Which teams would you like to see at a euros in the next 10 years that haven’t made one or are struggling to do so (I will count teams that are in, or can reach, the playoffs)?
*I am surprised Norway haven’t made one since 2000 given they have the 2 best players in the PL at the moment. I’ve always wanted them to do so as they are a nation with lots of talent and high quality.
*I have Israeli roots - they are in the play offs but flopped an easy group, though with some players injured. I think it’s important that the current team they have, which includes players of Palestinian descent like Ramzi Safuri and Anan Khalili, and of Ethiopian descent like Eli Dasa, qualify, firstly to show the diversity of their society on those who seem to get false impressions because of the government and military policies, and to help inspire people from minority groups, and progressives, to vote for people who can advance peace rather than hatred in the future. I do fear that the war etc will only advance the latter even though it is their handling of homeland security that allowed this to happen. These vile people also caused Munas Dabbur to leave the national team. However, plenty of those put down by the meaner people in their society have stayed and played a key role - The results of their under 20 and under 21 teams show the potential is there, and football can be the best provider of progressive social change
*Armenia, a country with a dedicated diaspora and which I have a soft spot for due to football but also due to unrelated things like their Eurovision Song Contest acts from the ‘20’s.
*Bulgaria, who used to be so good, and who I had friends from
Norway often have 1-2 really good players and then below average on the other places, even worse when their regulars are injured. They also historically play like the english mid-clubs did in the 80s/90s: Defensive with long kicks to a large targetman and then hope to get a 1-0 on counterattacks. The longest spell the Danish national team ever had without loosing was with a Norwegian coach and people stopped watching it. It was so boring that even though we never lost, we would rather watch paint dry. Ståle Solbakken, the current norwegian coach, got some of the best European results any danish club have ever had, with the danish club FC Copenhagen, but besides the defensive/destructive style in europe, where they after all were underdogs, even in the national league, where they had a budget as large as half the league combined, he would rather win 1-0 than 3-1.
Even though we sometimes feel we “miss” great players that doesn’t qualify (like Haaland here), trust me we will not miss Norway at the finals. Some places in Denmark we don’t even call it “parking the bus” but instead “playing Norwegian”…
(This is said with the uttermost love for Norway in general: Norway and Norwegians are my favourite nation/people in almost any other aspects tan football 😁)
Call me old fashioned but I prefered a smaller Euros finals, and without all the countries that’s not from Europe. Israel and Armenia is niether geographically, historically or culturally european, and I cannot fathom why they participate in UEFA competitions.
Georgia is exciting
And with Kvaratshkelia, they could make it through the play offs in Spring. The under 21’s also did decently as Co hosts last year as well and only lost on penalties to the Israeli youngsters.
Luxembourg. They played so well during this qualifiers campaign,managed some convincing wins like 4-1 againt Bosnia and in general,they play as a team and have great players like Gerson Rodrigues,Leandro Barreiro Martins and Anthony Moris.
Both results against Portugal were rough,but it’s Portugal after all. With 17 points in 10 matches,this is our highest point tally in qualifiers ever I think.
The 1-0 loss against Slovakia hurt the most,as we played some fantastic football but weren’t clinical enough in front of Dubravka’s goal,and they ended up winning it in the end.
However we could still qualify for EURO’s,as we’ll play against Georgia and if we beat them,against the winner of the match between Greece and Bulgaria (don’t know if it’s Bulgaria or someone else) due to the Nations League standings.
Luxembourg. For most of my life, they’ve been amongst the whipping boys of qualifying groups but were pretty decent in the last World Cup qualifying group and finished on 17 points in this one and could still qualify through the nation’s league.
Ecuador, got some great young players
Faroe Islands
They’ve had some great moments and Klaksvik have been so fantastic in Europe!
Palestine. A united and free people.
Kazakhstan, their comeback from 2-0 down and that magnificent 25m strike by Tagybergen stuck with me for soo long Especially because I’ve rarely heard anything about Kazakhstan, in and outside of the football world
I agree. The reason Sacha Baron Cohen created Borat was to satirise attitudes towards Eastern European countries (it was set in Romania, and Hebrew, Polish and Armenian are the languages actually spoken) even though Kazakhstan isn’t really one. They’ve got a distinct identity and have been brilliant over the last 5 years!