Tuesday, June 18, 2024

The darlings

After the first round of Euro 2024 (although there are still today's matches to go), there are two teams that have come forward as the "darlings"; that is, underrated teams that may cotninue to charm us with their fight, commitment, and great fans.

The first candidate is Romania. They had last participated in 2016, and the last time they won a match at the Euros was in 2000. Yesterday they were not favourites against Ukraine, but with massive support from their fans (and we do not count their horrible black-clad Ultras whom we could live without) they took apart the poor Ukranians with 3-0. Notably Nicolae Stanciu's first goal may be the best goal of the tournament so far.

The other sides in the group are Belgium and Slovakia, and by many Belgium has been considered huge favourite to win the group. But not withstanding that they are yet to face a splendid Romania, the Belgians disappointed in their opening match by losing to a hard-fighting and well-organised Slovakia, who were an example of how a small teams can defeat a favourite with tenacity and organization. After seven minutes Ivan Schranz bought the Slovakians ahead and they held on to the score until the end despite heavy pressure from the Belgians (and two VAR goals by Lukaku annulled, with specially the second goal is an example of how VAR should NOT be used). 

In the end it may be Slovakia and Romania that will surprise and become the fan favourites of the tournament.

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