In a couple of weeks, the biggest soccer tournament of the Old World begins. Italy will defend their title as reigning European champions. Many analysts are already starting to make Euro Cup predictions.
Traditional favorites to win are known to everyone. However, some teams can significantly surprise the world community. These teams may not be the winners of the current continental championship, but they can greatly surprise their opponents. They also have a chance to make themselves known throughout Europe and make other teams not treat them with disdain. Let’s analyze such national teams in detail.
Georgia
Let’s start with the Euro debutant. Sakartvelo has never made it to the European Championship before and for a country with a population of less than 4 million, this is an outstanding achievement. For themselves, the Georgians have already won. But no one forbids them to dream of reaching greater heights.
This team can surprise. First of all, it is a strong team play. Willi Sanyol managed to gather the best players and today they are playing interesting combination soccer.
Valencia goalkeeper Mamardashvilli and Napoli midfielder Kvaratskhelia are considered to be the leaders of this team. It is also worth mentioning Tsitaishvilli, who became World Champion in the Ukraine U-19 national team, but later took Georgian citizenship.
As we have already mentioned, Georgians are happy just to get to the Euros. But playing against the Czech Republic and Turkey is quite realistic and the team can even qualify for the next stage.
Serbia
Another debutant of the tournament, although earlier many Serbs played for the national teams of Yugoslavia Serbia, and Montenegro. This team went to the Euros directly, although here we can rather talk about luck because the group was not the strongest. Nevertheless, the team can surprise its opponents, because:
*They are a fusion of youth and experience players
*They are capable of playing attacking soccer;
*There is a leader on the field, who at the end of the season opened up and started to show the soccer that fans expect from him (Dusan Vlahovic).
As practice shows, not always the team that has qualified strongly plays well at the Euros. The Serbian national team can surprise both on the plus side and the negative side. Unfortunately, having England and Denmark in the group does not leave much chance for success. But Serbia can beat Slovenia and give a fight to Denmark. Therefore, the team may well claim to get out of the group.
Switzerland
This team regularly participates in tournaments of continental and world importance. The last Euro was marked by their serious struggle against France. Then Switzerland managed to surprise everyone. This year, it is also on the list of countries whose results can be unexpected.
The team has a good squad and a good generation of players. Fröhler, Shaqiri, and Xhaka can prove their high class. A bit alarming is the fact that the “neutrals” passed the qualifying group with a squeak. However, they should at least get out of their group, because they can handle 2 opponents. Therefore, we can make Euro Cup predictions that the Swiss team will be at least in the 1/8 finals.
Austria
David Alaba’s absence due to injury will significantly affect the capabilities of the Austrian defense. Without him, it seems like the team is made up of no clear-cut stars. Even experienced striker Marko Arnautovic doesn’t seem like the most logical option for the No. 1 striker.
However, this team can surprise with collective action. There are a lot of good players from the Bundesliga (starting with Zabitzer and ending with Leimer). The team has a good defensive line, a great midfield, and some good options on offense.
Unfortunately, Austria is in a very strong group. If there is a chance for points with Poland, it will be difficult against France and the Netherlands. But if we take into account how the team passed the qualifiers (Sweden was overlooked by the Austrians), they do have a chance to succeed.
The current generation of players is considered to be almost the best composition of the national team of Ukraine. Many players in the team represent the top leagues and a lot is expected from the Ukrainians at the tournament. The team can be surprised because:
*There are 2 options for reliable goalkeepers (Lunin from Real Madrid and Trubin from Benfica);
*One of the best Central defenders in EPL, Zabarnyi;
*An excellent left back Mykolenko (and if necessary there is also Zinchenko);
* Strong center of the field with many combinations of players;
* Excellent ”wingers” in the form of Tsygankov (Yarmolenko) and (Mudryk);
* Top striker (Dovbyk from Girona got Pichichi this year).
The main problem in the national team is considered to be the position of right-back. But Shakhtar player Juhim Konoplya can prove himself there as well. This team can both reach the late stages of the tournament and outright fail. We just have to wait for the tournament itself and understand its capabilities. The group is well within the Ukrainians’ capabilities and they need to take their points in the matches against Romania and Slovakia.
Conclusion
This list can be supplemented by other national teams (Scotland, Romania, Turkey, etc.). However, it is the above-mentioned teams that are expected to make the most progress. We just have to wait for the start of the tournament to understand how realistic are the predictions for the success of each of these teams.
