At a ceremony to make his predictions by choosing between two bowls of cat food, Achilles the cat chose that with the Russian flag
ST. PETERSBURG, Achilles the cat, a resident of Russia’s State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and an official oracle of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, has predicted the Russian national team will be the winner of the opening match of the FIFA World Cup.
Russia will play against Saudi Arabia on Thursday, June 14. At a ceremony to make his predictions by choosing between two bowls of cat food, Achilles chose that with the Russian flag, however not without hesitation.
Achilles, a snow-white tom cat from the Hermitage Museum launched his oracle career during the FIFA Confederations Cup last year. Museum’s staff said he had been chosen from among the other cats for his ability to choose, analyze and for his unusual behavior.
Last year, the Hermitage cat was right about the outcomes of three out of four 2017 Confederations Cup matches played in St. Petersburg, including the opening and final matches.
Throughout the year, Achilles has been preparing for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, taking part in public events, training to shed weight and get more fit, as well as to be more definite in the forecasts without paying attention to camera flashes and the presence of unfamiliar people. Achilles is deaf as many white cats are, yet this impairment does not sidetrack the feline and lets him better concentrate on his predictions.
In the remaining days before the championship kicks off, Achilles has been daily training at the Hermitage Museum, where the prediction sessions will take place during the Russia-hosted World Cup.
The FIFA World Cup, the first-ever hosted by Russia, will be held between June 14 and July 15, 2018, in 11 Russian cities - Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Sochi and Rostov-on-Don.
St. Petersburg will host seven matches - Morocco vs. Iran on June 15, Russia vs. Egypt on June 19, Brazil vs. Costa Rica on June 22. Argentina will play against Nigeria on June 26. Two play-off games and a match for the third place will also take place in St. Petersburg.
