The Argentine beer company Quilmes anticipated that Lionel Messi and his team would win the World Cup. While La Abiceleste was a popular pick to win it all, Quilmes listed a number of reasons ahead of the tournament why 2022 was his year.
The commercial originally aired a month before the tournament. It was meant to get the fans excited for the World Cup, unsurprisingly. In doing so, the theme was to list all the matches that indicated World Cup success.
Lo and behold, each of the matches accurately predicted Argentina’s third World Cup victory.
Of course, some of these were absurd. Before the 1986 World Cup, the last time Argentina won, it rained on Christmas in Buenos Aires. During Christmas 2021 it rained in Buenos Aires. Also, 1986 was not a leap year. Not so surprisingly, 2022 is not a leap year. It is an exaggeration to call them causation and consequence. However, football fans are notorious and proud of their superstitions.
Argentine brewer predicts World Cup triumph
Looking back at the commercial in hindsight, some of the coincidences actually make sense. Of course, having the best player in the world is a great help. Diego Maradona won the player of the tournament award in 1986. Lionel Messi matched that feat at the 2022 World Cup.
Some of the other coincidences were also related to soccer. Canada qualified for its first World Cup in 1986. They qualified again for the second time in 2022. In both iterations, Argentina won the World Cup. While Quilmes couldn’t predict Morocco’s World Cup run, there’s something there, too. Morocco became the first team from Africa to reach the knockout stages of a World Cup in 1986. In 2022, Morocco fought their way to Africa’s first World Cup semi-final.
Goalkeeper Franco Armani, who did not appear in the tournament, also makes an appearance in the commercial. He was born in 1986 and was the oldest player on the Argentina squad at the 2022 World Cup.
Overall, it’s a heartwarming commercial, particularly with the benefit of hindsight.
PHOTO: IMAGO/Xinhua
