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Euro 2020: Elephant oracle picks Germany over England

Darko Janjevic
June 28, 2021

As Germany and England gear up for a Euro 2020 football match, a "psychic" female elephant in Hamburg predicted a German victory.

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Elephant cow Yashoda waves a German flag in the Hamburg Zoo
Asian elephant 'Yashoda' has had a perfect record so far in predicting the winners of Germany's Euro 2020 matchesImage: Leon Kuegeler/REUTERS

If animal oracles are to be trusted in the matters of football, Germany has every reason to feel confident when facing off against England on Tuesday.

A female Asian elephant named Yashoda reached for Germany's flag when presented with both teams' colors at the Hamburg Zoo on Monday.

The prophecy was greeted by a small crowd of German fans who attended the occasion.

DW's Jonathan Crane said Yashoda's choice was bad news for England fans.

"She's got all three Germany games correct so far. Unclear if she also does lottery numbers," he tweeted.

The 42-year-old elephant can indeed boast a flawless track record when it comes to German games at the Euro 2020.

According to news agency DPA, Yashoda accurately predicted Germany would lose to France and beat Portugal.

Most surprisingly, she also predicted the draw against Hungary — grabbing both flags ahead of the meet in Munich last Wednesday.

Fans on the edge

Germany is now set to play England in a last-16 match at London's Wembley Stadium.

Millions of football fans are counting the hours to the kickoff as the knockout phase of the long-delayed football tournament heats up.

Expectations are especially high in England. The country's national team has not won against Germany in a major tournament knockout game since the 1966 World Cup final.

Yashoda is only the latest in the series of animal oracles tasked with predicting the outcomes of major football matches.

The practice was popularized by Paul the Octopus, the late resident of a Sea Life Center in Germany's Oberhausen, during the Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. The English-hatched oracle made his predictions by choosing between two different boxes with food. He quickly became famous, and his predictions triggered death threats from angry fans. While his 2008 record was somewhat flawed, he correctly picked the winner of all eight World Cup matches he was presented with in 2010, before dying of natural causes three and half months after the tournament ended.