An Emirati camel is taking the football world by storm, correctly predicting the outcome of
several matches at the FIFA World Cup taking place in Brazil this month.
Shaheen the Camel, from Dubai, predicts the outcome of football matches from his desert home in the UAE, where he chooses between the flags of whoever is playing that day. He has successfully predicted the winner in five of seven matches so far, prompting comparisons to famous animal oracle “Paul the Octopus”, who rose to prominence during the 2010 world cup in South Africa.
The camel’s two mistakes were understandable, when he sided with most pundits in selecting Portugal and Spain to beat Germany and Chile respectively, although two defeats shocked not only Shaheen but most of the footballing world. His latest prediction has boosted hopes for England fans, as he has chosen them to triumph over Uruguay on Thursday evening in Sao Paulo.
The Brazilian world cup has shone in its first week, after a series of exciting matches packed with goals and surprise results. Regional representatives Iran and Algeria have fared reasonably well too, with the Iranians picking up a valuable point against Nigeria and the boys from Algiers performing valiantly in a narrow defeat against the highly fancied Belgian team.
