Did ‘The Simpsons’ Predict the 2018 World Cup Final – In 1997? (Video)

Will the sitcom have another successful premonition to add to the list?

“The Simpsons” has a proven track record of predicting the future, most notably in an episode from 2000 that featured Donald Trump as U.S. president — and with the end of the World Cup rapidly approaching, some fans are saying another successful premonition could get added to the list.

A 21-year old episode appears to be on the verge of forecasting the two teams that will appear in the final match in Russia in a few weeks. Mexico and Portugal are contenders to make it to the final round — and a “Simpsons” episode from 1997 predicted this outcome.

But there’s a hitch.

In the Season 9 episode, titled “The Cartridge Family,” the Simpsons watch a television commercial advertising a soccer game. “This match will determine once and for all which nation is the greatest on Earth: Mexico or Portugal,” the announcer says in the advertisement.

While the World Cup is not directly mentioned in the gag, many fans have wondered aloud if the comment is a premonition of the upcoming final tournament.

However, after Mexico’s 3-0 loss to Sweden in its final group-stage game on Wednesday, the team is placed on the same side of the bracket as Portugal, meaning the matchup would happen in the semifinals rather than the finals, Washington Post writer Matt Bonesteel pointed out.

As performed once on the longest-running animated sitcom in American history, que sera sera.

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