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The Kelly Tarlton’s penguins will be looking to bounce back on Sunday – just like the Football Ferns.
After their spot-on start to picking FIFA Women’s World Cup winners, when they called New Zealand’s stunning upset of Norway last Thursday, they’ve since gone none from two.
The Philippines got up to beat the penguin-backed Ferns in their second match on Tuesday and while their choice of the Netherlands over the United States looked good as the Dutch took a halftime lead on Thursday, that match ultimately ended up a 1-1 draw.
New Zealand can control their own destiny with a win over Switzerland at Dunedin Stadium, while there are scenarios where a draw could be enough, depending on what happens when Norway and the Philippines meet at Eden Park in Auckland at the same time.
Watch the video above to find out who the penguins picked between the Ferns and the Swiss, then watch the match on Sky Sport 1, Prime, or Stuff from 7pm to find out if they got it right.
Chris McKeen/Stuff
The penguins from Kelly Tarlton’s have made their pick for the FIFA Women’s World Cup match between New Zealand and Switzerland.
Then check back at 5am on Monday to see the final two picks of the group stage – for that evening’s group B and C deciders between Spain and Japan, then Australia and Canada.
When they heard the World Cup was coming to New Zealand, the Kelly Tarlton’s penguins were excited to be involved and try their hand at picking some winners, especially once they learned one of their cousins, Tazuni, was the tournament mascot.
Sea Life Kelly Tarlton’s Aquarium is home to 23 king penguins – the second-largest species, who have yellow markings on their faces – and 48 gentoo penguins – who are smaller and have white stripes on their foreheads.
Tazuni meanwhile is a little blue penguin – a species found in the wild in both New Zealand and Australia, the co-hosts of the World Cup, which features 32 teams and 64 matches over the next five weeks.
Will the Kelly Tarlton’s penguins turn out to be cannily accurate, like Germany’s Paul the Octopus, who got 12 correct from 14 attempts across the 2008 men’s European Championship and the 2010 men’s World Cup?
You’ll have to watch their picks and the matches to find out, but so far they’ve predicted one out of three.
Some might prefer hard data to gain an insight into who is going to succeed and who is going to fail at this year’s World Cup – like what’s on offer in Stuff’s power rankings and match predictions.
Those predictions have the Ferns a 33% chance to win on Sunday, with Switzerland at 47% and a draw at 20%.
But watching penguins choose between two buckets of fish is a lot more fun.
CHRIS MCKEEN/STUFF
The penguins at Kelly Tarlton’s have a massive affinity for football. Will it help them predict results at the FIFA Women’s World Cup?
FIFA Women’s World Cup
Upcoming matches in New Zealand
Sunday, 7pm: Football Ferns v Switzerland; Dunedin Stadium
Sunday, 7pm: Norway v Philippines; Eden Park, Auckland
Monday, 7pm: Spain v Japan; Wellington Regional Stadium
Monday, 7pm: Costa Rica v Zambia; Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
Tuesday, 7pm: Portugal v United States; Eden Park
Tuesday, 7pm: Vietnam v Netherlands; Dunedin Stadium
Wednesday, 7pm: Argentina v Sweden; Waikato Stadium
Wednesday, 7pm: South Africa v Italy; Wellington Regional Stadium
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