Neymar hits back at German economist who predicted Japan to beat Brazil

Neymar had the perfect response after Brazil knocked Japan out of the 2026 World Cup and playfully pounced on German economist Joachim Klement, whose prediction model tipped Samurai Blue for one of the biggest surprises of the tournament.

Soon after Brazil’s dramatic 2-1 win in the round of 32, Neymar wrote on X: “Sr. Joachim Klement… favor tentar na proxima copa” (“Mr. Joachim Klement… please try again at the next World Cup”). The post quickly went viral, with fans celebrating both Brazil’s progress to the quarter-finals and the failure of one of the tournament’s most watched predictions. Neymar reacts to the statistician’s prediction. (Image: X/@neymarjr)

FORECAST

Klement, a mathematician and economist, built a reputation for his patented World Cup prediction model. Although originally created to show how difficult soccer tournaments can be to predict, the model has correctly identified the last three World Cup winners – Germany in 2014, France in 2018 and Argentina in 2022.

Brazil vs Japan FIFA World Cup 2026: Highlights | Message

Speaking to Fortune India ahead of the tournament, Klement explained why he believed Japan could spring a surprise if they cross paths with Brazil in the knockout stages.

“I don’t make predictions about individual matches in the group stage, but I predict that we could get a match between Brazil and Japan in the last 32, and that Japan will win over Brazil. This sounds absurd to me at first, because Brazil is the most successful team in the world in history. Still, the current generation of players is not at its best, while Japan has a very good team at the moment.”

BRAZIL WILL PREVAIL

For most of the contest, Klement’s prediction looked well within reach.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side dominated possession but repeatedly caused trouble with sloppy defending. Japan took advantage of Brazil’s mistakes and threatened to force extra time, exposing the vulnerabilities that Ancelotti had warned about during the tournament.

But when it mattered most, Brazil found a different gear. Teenager Rayan won possession high up the pitch before Bruno Guimaraes slipped in Gabriel Martinelli’s goal. The Arsenal striker kept his composure to score a dramatic late winner to seal a 2-1 victory and book Brazil a place in the quarter-finals.

The result ended Japan’s impressive run at the World Cup and left Neymar with the final word as his message to Clement became one of the tournament’s most significant moments on social media.

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Issued by:

Amar Panicker

Published on:

30 Jun 2026 03:51 IST