'Ronaldo' predicts England victory as Wicksteed Park reveals its Euro 2024 four-legged football forecaster

The brown and white goat has led the way as the goats at Wicksteed Park’s Wicky’s Farmyard have been successfully forecasting the results of key games during the first week of the competition in Germany.

Predictions are made at feeding time, when the park’s animal keepers have been putting out two feeding baskets, each bearing the flag of a competing nation, and seeing which one the goats chose to eat from first.

Ronaldo was given his name by the park’s animal manager Georgia Sharpe, who is an avid football fan, because he always seems to be first to everything.

GOAT also stands for Greatest Of All Time, a phrase frequently used to describe Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo, who is a cross between a Toggenburg Swiss goat and a South African Boer, has come up with a correct prediction every time, including England’s win over Serbia as well as Portugal’s victory over the Czech Republic and the Three Lions’ draw with Denmark.

Despite Gareth Southgate’s team struggling in their opening two matches, Ronaldo and his ‘team’ have predicted an England win in their final group game against Slovenia tonight.

Georgia said: “Ronaldo always leads from the front and is always first to the food at feeding time. It started off as a bit of fun, with the Euros being on, to see which food basket the goats went to first if we put the teams’ national flags on them.

“Ronaldo and his team seem to know their stuff because they keep forecasting the winners!”

As well as goats, Wicky’s Farmyard also offers the chance to interact with giant rabbits, pigs, barn owls, ferrets, and guinea pigs in an animal-friendly enclosure.

All Wicksteed Park’s rides and attractions will be open each weekend in June and throughout the half-term and summer holidays, so visitors can enjoy the park’s new Jolly Jockeys attraction as well as rides like Dinosaur Valley and Rocky River Falls or favourites such as the Paratrooper, the Dodgems, the Train, Sway Rider and the Carousel.