"South Korea to Beat South Africa"... World Cup Cat's First Wrong Prediction After 19 Straight Correct Picks

[Financial News] Billy, the cat known as a sharp predictor and a World Cup oracle for correctly picking the winners of game after game at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, saw his prediction streak end with the South Korea-South Africa match.
According to the New York Post and other outlets on the 23rd local time, Billy, a 1-year-old British Shorthair living in Newry, County Down, Ireland, has correctly predicted the winning team in all 19 matches since the start of the tournament, excluding draws. That has drawn the attention of soccer fans around the world.
Billy's prediction method is simple. For each match, he is shown the flags of two countries and chooses one with his paw. His owners, Rinka Rin, 33, and Mark Kelly, 35, filmed the process and posted it on social network service (SNS).

Billy extended his 19-game winning streak by correctly predicting that Argentina would beat Austria. As his remarkable accuracy spread by word of mouth, Billy quickly became famous as the 'World Cup prediction cat.'
Rinka said, "I had been giving Billy little quizzes about this and that. I would ask things like whether he preferred Pepsi or cola, or rice or noodles." She added, "The World Cup had started, so I thought, 'Why not try it?' and gave it a shot."
Rinka adopted Billy from an animal welfare group when he was 3 months old. Because he has a heart-shaped marking on his nose, he is also nicknamed Billy Heartnose. His SNS account is also named Billy Heartnose.
However, his prediction for the final group-stage match between South Korea and South Africa missed the mark.
In a video posted on SNS, Rinka holds the flags of South Korea and South Africa before the match and asks, "Who will win today's match between South Korea and South Africa?"
Billy chose the South Korean flag and predicted a South Korea victory. But in the actual match, South Korea lost 1-0 to South Africa. That brought Billy's perfect 19-for-19 streak to an end against South Korea.

Billy's predictions are expected to continue. He has already forecast the result of the Group F match between Japan and Sweden, which will be held at 8 a.m. on the 26th at Dallas Stadium. Billy predicted a win for Japan.
y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter