Over the years, some of the storylines and tangential jokes from The Simpsons have ended up coming to life, to our amazement. Part of it comes from the fact the show has put out over 600 episodes by this point, with more on the way - so they have covered a huge range of topics. Then, there's the fact they spent a lot of those episodes delivering razor-sharp satire, and we're currently living in an era where reality is far more ridiculous.
Two years before the financial crisis in Greece, for example, the show dropped an eerily prophetic joke about Europe selling the country off.
Before that, in the 1995 episode 'Lisa's Wedding', which was set in the future, a background gag showed that The Rolling Stones are on tour in 2016 with the "The Steel Wheelchair Tour". Now, it's 2018 and they're still performing.
Then there was the major deal going down this year, in which Disney are buying 21st Century Fox, 20 years after The Simpsons joked that the movie studio was now "A Division of Walt Disney Co".
And let's not forget the time that they predicted that Donald Trump would one day become President of the United States. At the time he was chosen for being "the most absurd placeholder joke name that we could think of at the time," according to Simpsons creator Matt Groening, but the gag ended up coming true.
Now, those currently obsessing over the FIFA World Cup taking place in Russia this summer have looked to The Simpsons to find out which teams make it to the final. In a 1997 episode, titled The Cartridge Family, The Simpsons showed a game between Mexico and Portugal that many think may soon be proven true. You can see the clip from the episode below:
According to the Portuguese newspaper Eco, "there seems to be a reference to the scandal that recently plagued the Mexican team who allegedly partied with several women before the beginning of the tournament." They weren't the only ones to notice either.
Commenters on the video above have questioned whether it could come true, while some have suggested that this could come true in 2026, when the world cup will make be hosted in North America as it is in the episode. That year 60 matches (including the quarterfinals, semi-finals, and the final) will be hosted by the United States, while Canada and Mexico will each host 10 matches.
Twitter didn't miss it either, with one user writing, "yooo lowkey the simpsons predicted Mexico and Portugal in the final, have they ever been wrong about anything they predict?"
It could still happen - as Portugal are now through to the final 16, while Mexico are top of their group. The clip clearly originated from the writers poking fun at the sport, but as has happened before, an absurd Simpsons joke can become a reality.
Let's just hope the final, regardless of who gets to the final stage, isn't as mind-numbingly dull as the show presents - or end in a full-blown riot in the crowd either.
