. Which country do you think will win the World Cup?

Source Material

https://www.ladbible.com/news/sport/world-cup-2026-german-mathematician-prediction-620913-20260604


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