No, The Simpsons didn’t predict Mexico reaching the World Cup final

Social media users have been sharing claims that The Simpsons predicted Mexico would reach the final of the 2026 World Cup, but the theory does not stand up to scrutiny. The rumour has resurfaced just as England prepare to meet Mexico in the last 16 of the tournament.

The viral posts point to a scene from a 1997 episode of the long-running American cartoon called “The Cartridge Family”, which aired as the show’s fifth episode of its ninth season. In the clip, a television advert promotes a football match billed as deciding “which nation is the greatest on Earth”, featuring Mexico against Portugal.

What the episode actually shows

Crucially, the episode never mentions the year 2026, the FIFA World Cup, or any specific competition at all. Some versions of the viral post have even added images of Cristiano Ronaldo to the claim, despite the Portuguese forward never being referenced anywhere in the cartoon.

Far from depicting a thrilling, prophetic showpiece, the match shown in the episode is deliberately portrayed as agonisingly dull. The fictional contest is so tedious that the watching crowd in Springfield eventually erupts into a riot, plunging the stadium into chaos rather than celebrating either side.

Not the first time this claim has surfaced

This is far from a new phenomenon. The same clip has been recycled and presented as a genuine “prophecy” ahead of previous major tournaments, including the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, only for fact-checkers to debunk it each time.

The claim appears to have gained extra traction this year specifically because Mexico is one of the host nations for the 2026 World Cup, making the coincidence feel more plausible to casual social media browsers even though the underlying footage has nothing to do with the current tournament.

Why The Simpsons has a reputation for “predictions”

The show has genuinely appeared to foreshadow real-world events on several occasions, from political developments to business mergers and technological trends. Writers behind the programme have generally put this down to sharp cultural observation, a team of writers with strong mathematical backgrounds, and simple probability given the sheer volume of material produced across more than 750 episodes.

With England and Mexico set to meet in a high-profile last-16 tie, interest in anything connecting the two nations to the tournament has understandably spiked. However, fans hoping for supernatural insight into how the knockout clash, or the wider competition, will unfold will need to look elsewhere.

Read more: England return to Azteca Stadium after 40 years for Mexico World Cup last 16 clash