World Cup psychic animals: Remembering Paul the octopus

The article revisits football's psychic animals, notably Paul the octopus, the famous oracle of the 2010 World Cup. Paul, based in Oberhausen, Germany, predicted Germany's results with 87% accuracy and correctly called Spain's victory in the final. Other animals like Mani the parakeet and Achilles the cat also made headlines in subsequent tournaments. As the 2026 World Cup kicks off, these animal predictions remain a popular sideshow.