The Athletic’s daily World Cup Predictions returned with France vs Morocco and Spain vs Belgium at the center of the day’s 2026 FIFA World Cup coverage. The feature again mixed writers, experts, a subscriber, an algorithm, a dog and a six-year-old, but the new hook was the guest slot for Kevin, a Belgium and Arsenal Women supporter from Belgium.
That matters now because the prediction game is no longer just a novelty attached to the tournament. It has a leaderboard built on percentage correct, plus streaks that track how many picks everyone gets right in a row, so each round changes more than the day’s bracket talk. The format also leans on live coverage of France vs Morocco, which keeps the matchup in view while the picks are being made.
Kevin’s place in the lineup gives the piece its human edge. He is not there as a neutral observer. He is there as someone with a side, and that is exactly what makes the predictions table work: a guest subscriber, two Athletic writers, experts from 48 countries, Algo, Stanley and Wilfred all enter the same scoring system, but they do not arrive with the same instincts or loyalties.
The tournament backdrop makes the scoring feel less abstract. Argentina beat Cape Verde 3-2 in the round of 32, then produced a far stranger escape against Egypt. Egypt led 2-0 after 79 minutes, Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico had put it in control, Lionel Messi had already missed a first-half penalty, and still the match turned. Cristian Romero headed in Messi’s cross, Messi scored the equaliser himself, and Enzo Fernandez headed in the winner in added time. That kind of comeback is a reminder that a clean prediction can unravel fast.
The same goes for the last-16 tie between Switzerland and Colombia, which went to a penalty shootout and underlined how thin the margin can be in knockout football. Gregor Kobel made the key save from Cucho Hernandez, while Davinson Sanchez and Manuel Akanji both missed. In a format built around picking outcomes, those are the nights that punish certainty.
What The Athletic has built is part prediction game, part rolling scoreboard and part tournament diary. The next update will matter less for the individual names on the sheet than for the standings it changes. If Kevin’s Belgium lean pays off, or if the writers and Algo separate themselves from the pack, the leaderboard will show it immediately. That is the point of the feature: every day adds another round of proof, and every round makes the next France vs Spain-style call harder to get right.
