There is about a month until the FIFA World Cup starts. Most of the anticipation surrounds the usual big teams: Brazil, Germany, Spain, France, and a few other select nations. But what about the underdog teams? The ones that get less press aren’t considered talents for the title. We take a look at some of the popular underdog options that pack a lot of surprises in the tournament:
Iran
Iran will be the highest-ranked Asian team in the World Cup, and they are not going to fly under the radar this time. The Iranians have an experienced coach and a strong fanbase in Qatar. They’ve also been playing in friendlies for months, which has helped them become more cohesive as a unit.
Iran has beaten Uruguay, Lebanon, and UAE in recent World Cup qualifiers for momentum’s sake. If Iran can ride the momentum from those wins into their first game against the USA, they could make some serious noise in Group B.
Canada
Canada has long been an underdog in the world of soccer. The last time they qualified for a World Cup was in 1986. This year, they will be looking to make some noise with a crop of new talents like Alphonse Davies, Jonathan David, and Trojan Buchanan.
They are drawn in Group F with Morocco, Croatia, and Belgium. Therefore, they will have their work cut out. But if they can get past that gauntlet of big names and teams with established histories at the top level of international play, they could surprise everyone by making it to the quarterfinals—or even beyond.
Denmark
Denmark is one of the underdog teams that has the best chance of making a splash in this year’s World Cup.
The Danes held a splendid run in Euro 2020, finishing second only to Germany. In the previous World Cup, they went to Round 16 before losing to Croatia on penalties.
Denmark has been drawn into Group D this year with Australia, Tunisia, and France. The group looks tough, but they could find themselves in the knockout stages once again if they can manage to get out of it.
Senegal
Senegal is the current champion of the African Cup of Nations, and we expect them to continue their success on the international stage.
In their last five games, Senegal has scored an average of 2.4 goals per game with a 75% chance of scoring each time they take a shot. This gives them the best chance of scoring in Group A, where they face off against the Netherlands, Ecuador, and Qatar.
They are managed by legend Aliou Cisse, who has been the captain of Senegal’s national team since 2002 and has won multiple trophies. In addition to his experience as a player, he also brings leadership qualities that will be key to this team’s success at the World Cup.
