Germany will win the EUFA Euro 2012 trophy on July 1, according to EA Sports. That’s quite a pronouncement, since the soccer tournament just kicked off (ahem) on Friday, but the company said its game is so authentic that it can be used to foretell the outcome of the real thing.
If EA Sports turns out to be correct, it won’t be the first time. Its simulations correctly predicted Chelsea would defeat Liverpool 2-1 to capture this year’s FA Cup and that Spain would win the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. For fans of American football, EA Sports correctly predicted seven of the past nine Super Bowl champions by playing Madden NFL.
EA Sports recreated the current 16-team tournament by playing it out on the officially licensed UEFA Euro 2012, which is available as a digital expansion pack on EA Sports FIFA 12. In this final match, Germany defeated Netherlands 2-1 at Olympic Stadium in Kyiv. (The image shows Germany holding aloft the Henri Delaunay Trophy in the EA Sports game.)
Before the final, EA Sports’ simulation saw Germany best the Netherlands 3-2 in the group stage, then beat Poland 3-1 in the quarter-final and Italy 1-0 in the semi-final.
After losing to Germany in the group stage, Netherlands was victorious over Russia in a 2-0 quarter-final and over defending champion Spain in a 3-1 semi-final.
England got knocked out in the quarter-finals against Spain. The game was a 2-2 draw and went to penalty kicks, an aspect of soccer that many Americans find annoying. Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard got past keeper Iker Casillas, but Jermain Defoe and Andy Carroll, the fifth English shooter, were stopped.
Related links:
EA Sports – EA Sports UEFA Euro 2012
UEFA – EUFA Euro 2012 official site
