Tips

News

Predictions

Blogs

Videos

Quizzes

Betting Sites

The Three Most Surprising Performers at Euro 2024
Blogs

The Three Most Surprising Performers at Euro 2024

15/07/24 20:29

Euro 2024 has come and gone in what seems like a flash, but it leaves behind (mostly) fond memories. The group stages gave us a feast of football all day every day for two weeks straight, and the knockout stages, though not laden with goals, gave us some incredible drama.

Many tournaments in the past have lived long in the memory thanks to unlikely underdogs who advanced beyond people's most optimistic predictions, such as when Greece miraculously won Euro 2004, or when Costa Rica reached the 2014 World Cup quarter finals, emerging top of a group containing Uruguay, Italy and England.

This year's tournament was no different, and underestimated nations surprised us at every turn. Some had overcome the odds before, whilst others were total newcomers to the international stage. Either way, their fearless play and dogged performance encapsulated fans, viewers and pundits alike. So without further preamble, here are the three most surprising performers at Euro 2024.

Georgia: FIFA ranking - 74

Georgia.jpg

Georgia was always going to be somewhere in this list. Euro 2024 was the country’s first ever major tournament, and it was a huge achievement in itself to reach the tournament proper. They finished fourth in qualifying group A, behind recently crowned champions Spain (top), Euro disappointments Scotland (second) and Erling Haaland’s Norway (third).

Placed into the playoffs, in which they needed to win two matches in order to be added to the group stage pot, Georgia weren’t given anything more than an outside chance by most. They first faced Luxembourg, and beat them comfortably 2-0, sending them through to the final play off round.

Here they were drawn against 2004 European champions Greece, and were given home advantage. Greece are not anywhere near the capable unit that they were 20 years ago, but they still have good players sprinkled across the pitch, and any sane Georgian fan would have been somewhat apprehensive at the prospect of facing them.

Georgia gave a fantastic account of themselves, playing out an entertaining 0-0 game in which both sides deserved multiple goals. Alas, clinical finishing was lacking, and the game eventually ended up requiring the nail-biting scenario of penalties. The Georgian players kept cool heads and won 4-3 to send them to the Euros, igniting wild celebrations in Tbilisi that would go long into the night.

Their first Euros game, three weeks later, was one for the history books. Pouring rain, fighting fans, and brilliant on field action, their group opener against Turkey had it all. Georgia may think they were unfortunate to lose, as two of Turkey’s three goals were unbelievable strikes from Mert Muldur and Arda Guler. A 3-1 defeat seemed harsh, but Georgia had shown Europe what they were all about.

They somehow managed a 1-1 draw with Czechia in their next game, despite being on the receiving end of 27 shots while having just five of their own. Georgia had picked up their first point in major tournament history, and now faced the daunting prospect of beating 2016 champions Portugal in their final group game that would see them progress.

Georgia were not to be denied, and Kvicha Kvaratskhelia gave them the lead barely 90 seconds into the game to signal their intentions. Portugal were sluggish to respond, and 13 minutes into the second half, they doubled their lead through a Georges Mikautadze penalty, which albeit it was controversially given.

The Georgians were in dreamland, and when the final whistle blew, the 74th best team in the world had overcome the odds to beat the 6th best team in the world 2-0, and place themselves in the knockout stages with the biggest names in Europe.

Their new reality became uncomfortably clear when they found themselves drawn against Spain, who up to that point had been the form team of the tournament. But yet again, Georgia were undaunted, and they astonishingly took the lead after 18 minutes after a cross deflected home off Robin Le Normand, providing the greatest Georgian high yet seen.

Unfortunately, it was the end of the road for them, as Spain eventually started to wake up, and after a Rodri equalizer late in the first period, they ran away with it, scoring three well worked goals in the second half to emerge as 4-1 victors.

Realistically, even the most optimistic fan would have told you that Georgia were never going to beat Spain (they had lost 7-1 to them in their qualification group), but for the 20 minutes they led, the football world agreed upon a blissful ignorance towards Spain's brilliance, truly believing that the shock of all shocks was about to unfold.

Georgia’s Euro campaign is something they can look back on with immense pride. They never stopped fighting, they never stopped entertaining, and in beating a rotated but immensely talented Portugal, they showed that they can hang with the big boys.

Turkey: FIFA ranking - 42

Turkey.jpg

Placed in the same group as Georgia, Turkey had topped their group in the tournament's qualifying phase, finishing a point ahead of Croatia, and four clear of Wales. However, they had a far from ideal run of results in their international warm up games, losing to Hungary, Austria (6-1) and Poland, while drawing against Italy.

Turkey has a history of making progress at the tournament as underdogs, reaching the semi finals in 2008 with the help of last minute goals in three consecutive games to get there. Suffice to say, this time round there was no hint that a standout run at the Euros was on the cards.

In their opening game against Georgia, the Turks came out with their tails up, scoring after 25 minutes through a Mert Muldur thunderbolt, and retaking the lead in the 65th minute after an Arda Guler worldie from 25 odd yards. A stoppage time third from Kerem Akturkoglu put the icing on the cake, and Turkey finished gameweek one top of the group.

They lost 3-0 to a classy Portugal side next time out, though they didn’t lack chances to put the ball in the net themselves. This left them requiring a point from the final group game against Czechia to ensure safe passage to the knockouts. These two had met in the same gameweek of the Euro 2008 group stage, and the stakes were the same: whoever won would go through.

That game remains well remembered to this day. Turkey had trailed 2-0, but scored three goals in the final 15 minutes to stun the Czechs and go on their merry way. In the most recent edition, drama levels were not significantly lower.

