Achilles the cat, who lives at St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum and serves as the animal oracle for the upcoming World Cup, will predict the winner of the opening match between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia, St. Petersburg's Committee for Tourism Development said on Friday.
“The Hermitage oracle cat Achilles will pick the winning team of the first match,” the committee said in a statement.
Achilles is also expected to predict the results of the World Cup matches set to be held at the St. Petersburg Stadium, including the Russia vs Egypt game on 19 June and the semi-final on 10 July.
The cat was appointed the World Cup oracle in March.
He also predicted the match winners during the 2017 Confederations Cup by selecting one of the two plates with food, each marked with the national flag of one of the teams. Three out of five of his predictions turned out to be correct.
Achilles is a congenitally deaf snow-white cat, who has lived in the Winter Palace, which houses the Hermitage, since he was born. He is said to have landed the job for being the most stress-resistant and human-oriented of about 50 cats living at the museum.
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