5 FIFA World Cup 2018 Underdogs you need to watch out for!

FIFA World Cup 2018 Russia has kicked off. After an interesting qualifier round, 12 out of the 32 teams that qualified are ones that didn’t make it through to the league in 2014. Now that gives you a hoard of newer teams to choose from to support. While the Spains and Germanys make their experienced run towards the title, here are 5 underdogs (pun intended) that you can look forward to and place your bets on.

Switzerland

Drawing 1-1 against Brazil in their first match of the league, Switzerland established themselves as a team to watch out for this World Cup.  Swiss Coach, Vladimir Petkovic makes his FIFA debut this season. Arsenal midfielder and Switzerland’s Player of the Year 2017, Granit Xhaka, a key player given his impressive performance in FIFA World Cup 2014, Brazil.

Ranking No. 6 on the FIFA list, Switzerland falls in Group E with Brazil, Serbia, and Costa Rica. They play Serbia on the 22nd of June and Costa Rica on the 27th.

Iceland

Making their debut in the FIFA World Cup 2018, Iceland is the smallest country (by population) to qualify. Team Coach Heimir Hallgrimsson shepherd the rise of Iceland after leading them to UEFA EURO 2016 with Lars Lagerbäck and solely leading them to the FIFA World Cup. Gylfi Sigurðsson, Everton Midfielder and Iceland’s Player of the Year for the last 5 years made his mark during the country’s FIFA 2018 qualifying campaign.

Iceland, with a No. 22 FIFA ranking falls in Group D alongside Argentina, Croatia, and Nigeria. The team drew 1 all against Argentina and now awaits its games against Nigeria on the 22nd and Croatia on the 26th of June.

Denmark

Succeeding the Country’s longest-serving coach, Åge Hareide, coach since 2016 led Denmark to the league after they defeated Ireland in the playoffs. Midfielder Christian Eriksen was in exceptional form during the playoffs scoring the third highest number of goals (11) only to follow Robert Lewandowski and Christiano Ronaldo.

Denmark, ranking 12th on the FIFA list falls in Group C with France, Peru, and Australia. After defeating Peru 1-0 in their first match, they drew 1-1 with Australia and play France on the 26th of June.

Senegal

After being MIA for 16-years, Senegal made a comeback to the FIFA World Cup after topping the Africa qualifiers unbeaten. Coach Aliou Cisse, previously Captain for Senegal during their star appearance in the 2002 World Cup, has been impressive since he took over as coach in 2015. Senegal also flaunts of Sadio Mané, Liverpool forward and the most expensive African player in history.

Falling in Group H with Japan, Poland, and Columbia and Ranking No. 27 on the FIFA List, Senegal defeated Poland 2-1 in its first match. They play Japan on the 24th and Columbia on the 28th of June.

Panama

FIFA World Cup debutants Panama, are led by Hernan Dario Gomez, El Bolillo (The Truncheon) his nickname. Gomez coached Panama to its maiden World Cup after being the coach to Columbia in 1998 and Ecuador in 2002. With 11 goals in 4 matches during the qualifying campaign, the well- experienced Blas Perez brings value to the team.

Ranking 55th on the FIFA List, Panama falls into Group G along with Belgium, England, and Tunisia. They play England on the 24th and Tunisia.

The game is on and you’ve got to hop on the bandwagon. Pick your side and plan your match nights!
Call friends over, or just snuggle into bed with food and your pooch.

Did we just say food? You could check out our plans for some nutritious, healthy meals for your furry companion.

Got an Underdog you are rooting for that did not make it to our list? Let us know in the comments!