Lastly, we have Group F. Home of Portugal, Turkey, Czech Republic, and Georgia. Welcome to the SEC fellas.
As much as I want to go all in on this Georgia team (for obvious reasons) we’ll have to stick with moral support as it’s incredible they’ve made it to their first major tournament in the first place. Georgia’s roster reads more like Georgia State than UGA, but they do have one of the best players in the world and someone that on his day could be the best player on the field. This is more than most countries at this competition can say and gives the Georgians a chance. About as much chance as Georgia State beating UGA, but a chance nonetheless (we must not forget the Georgia Southern overtime game, thank you Sony). This player is Khvicha Kvarataskhlia or Kvaradona as Napoli’s fans affectionately call him. If anyone wants to go viral this summer, a video of Georgia football fans pronouncing the name of Georgia football star Kvaradona would do quite well. Here’s a taste of what he can do:
Georgia have also called up an Atlanta United player to their roster, which seems like it may have been a mandatory rule. Typically, players from Atlanta playing for Georgia has turned out well. From one Georgian to another, best of luck.
Now, if you have ever come across a soccer post on any social media site you’re already well acquainted with Turkish soccer fans. If you haven’t, imagine a post about a player going into the transfer portal and the comments consisting of hopeful (and annoying) fans posting their team’s corresponding emoji or slogan to convince the player to transfer their school. Now imagine that for every single player that has so much as looked at your school x10000, that is Turkish soccer fandom. “Come to Fenerbache” is definitely in the top-10 of most common instagram comments of all time.
Although, Turkey’s hopes rest on a player who recently left Fenerbache for Real Madrid, Arda Guler. At only 19 years old, there’s a lot of pressure and hype surrounding Guler to lead Turkey past the group stage. Luckily for Guler, and his Instagram comments, he has a partner in crime in Inter Milan’s Hakan Calhanoglu who is among the world’s best and most underrated midfielders. Turkey finishes second in this group.
Perhaps the forgotten team of this group is the Czech Republic. Despite not having qualified for the World Cup since 2006, the Czechs have qualified for every Euro since their break-up with Slovakia in 1996. They’ve also made it out of the group stage every other tournament since they’ve competed as Czechia. Unfortunately, they qualified for the knockout stages in 2020(1), so they’re not allowed to make it out of the group stage this time around. West Ham’s Tomas Soucek and Bayer Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick are the main men for the Czech Republic. Schick scored an incredible goal at the last Euro, but a pattern is a pattern and the Czechs won’t get out of the group. Here’s the goal though, sorry Scotland:
Okay, let’s talk about Portugal. Perhaps the most unlikable of the big teams at this tournament, the conversation still starts with Ronaldo. At 39-years old Ronaldo led the Portuguese in goals in qualifying and was scoring goals for fun in Saudi Arabia this season. However, it’s possible (maybe even likely) Ronaldo negotiated a contract with the Saudis that required them to let him score a certain amount of goals. Ronald probably has a similar agreement in place with UEFA, and I fully expect him to get several penalties in this tournament. But even if Ronaldo (Homelander) stops taking “Compound V”, Portugal might have the best roster at this year’s tournament. Fulham’s Joao Palhinha led the Premier League in successful tackles this season, and he is joined by Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes who despite being among the most annoying players in the world is undoubtedly talented. Up front, AC Milan’s Rafael Leao is electric and should shine in Germany.
We can just get to the point now, Portugal is my pick to win the whole thing. Not only do they have one of the best, if not the best, rosters, they also have the easiest path through to the semi-finals. Plus, if y’all think UEFA is letting Ronaldo lose in his final Euros then you haven’t been paying attention. Corruption always wins, just ask Argentina about Qatar.
Prediction: 1) Portugal 2) Turkey 3) Czech Republic 4) Georgia (But a proud 4th)
Best Bet: Portugal to win the Euros (+650)
Georgia-ish 