Brazil might have made a slow start to their World Cup campaign but things are looking up, with feline fortune-teller Achilles predicting a win against Costa Rica hours before kick off in St Petersburg on Friday.
Five-times champions Brazil have struggled to get out of the blocks and were held 1-1 by Switzerland in their opening Group E match last week. However, coach Tite can look forward to the team celebrating their first win - if Achilles is to be believed.
After successfully predicting the results of three world cup matches so far, #Achilles the cat makes his fourth prediction as Brazil take on Croatia in an hour from now #BRACRC #WorldCup https://t.co/pUf7ryGEpe
— National Herald (@NH_India) June 22, 2018
Offered a choice of two bowls of food, the clairvoyant cat chose the one with the Brazilian flag. A safe choice, perhaps, given his fellow psychic Timon the meerkat incorrectly predicted that Denmark would beat Australia on Thursday. That game ended 1-1.
Achilles lives in St Petersburg's Hermitage museum and is deaf, which according to his caretakers, helps him go about making predictions without distractions.
"We're sure he has a special gift, because he is deaf we think if he has nothing, then he (must have) something he has received more (of). And this is his gift," said Maria Haltunen, the press secretary of the historical museum.
Achilles the cat has so far correctly predicted the outcomes of two games at the FIFA #WorldCup 2018 and is believed to pose the powers that Paul the octopus possessed in 2010 https://t.co/VgOinixRiU
— National Herald (@NH_India) June 19, 2018
The white feline is one of many animals trying their hand at predictions, including hippos Milya and Glyasik in Kaliningrad, Spartak the lemur in Yekaterinburg and Harry the otter in Sochi.
Asked who Achilles would back for the title, Haltunen said: "Russia, he is a patriot. Therefore the games where the Russian team was playing were extraordinarily important for us. Our director told us that the most important predictions he has already made."