Opinion

The18 Tried To Predict Euro Games Better Than A Computer-Generated Prediction Algorithm — Here’s How We Did

The18’s renowned data scientist introduced the team to an API (application programming interface) that gave predictions for games in the European Championship. We naturally took that as a challenge to see if we could predict the outcomes of games better than the algorithm. We’ll show the results from the Round of 16 before sharing our Euro 2020 quarterfinal predictions.

Five of our staff, including Grant the data scientist, took the challenge to outsmart the algorithm. After eight games in the Round of 16, this is what the leaderboard looks like.

Con El Permiso De Cristóbal Soria Del Chiringuito: "¿Dónde Está El Grupo De La Muerte? ... ¿Dónde Está?"

Francia, Alemania, Portugal y Hungría eran parte del Grupo F de la Eurocopa. Grupo tan difícil como atractivo. Francia, vigente campeón mundial; Portugal, actual rey de Europa; Alemania, tetracampeones mundiales; y Hungría a completar el grupo.

Didier Deschamps, Joachim Löw y Fernando Santos contaban con los mejores equipos desde el vamos. Ponerlos entre los favoritos del torneo y llamar a la serie el Grupo de la Muerte caía de cajón.

The Best (And Worst) Fans From Euro 2020, So Far

While the Euros roll on through the knockout rounds, we have plenty of wild fan interactions already. From fans showing up to support their team in the wrong country to pitch invaders wielding rainbow flags, anything goes as fans are enjoying their time back. Football fans were kept from stadiums and fully supporting their teams for over a year by the Covid-19 pandemic, diminished to yelling at screens instead of faces, so we wouldn't expect anything less extravagant than what has been happening. Let's take a look at the best Euro 2020 fans so far. 

Home Sweet Home: Despite UEFA's Scheduling Procedures, England Still Managed To Benefit

When I first heard UEFA's plans to not have just one host city for Euro 2020, I was intrigued and pleasantly surprised.

The idea makes sense. Spread fans out across eleven host cities, which prevents hundreds of thousands of supporters descending on one particular country or city. It mitigates the COVID-19 risks (not something that was on the minds of organizers in 2020, but is beneficial in 2021) and helps the many host countries and cities financially without giving too much home field advantage to one country — at least in theory.

U.S. Soccer’s Bizarre Twitter Rant Makes Me Want To Watch ‘LFG’ Even More

Released on June 24 on HBO Max, “LFG” is a documentary following members of the U.S. women’s national team in their fight for equal pay from the U.S. Soccer Federation. Based on the tweets from U.S. Soccer this week, I need to get an HBO Max subscription ASAP to see what has the USSF in such a tizzy.

LFG is the USWNT’s adopted slogan, an acronym for “Let’s Fucking Go!” The film, which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in June, appears to be “Let’s fucking go after USSF,” if a recent Twitter thread is anything to go by. 

Lukaku Hates Pineapple Pizza And More From His Twitter Q&A

Belgium forward Romelu Lukaku had fans ask him questions on Twitter and his responses display just why we love him. He replied to dozens of questions, including sharing his biggest motivation and even firing back at some haters, making this thread a must-see. As he lights up the pitch at Euro 2020, we look at the highlights from the Lukaku Q&A to get to know one of our favorite stars even more. 

Ranking The Top 5 Most Disappointing Teams From The Euro Group Stage

After 13 straight days of Euro group play, fans can finally take a moment to catch their breath. Over 3,240 minutes of soccer were played in the group stage and now it’s time for the Round of 16. Before moving on, it’s worth looking back at the worst Euro teams from the group stage that left us disappointed.

Lukaku And KDB: The History Of The Handshake

Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne go together in Belgium's attack like peanut butter and jelly coming together to make the most timeless of sandwiches. They've built their impressive careers at separate clubs, but when they come together with Belgium there's little opponents can do to stop them. Having so much success between them, the two obviously had to create a celebratory handshake to go with it.

Old Is Gold? USWNT Olympic Roster To Put Theory To The Test In Tokyo

After three months of bold predictions, shifting power rankings and in-depth sleuthing on who could possibly make the final 18-player USWNT Olympic roster, it’s safe to say that was all a waste of time. 

Can England Actually Beat France, Germany Or Portugal In The Round Of 16?

England has finished top of Euro 2020 Group D with a 1-0 victory over the Czech Republic on Tuesday night at Wembley. That result means that the Three Lions will host the Group F runner-up next Tuesday in London. That’ll almost certainly be one of France, Germany or Portugal.

If France beats Portugal and Germany beats Hungary tomorrow, it’s Germany. Can England prevail?

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