Which national teams have surprised fans so far in World Cup?

We have all been excited because of the World Cup. Some national teams went home while others were still in the game. When you look closer, this competition has been the toughest. Some underdogs have managed to surprise the favorites, which automatically made the tournament more entertaining.

Who will win the title is something we won’t discuss in this article. Reliable and professional online bookmakers still give Brazil the most significant chance to do such a thing. If you do not have the same opinion, you can compare the offers of all betting sites in Malta or simply find the best odds on the full list here.

However, what about the underdogs? Have some of them surprised you? Well, some of them have made a miracle while others surprised us in a bit disappointing way. We would like to analyze the performance of a couple of teams. Some of them are still in the game!

Morocco

Without any doubt, Morocco is the biggest surprise in the competition. This team has managed to reach the quarterfinals, which is one of the biggest successes of their national team. No one could ever predict they will end up in first place in Group F. Belgium and Croatia are pretty strong teams. Fortunately, Morocco managed to win against Belgium and play a draw with the previous World Cup runner-up.

Morocco’s match against Spain was pretty monotonous. We all have to admit that. The audience expected Spain to be more aggressive. However, Morocco played solid defence and won in the penalty series. No one expected they can win Portugal, but here we are! However, did anyone expect Morocco to reach the semifinals? Surprises are possible!

Japan

Japan was a sensation in this World Cup. They started the tournament with a victory against Germany. While they had only 19% of the ball possession in the first half, they managed to turn around the result and win 2:1. In the last match, they surprised Spain and ended up in first place in the group. They once again had a very low percentage of ball possession. Believe it or not, Japan broke a record with 18%. However, they, once again, managed to win 2:1 (just like against Germany).

Their discipline in the defence is fantastic! Unfortunately, Croatia was a bit lucky in the penalty shoot-out. However, even in that match, Japan showed attitude and willingness to win. We are sure that Japan’s national football team will have a bright future.

South Korea

Asian teams simply played better than ever before! Every expected Uruguay and Portugal to pass the group. However, South Korea won the game against Portugal in the last match, which put them in second place in the group thanks to a better goal difference. Playing against Brazil is tough, and it doesn’t surprise us why they lost 4:1. Remember that Brazil is one of the favorites.

Senegal

All the fans of Senegal were pretty sad when they heard the news about Sadio Mane. The leader of the team and one of the best players in the world got injured a few weeks before the World Cup. However, it turned out that Senegal is a great team even without the main figure of the team.

Senegal started the tournament with a lost against the Netherlands. But, this lost was not surprising as Van Dijk and crew were the main favorites to win the group. However, Senegal managed to win the remaining two games against Ecuador and Qatar. Their games were eye-pleasing, and they scored 5 goals in two games. Playing against England in the ⅛ finals was pretty tough. Their team is fantastic and one of the favorites to reach the finals. But we are pretty sure that people in Senegal are proud of their national team.

USA

Football or soccer? It doesn’t matter! The USA players were great on the group stage. They ended up in the group stage with 2 draws and 1 win. The last win against Iran was crucial. Pulisic and crew managed to pass the group because of that. Unfortunately, the Netherlands was a too strong team for them. Although, there were some moments when it looked that the USA could surprise. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. But we are sure most people in the US are proud of their SOCCER players.

Negative Surprises of the World Cup

Serbia

Serbia was, at the same time, an underdog and a competitive team at the same time. It depends on how you look at their team. If you check out the individuals playing there, you can conclude they have a powerful team. On the other hand, if you research their history on the World Cups, you can quickly determine they have never been too successful. We can’t even remember when was the last time this team passed the group stage in this international competition.

Yet, fans in Serbia, as well as people around the globe, believed that Serbia could pass the group stage. Logically, their main competitor was Switzerland from the very beginning. They had almost the identical group in the last World Cup. Because of that, everyone believed the Serbian national football team would fix the mistakes they made 4 years ago. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

Because of that, Serbia is one of the surprises in Qatar. Unfortunately, this time, we are talking about negative surprises. We will see whether the team will prepare adequately for the qualifications for European Cup.

Germany

We all remember the win against Brazil eight years ago. Unfortunately, that team is not the one we have today. Germany looked pretty bad in the group stage. We are still trying to figure out why. Their defeat against Japan messed up the plan their national team had. They hoped Spain would win Japan in the last round, but that didn’t happen. It turned out that the defence was the biggest problem of all. Germany received at least one goal in all three matches. However, we are pretty sure things will fix by the next World Cup. Germany is, undoubtedly, a football nation!

Belgium

Everyone expected Belgium to pass the group easily. Some people believe they have the opportunity to end up in first place and be better than Croatia. But, one victory against Canada was not enough for them. Plus, their performance against Canada was not good either. If Lukaku scored that one goal, things would be much different. Unfortunately, Belgium players went home immediately after the group stage phase ended.

Conclusion

Without any doubt, Morocco is the biggest surprise in the tournament. We know that people all over the world will support them against France. Asian teams also deserve respect. This competition has been impressive so far. We will see if new surprises can happen until the end.

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