World Cup final: Paul the psychic octopus predicts Spain will beat Holland

Paul the psychic octopus has predicted Spain will beat Holland and win World Cup 2010 while Germany shall be triumphant in the third and fourth place play-off.

The news will come as a boost to Spain ahead of the World Cup final against Holland at Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg on Sunday.

The psychic octopus has not made a mistake when predicting the outcome of a football match for two years. On that occassion Paul said Germany would beat Spain in the Euro 2008 final but Luis Aragones' team came out on top, winning 1-0.

At this World Cup Paul has predicted all of Germany's results correctly even including the defeats against Serbia in the group stages and Spain in the semi-finals.

Since correctly predicting Spain's victory over Joachim Löw's team Paul has been on the recieving end of a backlash from Germany fans.

However the octoped has got in support in the unlikely form of Sanish Prime Minister Jose Luiz Rodriguez Zapatero who has joked he will provide Paul with a team of boduguards.

Zapatero said: "I am concerned for the octopus. I am thinking of sending him a protective team."

Spanish environment and fisheries minister Elena Espinosa has also sworn to protect the octopus.

"On Monday, I shall be at the European Council of Ministers and I shall be asking for a [fishing] ban on Paul the octopus so the Germans do not eat him," Espinosa said.

The octopus had already made it's prediction for the third and fourth place play-off opting for the mussel in the Germany box. It took Paul just a couple of minutes to decide its adopted nation will beat Uruguay to take third place in the tournament.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/spain/7881110/World-Cup-final-Paul-the-psychic-octopus-predicts-Spain-will-beat-Holland.html