The greatest sporting event in the world wouldn’t be so popular if it weren’t for the underdog stories that make the memories of millions of fans watching this competition.
From Turkey and South Korea reaching the semifinals in 2002 to Croatia fighting for the title in 2018, the following nations are set to have a Cinderella story this year at Qatar.
Switzerland:
The Swiss are growing accustomed to playing in World Cups. Qatar will be the fifth in a row, but the stakes will be higher as there’s a feeling inside the Swiss camp that they could provide an upset in this tournament.
They’ve topped their qualifying group in front of Italy, recent European champions. And recently, they won against Spain away, and many players are enjoying a great present: Granit Xhaka is excelling in a new role at Arsenal, Manuel Akanji has been signed by Manchester City, and Xherdan Shaqiri is leading the line at Chicago Fire.
Swiss and international fans are vowing for this team to make it to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1954, and betting sites in Switzerland are ready to offer fans the best bets for the World Cup as they prepare for a historic year. Switzerland has a particular regulation with betting meaning that fans should look for platforms offering reputable brands for security and reliability during the most popular sporting event of the year.
Serbia:
It’ll be a big matchup in the World Cup having Switzerland and Serbia in the same group.
Just as the Swiss, Serbians have a big chance of securing a berth to the round of 16, and the game between these two nations could be decisive as the other giant in the group, Brazil, has the first place booked for them.
Serbia already shocked the footballing world by sending Portugal to the World Cup playoff when they beat the team commanded by Cristiano Ronaldo to top the qualifying group.
And it seems as if the current generation of footballers is one of the best ever seen in the Balkan country. Aleksandar Mitrovic is one of the top goal scorers in the Premier League, Dusan Tadic has led Ajax to two league championships in a row, and Dusan Vlahovic is meant to be Europe’s next big star.
Add to the mix the names of Milinkovic-Savic, Filip Kostic, or Nemanja Gudelj and you get a high-performing team that could have a great display in Qatar.
Denmark:
The Danish can be described as discrete in the footballing scene. And this discretion has brought them many successful campaigns such as the European Championship in 1992 or the European semifinals last year, two of the biggest upsets in the history of football.
Experts and bookmakers not only put the odds in favor of Denmark going through their group, but some even predict that they could top it in front of defending champions, France.
They only lost one game out of 10 on the way to the World Cup, scoring 30 goals for only 3 against. It’s one of the best records in European football.
They’ve got a perfect mix of young talent and experienced players: goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, defender Simon Kjaer, and midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg are among the dressing room leaders and in charge of taking under the wing the likes of Mikkel Damsgaard and Andreas Olsen.
There’s almost no doubt that they are favorites against Australia and Tunisia, and they are hopeful of a win against France that would secure them first place in the group.
Senegal:
It will only be the third World Cup in the history of Senegal, a nation that’s set to surprise the footballing world in Qatar just like they did on their debut in 2002 when they reached the quarterfinals.
The Lions of Teranga arrive in Qatar with the billboard of the best African team, as they’re the current reigning champions of Africa.
With Sadio Mané they can boast of having one of the best players in the world in their squad, but they don’t fall short on other positions. Edouard Mendy has helped Chelsea win the Champions League excelling as a goalkeeper and Kalidou Koulibaly is one of the best central defenders in Europe.
Their group consisting of Qatar, the Netherlands, and Ecuador means that bookmakers place Senegal in the round of 16 but should they beath the Orange and secure the first place, they could have an easy matchup in the next round that could see them go through the quarterfinals and from there, anything is possible for this team.
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