2024-03-25 06:53:19
Dark horses will determine the worthy ones.
İdman.biz presents an article with a link to soccer.ru.
The heat of the Euro 2024 qualification begins – the playoffs. The semi-finals have already passed – and it’s a shame that the teams that previously gave battle to the national teams of Denmark and Slovenia, who presented the brightest selection group, were eliminated. Many defeats, defeats of Kazakhstan, Finland, Luxembourg, Israel and others are in the past – now let’s talk about who will meet in the near future and compete for the remaining tickets to the European Championship.
Georgia has an inconvenient opponent
The Luxembourg national team had to spend more effort than initially expected – the Georgians unexpectedly and stupidly lost their main option in attack, Napoli winger Khvichi Kvaratskhelia. The footballer received a yellow card in the last game of the group stage against Spain. The team suddenly found out that the number of yellow cards carried over to the playoffs. Therefore, reserves had to be used for the semi-final game. This time I helped Bud Zivzivadze. The already quite experienced 30-year-old forward scored a double and helped Georgia reach the final.
Only now Willy Sagnol’s team will need an optimal composition, all the main people, because they will be playing against the Greek national team. The Hellenes have proven more than once that they cannot be underestimated. In the group stage, the Netherlands, who were considered favorites along with France, almost got burned. But as we progressed, problems began to arise; in October 2023, it got to the point where the Greeks suddenly ousted the “orange” from 2nd place, which gave a direct ticket to the tournament. Only in the head-to-head meeting did the Dutch clear the questions and return to the leading group thanks to their victory. And the Greeks received a standing ovation at the finish, taking points from France – before that, Deschamps’ team had won 7 out of 7 games.
Greece does not have bright stars that you immediately remember when you mention the national team. But this is a very strong and efficient team – Georgia vitally needs to prepare accordingly.
Ukraine has the opening of Euro 2016
The Ukrainians themselves sparkled at Euro 2020. They regularly give battle to the strongest European teams. This time it was hard for the Italian team. These teams competed for a second ticket to the upcoming continental championship in the last round of Group C. To reach the finals, Sergei Rebrov’s team had to look for the keys to the deep defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina – the team played second, found a successful rebound and an own goal. And yet the Ukrainians went further – they scored twice at the end of the second half.
In the upcoming match, you won’t have to worry about opening the bus. Iceland can offer football on a collision course. The team is progressing rapidly and is ready to make it to major tournaments. They also qualified for Euro 2016 – and took second place in a quartet with Hungary, Portugal and Austria. The Vikings ended in draws with the first two, plus they beat the Austrians. But the loudest result was the victory over the English in the 1/8 finals. Perhaps the loud march would have continued – but in the quarterfinals it was the future finalists of the tournament and world champions. And then they made their debut at the 2018 World Cup.
The fight between such strong teams will be truly powerful.
Wales and Poland – an unpredictable pair
The recent match with Estonia showed that the “White Eagles” do not necessarily need to have Robert Lewandowski in the lineup in order to defeat the opponent. In this meeting, the Poles scored 5 goals – the star forward did not score any of them. But Lens midfielder Przemyslaw Frankowski, future Inter leader Piotr Zielinski, Ludogorets leader Jakub Petrovski and Fenerbahce midfielder Sebastian Szymanski made their mark.
The “white-red” have enough tools to open up the opponent’s defense – and Wales also has bright attacking leaders. Previously, they had already opened up a strong Finland with goals from Brooks, Williams, Johnson and James.
This couple can certainly be considered the most unpredictable among all the finalists. The Welsh failed at the World Cup in Qatar a little earlier. We started well, with a draw against the USA, but didn’t score even once in the next two matches (0:2 against Iran, 0:3 against England). Poland did not show football worthy of getting into the playoffs – but thanks to solid defense, luck and the genius of Szczesny, they jumped into the 1/8. The result was that we were immediately eliminated by France, which later reached the final.
And now both of them looked good against the background of strong competitors. The euro will be a kind of opportunity for redemption for them.
The winners will definitely be the dark horses in the final tournament
Everywhere you look, everyone is gravitating towards the potential opening of Euro 2024. Icelanders and Ukrainians are closest to this status. They had already made some noise in the previous two editions – the first one competed with Portugal, knocked out England and fought against France. The second, 4 years later, managed to get ahead of North Macedonia, beat the Swedes, but lost to England in the quarterfinals.
Greece takes the role of simple hard workers who can create a sensation in a short distance. And Georgia has Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – it’s time for him to prove himself at a big tournament. The Poles still have a core that can still be squeezed out of an interesting game at a major competition. And Wales is ready to offer a new batch of young talent. Brennan Johnson and Neco Williams are both 22 years old and already leaders of the Premier League teams. Moreover, the first one has secured such a status in a top club – and is fighting for the Champions League with Spurs.
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