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‘Psychic’ animals are now a staple of the World Cup, and Qatar 2022 continued the tradition. Camels, elephants, and even rats have all had a go. With the 2026 World Cup fast approaching, we are expecting to meet some new animal oracles soon.
But before that, let’s have a look at some of the most famous animal psychics we have seen so far. We’ll start with a certain eight-limbed sea creature.
Paul the Octopus
The most famous animal psychic has to be Paul the Octopus, who became a global phenomena by correctly predicting 12 of 14 results at the 2008 European Championships and the 2010 World Cup.
Paul’s method was simple: his owners presented him with two boxes of food, each decorated with the flags of the teams playing in the upcoming match. Whichever box he chose, that was his prediction.
He started at Euro 2008, calling four of Germany’s six games. By the 2010 World Cup, Paul had upped his game, correctly forecasting all seven of Germany’s matches—including their third-place victory over Uruguay.
Tragically, he passed away in October 2010, but with an 86 per cent success rate, he remains the undisputed GOAT of animal psychics.
Achilles the Cat
Achilles the Cat tried to steal the crown from the legendary Paul at the 2018 World Cup. Although he made a few correct calls, his efforts ultimately fell short.
Dressed in Russia’s red colours, Achilles chose between two bowls of cat food, each marked with a team’s flag. He correctly predicted Russia’s wins over Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Iran’s victory against Morocco, and Brazil beating Costa Rica.
However, the feline—whose day job was chasing mice at St Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum—got a few wrong, including Switzerland over Sweden and Nigeria beating Argentina.
Achilles had already shown promise, successfully predicting three out of four matches at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, which earned him his World Cup role the following year.
Mystic Marcus
Representing all the pigs out there is none other than Mystic Marcus, who guessed the winner of the 2014 World Cup and the Wimbledon tennis finals by picking apples.
Marcus, who also branched out into politics and predicted Brexit and that Donald Trump would win the US presidential election, was obviously feeling bullish after his success and plumped for Belgium, Argentina, Nigeria and Uruguay to reach the 2018 World Cup semi-finals.
Unfortunately, Marcus met his match with these predictions, with only Belgium reaching the last-four stage out of his choices.
It has been a decent run for Marcus, though, and his owner also revealed he regularly picked the results of Derby County matches. He correctly predicted the Rams wouldn’t get promoted to the Premier League in 2018, so fair credit to the now 11-year-old!
Marcus can be happy with his work in the ‘psychic’ industry of sporting animals and he rounds off our top three in good style.
Mani the Parakeet
Another notable animal psychic from the 2010 World Cup was Mani, a parakeet born in Malaysia and living in Singapore. Using cards, Mani correctly predicted all four quarter-final results, including the Netherlands’ victory over Brazil.
His semi-final predictions were wrong, though. Mani then selected the Netherlands over Spain in the final—setting up headlines around a “Mani versus Paul” showdown. Ultimately, Paul and Spain triumphed.
Mani’s exploits earned him a profile in Vanity Fair. Following his World Cup appearances, he returned to working with his 80-year-old owner, continuing the tradition of “parrot astrology” popular in Singapore.
