Pele. Diego Maradona. Kylian Mbappe. The World Cup is where legends are made but the strangest icon of all didn’t even have two legs.
The 2026 World Cup will soon get underway and, though off-field controversies from co-hosts USA threaten to dampen the mood, predictions are starting to flood in from all corners.
One simulation has predicted Lionel Messi to guide Argentina to a second World Cup triumph in a row, while Brazilian Nostradamus Athos Salome has boldly claimed a team in red will lift the trophy. Smart, given Spain are the favourites.
All these would-be mystic megs will have to prove themselves if they ever want to be considered in the same league as the iconic Paul the Octopus, though, who was so accurate with his predictions that he received death threats.
Paul the Octopus predicts Spain to defeat Germany. (ATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP via Getty Images)
The legend of Paul the Octopus at the World Cup
The 2010 World Cup remains an iconic entry into the great pantheon of the international football tournament.
Vuvuzelas, the French team kicking off with each other and Luis Suarez’s handball on the line against Ghana are just some of the moments engrained in any football fan’s mind.
Another fantastic side-story from the competition was the rise to fame of Paul the Octopus, the clairvoyant cephalopod that predicted the tournament with 100% accuracy.
Based in Germany, Paul first started predicting matches during the 2008 European Championship, when his keepers placed two boxes of food – one containing mussels, the other an oyster – in his tank, each adorned with the national flags of competing countries. Which ever food Paul selected was taken as his prediction.
Paul predicted four of Germany’s fixtures in the Euros correctly, but made two mistakes, including their final loss to Spain.
However, it was during the 2010 World Cup when Paul shot to world wide fame, as he went on a remarkable run of predicting each of Germany’s seven games correctly.
Paul became such a star that his prediction for Germany’s semi-final vs Spain was broadcast live on TV, only for fans to react in horror as he opted for La Roja over his own country.
That led to ‘anti-octopus songs’ being sung in Berlin, according to a report from Bleacher Report a the time.
Social media comments called for Paul to be ‘thrown into the shark tank’ while others suggested he should be ‘fried, barbecued or turned into a seafood salad or paella.’
The sea critter also infuriated Argentina supporters when he correctly called they would lose to Germany in the quarter-finals.
Argentine newspaper El Diaeven printed a recipe for how someone could cook Paul if they captured him from his aquatic home, writing: “All you need is four normal potatoes, olive oil for taste and a little pepper.”
Paul evaded capture, though, and ended his World Cup with a perfect record by correctly predicting Spain to defeat the Netherlands in the final.
What happened to Paul the Octopus?
A memorial for Paul the Octopus in Germany. (PATRIK STOLLARZ / AFP via Getty Images)
Sadly, Paul’s life came to an end just a few months after the World Cup, when he was found dead in his tank on October 26, 2010.
He was aged just two-and-a-half, though that is a normal life span for the species. Yet, his legacy has not been forgotten.
A memorial still stands for Paul at the Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, while he’s also been made into multiple Google ‘doodles’, an iPhone app and even had his story told in a Chinese film, Kill Octopus Paul.
Many animals have tried and failed to replicate Paul’s success, so will another future-seeing creature emerge this year?
Featured Image Credit: Paul the Octopus shot to fame during the 2010 World Cup. (Patrik Stollarz / AFP via Getty Images)
