Professional sports analysts, statisticians, and decades of accumulated football knowledge have produced some truly impressive World Cup predictions over the years. None of them is currently undefeated. Billy the cat is.
Billy Heartnose, a one-year-old British shorthair from Newry, County Down, Ireland, has become an Instagram sensation by correctly calling the winner of all 19 non-draw matches in the 2026 World Cup so far by tapping his paw on the corresponding flag. His owners, Linka Lin, 33, and Mark Kelly, 35, present him with two flags before each match and let him do the rest. He hasn’t been wrong yet.
The whole thing started almost by accident. Linka came home from an event with a bag full of small flags and started playing with Billy. The World Cup happened to be underway. “We thought, ‘Why not?’” she said, per SWNS. What followed blew their minds. “We didn’t expect some of the videos to get picked up by people online.”
Billy the Psychic Cat Probably Doesn’t Know or Care He’s Instagram Famous
Billy, for his part, appears unbothered by his rising profile. “As a cat, he doesn’t seem to be bothered that he’s an online influencer,” Linka said. “To us, he’s still our cat, still Billy.” His only notable disruption came during one session when a fly in the house broke his concentration mid-prediction. The football world will have to take that one on the chin.
His owners have been careful not to overclaim on his behalf, while also clearly delighting in the whole situation. “Of course it’s going to be harder and harder to get it right with time and the level of expectation will be heavier,” Linka said, “but I’m pretty confident he can handle that.” She also noted that Billy has received significantly more treats than usual lately, adding, “I guess he probably will find it surprising.”
The reactions online have been what you’d expect for a globally beloved psychic cat: mostly adoring, occasionally territorial. “Sometimes Billy will pick a country people don’t want, and they will comment saying, ‘I forgive you, you’re really cute,’” Linka said. There have also been a handful of what she described as “borderline threatening comments” from fans whose teams Billy didn’t favor. Overwhelmingly, though, people are rooting for him.
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