The computer said 'no'. Photo / Getty
The boilerplate investment warning goes, "Past performance is no guarantee of future results".
And so it is in life, and football.
Investment bank Goldman Sachs crunched data on 6000 matches played since 1980 to devise its probability model for Euro 2020. Its crack team took into account factors such as
current team strength, along with recent performances, home advantage effects, and whether a country was a "tournament team" that outperforms during competitions.
It then predicted a winner: Belgium.
After Italy downed Belgium 2-1 in the quarters, the Goldman team, undeterred - despite now being on what you might call a forecasting yellow card- issued a new prediction.
