Unveiling The Dark Horse: The Unexpected Contender To Watch In UEFA EURO 2024
Euro 2024 looks set to be one of the most hotly anticipated tournaments in years, and there is little doubt it will throw up a shock or two. According to the bookies, England and France. are the two favourites to achieve glory in this tournament, but there are a few dark horses who should get a mention, and who could make some waves this summer.
At FootySamba, we always love the idea of an underdog story, and we feel there are a few dark horses who would be worth keeping an eye on throughout the tournament. Whilst we don’t necessarily believe these teams will win the tournament, we do think they have the capacity to go deep and take a few scalps in the process. So, let’s take a look at the teams we think fall into the category of dark horses:
Croatia
Yes, we understand they are in the Group of Death, and many people tuned into Euro 2024’s Group B fixtures will no doubt be doing so to check out the Spain vs. Italy clash, and understandably so. But Croatia should not be ruled out, and there is every chance they could qualify from the group.
Finishing runners-up in the 2018 World Cup, and securing 3rd place in the 2022 World Cup, Croatia are no strangers to upsetting the apple cart on the biggest stage. With an experienced pool of players including Luca Modric, Andrej Kramarić and Ivan Perišić, they have the tools in place to hurt teams, and go deep in the tournament.
Austria
Incredibly, we believe there is a very real chance Austria could emerge as the dark horses of Euro 2024. Ralf Rangnick’s side have a clear tactical identity, an experienced coach, a pool of very talented players to choose from, including an excellent recent form. They finished second in their qualifying group behind world ranked #4 Belgium.
They have only qualified for 4 European Championships in their history, with their best finish coming in 2020 in the Round of 16. However, they are in scintillating form, having lost just one game since a 3-1 defeat to Croatia in the Nations League in 2022, and that was a narrow loss to Belgium.
With a group including France, Poland, and the Netherlands, they might not sit at the top of the Euro 2024 power rankings, but don’t bet against a Quarter Final appearance for the Burschen.
Portugal
Portugal qualified with a 100% record of 10 wins from 10 under manager Roberto Martinez, and will be hoping to repeat their unexpected Euro 2020 win this time around. Always the outsiders, Portugal thrive on digging deep, performing above themselves, and being very hard to beat in tournament football.
Whilst their squad is aging, and superstar Cristiano Ronaldo will no doubt be appearing in his swan song tournament, there are some bright young talents, including António Silva, Rafael Leão, and João Neves. Portugal are a team that always have the ability to be there or thereabouts, and the 5 top 3 appearances in their last 8 European Championships, this is clearly a tournament they like.
In conclusion, there are bound to be a few upsets here and there throughout Euro 2024. These are the teams that we at FootySamba feel have a good chance of making waves and causing a few shocks, it’s going to be interesting to see how things unfold.
