Has The Simpsons predicted a World Cup final of Mexico vs Portugal?

Mexico and Portugal fans are starting to wonder if they are destined to reach the World Cup final in Russia - because of a Simpsons episode from 1997.

The animated sitcom has a knack for predicting the future, most notably featuring Donald Trump as US President in an episode 18 years ago and also foreseeing Disney buying 21st Century Fox.

And people are now wondering if The Simpsons have predicted the World Cup final this year after social media users stumbled across the 1997 episode 'The Cartridge Family'.

In the episode, the residents of Springfield are told to 'open wide for some soccer' and go see the match to decide 'which nation is the greatest on earth: Mexico or Portugal'.

There is also some real substance to the claim that The Simpsons has pulled off another prediction as if Mexico win the group by avoiding defeat against Sweden on Wednesday, then the two sides cannot feasibly meet until the final.

There also appears to be a link to the Mexico team from earlier this year. On the TV advert in the episode, a Mexico player is seen in a hot tub with bikini-clad girls, which is allegedly what happened at the team's pre-World Cup party.

Portuguese newspaper Eco reported: 'Although there is no clear indication of what year the match takes place in, one detail has led viewers to believe that it's the 2018 World Cup final.

'There seems to be a reference to the scandal that recently plagued the Mexican team who allegedly partied with several women before the beginning of the tournament.'

If Portugal had have won Group B it would have meant the teams could have met earlier in the tournament, but Cristiano Ronaldo first missed a penalty  before a late contentious VAR call saw Iran equalise to help Spain finish top.

The reaction to the episode on social media has been crazy with even Bayer Leverkusen cottoning on to it.

The German club Tweeted on Tuesday: 'Apparently there's an episode of The Simpsons that's predicted a World Cup final for Mexico... ... anyone know where we can find the episode predicting a Bayer 04 Leverkusen Bundesliga title in 2018/19?'

One Twitter user promised to get the Simpsons shaved into his hair if Portugal and Mexico reach the final while another said: 'I get it now. Ronaldo missed the penalty so we could end in second place and fulfil the Simpsons' prediction.'