Football
Five ‘Underdog’ Nations Who Could Surprise in the 2018 World Cup
The 2018 World Cup is glinting on the horizon, which means we’re just a few months away from the greatest sporting contest on earth. With the qualification process over and the groups set, everyone and their dog is now sizing up the teams that could dominate this year. As ever, Brazil, Germany, France and Spain are among the top teams heading into summer’s Russian showdown. In fact, when you take a look at the latest betting odds at sunbets.co.uk, the bookies appear to be backing Germany and Brazil. At this early stage, the perennial contenders are 12/1 to make the final.
However, as anyone that’s a fan of the beautiful game will know, things can turn ugly in the World Cup. Indeed, just because a country comes into the competition with decade’s worth of experience and credentials, it doesn’t mean they’re going to hold the Jules Rimet trophy aloft. Sure, the smart money will be lumped on the likes of Brazil and Germany, but there’s plenty of value in the market for someone looking to back an underdog. Now, for many, England are underdogs. Even though they’re are talked about as if they’re real contenders, years of disappointment would suggest otherwise.
In reality, it’s unclear whether the Three Lions are underdogs or potential contenders. If we accept this uncertainty and leave England to one side for the purposes of this preview, we’re left with the following question: which country could surprise us at the 2018 World Cup? Well, looking through recent form and the qualification process, we think the following five nations could upset the world when things kick-off in Russia on June 14:
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Belgium
OK, so Belgium aren’t exactly a team on the peripheries of the international football scene, but they never really seem to get the respect they deserve. One thing we know about Belgium is that they have one of the top sides in the world. With the likes of Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne all rated as some of the best in the game, the nation of just 11.3 million has a surprising penchant for producing football talent. Although recent lacklustre performances against Japan and Mexico have raised questions about the team’s temperament, qualification was fairly easy. When you take all of this and add manager Roberto Martinez into the mix, Belgium look to be the best “outsiders” this year.
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Portugal
Another team that often gets overlooked but has one of the best international records in the game, Portugal will head into the World Cup with a solid shot at upsetting the odds. While the current set-up under Fernando Santos doesn’t look as solid as the one that won Euro 2016, there’s quality in the side. Naturally, Cristiano Ronaldo is that quality and, with this being his last World Cup (in all likelihood), he’ll want to go out with a bang. For the defensive lines of Group B, that’s a daunting prospect. However, Portugal have shown that they can also win without their talisman. Sure, it was only a friendly victory over Saudi Arabia, but it does show that this isn’t a one-man-show.
Nigeria
African nations always perform well in World Cups. Maybe it’s their ability to play in the heat or maybe it’s because they rarely get to play the best in Europe and they’ve got a point to prove. Whatever it is, they’re always dangerous and Nigeria look to be the best of the bunch at the moment. Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi is undoubtedly the player to watch, but the team as a whole is capable of something special. This point was made clear back in November 2017 when Salisu Yusuf’s side came back from two goals down to beat Argentina 4-2. As well as Kelechi Iheanacho and Brian Idowu showing their scoring prowess, the win was in Russia, which shows the environment won’t faze Nigeria’s finest.
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Mexico
If confidence is a defining factor in a team’s potential success, then Mexico will certainly be one to watch this summer. Despite a narrow defeat to Portugal in the Confederations Cup final, Mexico looked every bit a cup winning side. Using this as inspiration, Juan Carlos Osorio’s men flew into Poland and stole a win back in November, just a week after drawing with Belgium. OK, so they might have been friendlies and there’s still six months for things to change before the World Cup starts, but it does show Mexico can be dangerous. Indeed, if Hirving Lozano can ping in some slick passes, there’s a chance Mexico could enjoy a fiesta in Russia.
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Morocco
They might not have the scoring prowess of a side like Brazil, but Morocco may have one of the best defensive outfits in the 2018 World Cup. Under the guidance of Hervé Renard, Morocco have looked tight and well organised, even under pressure. The end result was qualification without conceding a goal. Sure, the competition wasn’t the toughest, but countries like the Ivory Coast certainly aren’t a walkover. If Hakim Ziyech, Nabil Dirar and Medhi Benatia can perform at their best, don’t be surprised if Morocco make it deep in Russia.
So that’s about it. While we’re not saying the five teams listed will cruise through to the final, they certainly have the power to bring some drama to proceedings. In fact, if the top seeds don’t come in on form, we may just see an underdog take home football’s most coveted prize.
