The Euro 2024 championship group stage is done and dusted after 12 straight days of thrilling action that had every possible kind of reaction. Right from host Germany’s opening 5-1 bashing of Scotland to Turkey’s concluding 2-1 win over 10-man Czech Republic, the group stage had all the outcomes that would keep fans having a conversation all day.
Now attention shifts to the knockout phase which begins on Saturday and while the big guns like France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and England among others will gather more attention, it will be impossible to shy away from the underdogs who have grabbed even bigger headlines during the tournament.
To begin with, some of the sides termed as favourites have been largely disappointing so far. Big on that list are France who have failed to score from open play which is shocking considering the wealth of talent at their disposal. Indeed, having an own goal and a penalty from a team that parades names like Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud, Aurelien Tchouameni, and N’Golo Kante among others, does not bode well for them at all.
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Another disappointing side has been England who despite boasting of young talents like Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Ollie Watkins, Anthony Gordon, Kobbie Mainoo, Eberechi Eze, Adam Wharton and others, have not been able to come alive and have only scored two goals, leading to manager Gareth Southgate coming under intense scrutiny.
Defending Euro champions Italy have also not been anything like the side that won the title at Wembley four years ago, needing a late equaliser against Croatia to save them an embarrassing exit. The Croatians were also expected to impress but were nothing like the solid side that finished second at third at the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup respectively, and were ultimately knocked out. The same applied to Denmark who were beaming with quality and experience from the Premier League from the likes of Rasmus Hojlund, Christian Eriksen, Christian Norgaard, Mathias Jensen, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Mikkel Damsgaard.
Neighbours Belgium and the Netherlands were expected to light up this Euros with their attacking arsenal that comprises the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Jeremy Doku, Lois Openda, Leandro Trossard, Memphis Depay, Cody Gakpo, Joshua Zirkzee, Xavi Simons but they were only able to make it to the round of 16 by the narrowest of margins. Portugal were also expected to come out all guns blazing leading with talisman Cristiano Ronaldo but they had to dig hard against the Czech Republic with a late win before ending their group campaign with a shocker.
The only sides that dominated and played to high standards were hosts Germany and two-time champions Spain. Die Mannschaft have shown that they mean business on home soil after underwhelming at the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups and Euro 2020 while La Roja are playing with renewed vigour and vibe under Luis de la Fuente.
With more than five heavyweights underperforming so far? Does this mean the competition is down to just two teams? Not quite. The knockout phase offers a different picture to the group stage, hence some of these underachievers might come alive in this phase but it would be impossible to leave out the underdogs that have been phenomenal.
As stated earlier, some of the underdogs have made the biggest headlines and will be of keen interest in the knockout phase. One of the biggest overachievers have been Georgia. The Crusaders were making their first-ever outing at any international tournament and made a statement of intent against Turkey in their Group F opener, even though it ended in defeat before going on to draw with the Czech Republic and stun Portugal 2-0 to book their spot in the round of 16.
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— AfroSport (@AfroSportTV) June 28, 2024
Austria is another side that has defied expectations by finishing top of Group D ahead of France and the Netherlands, thanks to their high-pressing, high-intensity style of play under coach Ralf Rangnick who was not considered a top manager after failing to lift Manchester United out of their misery during the 2021-22 season.
Romania has also thrilled fans at this Euros, blowing Ukraine apart in their Group F opener 3-0 and drawing 1-1 against Slovakia which was enough to see them top the group. The Slovakians and Slovenia equally did well to make it through to the round of 16, the latter having to deal with England, Denmark and Serbia.
These aforementioned underdogs will be put to test from the round of 16 but that does not mean they will suddenly become slack in the more important phase and fizzle out. If Austria could be so resilient in a group containing France and the Netherlands, it could give them an extra morale boost.
After all, this was witnessed exactly two decades ago when an unfancied Greece defied the odds by getting the better of Portugal, Spain, France, and a then highly-rated Czech Republic, to win the Euros on Portuguese soil, defeating the hosts in the final.
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— AfroSport (@AfroSportTV) June 28, 2024
The quality of teams considered to be underdogs is increasing gradually, meaning it is becoming more difficult for the big guns to get a win over them. This makes the Euros much tougher and more competitive, leaving fans to witness more giant killing results that will be in the annals of football history.
In the end, Euro 2024 might just be the year for another incredible underdog triumph.