The Czechs came out of the blocks quickly, forcing multiple saves from Mert Gunok in goal, while keeping things tight in defense and midfield. But they did receive a number of cards for rash challenges early on, and they received a significant blow when Antonin Barak received his second yellow card in nine minutes after a needless foul in the middle of the pitch, reducing them to 10 men.

Turkey took control of the game, and while they couldn’t find the breakthrough in the first period, they did six minutes into the second, when Inter Milan maestro Hakan Calhanoglu rifled into the bottom corner with flawless technique.

Czechia responded aggressively, throwing forward what men they had left, and it was now Turkey’s turn to recklessly throw themselves into tackles, resulting in seven Turkish players getting booked in the second half. Clearly, both remembered the hard fought fixture 16 years previously.

The Czechs eventually equalized through Tomas Soucek after a messy scramble in the box, and they went all out to try and find the winner that would take them safely out of the group stage. It was a high risk, high reward strategy, and while the Czechs were admirable in their bravery, Turkey eventually picked them off, as substitute Cenk Tosun scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time to seal Turkey’s spot in the round of 16.

Turkey were pitted against surprise group D winners Austria, who had pipped France and the Netherlands to top spot, picking up 6 points along the way, and looking like a team that could run deep on the easier side of the draw. But Turkey thrived in the high stakes atmosphere, and took the lead after just 57 seconds, when a wicked Arda Guler corner found its way to the feet of center back Merih Demiral, who rocketed the ball into the roof of the net to give Turkey a shock lead.

The same connection worked again in the second half, as another Arda Guler corner this time found the head of Demiral, and the ball was past Patrick Pentz in goal before he could blink.

With their two goal lead, Turkey started to invite Austria onto them, and payed the price just seven minutes after Demiral’s second, as substitute Michael Gregoritsch finished off a well worked corner routine to bring the deficit back to one. From this point onwards Turkey were stuck in their own half, with Austria prodding and probing to find a way either through or around their stubborn back line.

However, their defense was effective and no clear openings appeared until the last seconds of additional time. A ball was volleyed into the box, and Christoph Baumgartner found himself in space with a free header. Nodding the ball into the ground, the header looked certain to ripple the back of the net, but keeper Mert Gunok had other ideas. Diving acrobatically to his right, he managed to somehow turn the ball over his bar, leaving everyone watching astonished.

This miracle save won Turkey the game, as just 30 seconds later the whistle had blown, and Turkey looked to be repeating their Euro 2008 run all over again. Their dramatic path through the tournament came to an abrupt end in their next game against the Netherlands with a 2-1 defeat. They had chances to take it to extra time, seeing various shots hit the woodwork or blocked on the line, but it simply wasn’t to be.

Despite an agonizingly close exit, and the feeling that they could have taken Netherlands the full 120 minutes, Turkey left the tournament with their heads held high, and you can expect to see a significant rise on their current FIFA ranking of 42 in the near future.

Romania: FIFA ranking - 47

Romania.jpg

Nothing was expected of Romania in the build up to the tournament. They had comfortably topped what objectively was a fairly straightforward qualifying group, with second placed Switzerland the only other competitive team. Of course topping a Euros qualifying group is no mean feat, but even so, they didn’t set the world on fire with their results, and they had relatively little hype going into the group stages.

However, they put everyone on notice with a stunning victory of Ukraine in their group opener. Winning 3-0, it was a decisive lesson in counter attacking, and with a Nicolae Stanciu screamer and a quickfire double early in the second period, they never gave the Ukrainians a chance.

Facing group favorites Belgium next, they were unfortunate to lose 2-0. In an even contest, where Romania had multiple good chances to score, the clinical finishing they had used so effectively against Ukraine seemed to have deserted them, and goals from Youri Tielemans and Kevin De Bruyne brought them back down to earth.

Going into the final matchday, Romania, Ukraine, Belgium and Slovakia were all on three points, leaving the two guaranteed qualifying spots up grabs in unprecedented fashion. The team who finished in third place would also likely qualify, as four points for a third placed team usually places them in the top two or three teams of the same finishing position.

Romania were top of group E at the start of matchday three, and incredibly, managed to finish there. A 1-1 draw with Slovakia was enough for them, as Belgium and Ukraine played out a dire 0-0 draw.

Despite all four teams finishing on the same points total, one unfortunate nation had to miss out. This ended up being Ukraine, due to their inferior goal difference, and Romania, who harbored no pre-tournament expectations whatsoever, were into the round of 16 draw. It was their first escape from the group stages since Euro 2000, where they exited in the quarter finals at the hands of Italy

Like Turkey, they would see their run halted against the Netherlands in a convincing 3-0 defeat. But the incredible story of Group E at the Euros shows that as long as you hang in there and grind out results against the weaker teams, anyone can qualify.

While it wasn’t the dramatic run of Georgia or Turkey, Romania showed us that they have plenty of ability and character, and let more than a few teams know that they won’t have it all their way if they find themselves playing the Romanians in the near future.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist
Harry Pascoe

Lead Writer

Videos

See more
From Non-League to the AFCON Final - The Story of Kwesi Appiah
Listen to our full podcast with Kwesi Appiah as he discusses his sensational rise from non-league all the way to starting in the AFCON final.
Is it time for Luton Town to make THE DECISION?!
Watch out latest edition of EFL Hot Takes as the lads give their opinion on the Rob Edwards situation at Luton Town.
WHO is in our Championship TEAM OF THE SEASON so far?!
Find out how we would put in our Championship Team of the Season so far on YouTube as we approach the busy period.

Join our newsletter

Become a part of our community and never miss an update from Football Park.