People convinced The Simpsons predicted next World Cup winners after Cristiano Ronaldo met Trump

Fans have convinced themselves that The Simpsons has yet another prediction in the bag.

It’s no secret at this point that the popular cartoon somehow seems to foresee all sorts of events from the US 2024 election map and Donald Trump’s rise to power as the 45^th American president to the UK’s cost of living crisis.

And now some people reckon the show has predicted the outcome of next year’s World Cup in the states.

This feels even more timely right now after Cristiano Ronaldo met with Trump at the White House earlier this week. It marked the first time the Portuguese footballer has been since in the US since a 2017 rape accusation (which he has always denied).

The president gave the Ronaldo a special gift and as he ramps up excitement for the major tournament, some fans of The Simpsons are pulling up a decades-old episode.

The episode aired in the late 90s. (Fox)

The Simpsons ‘prediction’

During the 1997 episode ‘The Cartridge Family’, Homer and Marge headed to the Springfield Stadium to watch a huge football match.

Billed as: “Which nation is the greatest on Earth?” The football match took place between Mexico and Portugal – with both teams having qualified for next year - with Ronaldo's nation winning.

Springfield is, of course, in the US and some fans have drawn reference to the stadium possibly being the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. And that’s the same place where the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final is going to be held.

Users wrote on X: “It wouldn’t be the first prediction The Simpsons have got right,” as others on YouTube put: “Best final I support both.”

“Dude, I’m gonna have to support both of the teams,” another echoed.

Some fans reckon this was a World Cup prediction. (Fox)

Theory debunked

However, some pointed out where they can potentially on some level see Ronaldo’s team making it to the final, they really don’t think the same about Mexico, or that Portugal will win for sure.

“If you look at their team and see the teams of Brazil or Argentina or Spain or England... you'd know there's no way that's happening,” another wrote.

To be honest, it does seem unlikely the teams will end up facing each other.

Plus, there’s a bit of an important factor to point out about that nearly 30-year-old The Simpsons episode aired.

Some fans say it never directly claimed to be a ‘world cup final’ despite it being the pushed narrative. And others add that the ‘prediction’ in the 1997 episode was for the upcoming 1998 World Cup.

Well, I guess we’ll have to wait for next summer to find out for sure.