Neymar, a superstar from Brazil, poked fun at Joachim Klement during Brazil’s 2-1 quarterfinal victory against Japan on social media.
Economist Klement of Germany is famous for his spot-on forecasts; he did it for the past three World Cup winners: Germany (2014), France (2018), and Argentina (2022).
At first, Klement claimed he was trying to show economists that their inadequate knowledge prevents them from making reliable predictions.
Japan would shock Brazil in the second round, according to Klement’s prediction, and the Netherlands would win the North American championship, according to his predictions made before the 2026 World Cup even started.
It appeared like Klement’s prophecy may come true after the first half, when the Samurai Blue led 1-0. Casemiro, though, got Brazil back on even terms just before the hour. Just seconds before the final whistle blew, Gabriel Martinelli put an end to Japan’s dreams of a sudden overtime by sending Brazil advancing to the round of 16.
The victory of Brazil over Japan proved that Klement was mistaken in his prediction. Neymar, who wants to win his first championship with the Seleção, used the chance to bring up the economist’s error of judgement.
“Mr. Joachim Klement… please try harder at the next World Cup,” the Santos forward said on his official X account, adding a winking emoji.
In a recent interview with Fortune India, Klement restated his forecast that Brazil would lose to Japan. He claimed that Brazil has a better history of great players, but that their current squad is lacking.