A remarkable theory has emerged that suggests Chelsea have already decided the winner of the World Cup before the second semi-final is played.
Argentina booked their place in Sunday's showpiece event with a comfortable win over Croatia on Tuesday. Minnows Morocco will face reigning champions France on Wednesday night to decide who will take on La Albiceleste at Lusail Stadium.
Heading into that second semi-final, though, it appears that the winners of the tournament may have been decided already - at least that is what some social media users suspect. A peculiar pattern has come to light and would appear to have a better record than the likes of notorious psychics Paul the octopus and Alfie the alpaca.
The pattern involves Premier League giants Chelsea and concerns the squad numbers that players wear for the Blues and the year their respective countries win the tournament. Back in 2010, Juan Mata wore the No.10 shirt for Chelsea.
He was included in La Roja's squad for that year's World Cup in South Africa, which they went on to win. While Mata barely featured in Spain's success, Andre Schurrle was at the heart of Germany's World Cup triumph four years later.
The attacker wore No.14 for Chelsea at the time and was part of Die Mannschaft's squad for the 2014 tournament. He starred in their run to winning the World Cup, scoring twice in the semi-final win over Brazil and providing the assist for Mario Gotze's goal in the final.
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Remarkably, the pattern does not end there, with the same thing also happening four years ago in Russia. In that tournament, it was Olivier Giroud who was Chelsea's World Cup winner, featuring for France.
He wore the No.18 shirt for Chelsea as his national team claimed their first World Cup win for two decades in 2018. This is where we come to this year's tournament, where the pattern remains well and truly intact.
That is because in 2022, Hakim Ziyech wears the No.22 shirt for Chelsea, with Morocco having reached the semi-finals. He is likely to start for the African side when they face France at Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday, having earned the praise of Ian Wright for his performances so far.
"I’m loving Hakim Ziyech at this World Cup, I’m loving him. I love the way he’s playing. He plays with a different energy when he plays for his country," the Arsenal legend told his Wrighty's House podcast.
"I watch him at Chelsea and I’m not being negative, but the difference is this man needs it when he’s playing for Morocco. Remember he had all those problems with the [previous] coach, he wasn’t playing, then the coach is gone, they got their guy in and look at where they are now."
Morocco will be hoping the strange pattern once again continues, with no African side having ever reached this stage of the tournament. But with Ziyech on their side, they may have an unlikely advantage.
