An octopus in Germany called Paul who has shot to stardom for his spot-on World Cup predictions forecast on Tuesday a quarter-final win by Germany over Argentina.
But in view perhaps of the tougher opposition that Diego Maradona's side will pose Germany on Saturday than England did last Sunday, the eight-legged soccer soothsayer took more than an hour to decide.
Ahead of the England game, which saw Germany's young guns demolish Fabio Capello's ageing Premier League stars 4-1, Paul needed just eight seconds to make up his mind.
Saturday's encounter in Cape Town, therefore, might go to extra time -- or even penalties.
因此,德国和阿根廷本周六在开普敦的对决可能会出现加时赛,甚至可能会以点球定胜负。
Two plastic boxes, one with a German flag and one with their opponent's, are lowered into Paul's tank at Sea Life in Oberhausen in western Germany, each with a tasty morsel of food inside.
The box which Paul opens first is adjudged to be his predicted winner.
保罗先打开哪个盒子,表明那个盒子所代表的国家就将获胜。
Earlier in the tournament, the eight-legged oracle correctly tipped Germany to beat Ghana and Australia in their Group D matches. And proving he is not just attracted by Germany's flag, he also correctly predicted a loss to Serbia.
Even though he was born in England, he also treacherously but correctly foretold Germany's win over his native country in their last-16 clash on Sunday.
尽管保罗出生于英国,它却“背叛”了自己的祖国,正确预测出德国队在上周日的八强赛中会战胜英国。
Argentina coach Maradona should not throw in the towel just yet, however, as Paul has been wrong before. For the European Championships in 2008, his success rate was only 80 percent.