No player has ever won more World Cups than Pelé, yet few have made more spectacularly incorrect and high profile predictions about soccer’s grandest stage.
The Brazil legend infamously tipped an African nation to win a World Cup in the 20th century (none got past the quarterfinals) while Colombia (1994) and Spain (1998) both failed to get out of their groups in a year they were preemptively crowned champions. The one time Pelé went with a negative bet—tipping Brazil to crash out in the first round of 2002—the Seleção won the whole thing.
