{"id":619436,"date":"2022-11-20T05:02:57","date_gmt":"2022-11-20T10:02:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=619436"},"modified":"2022-11-20T05:02:57","modified_gmt":"2022-11-20T10:02:57","slug":"the-qatar-2022-world-cup-dark-horses-denmark-to-beat-france-uruguay-to-topple-portugal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2022\/11\/20\/the-qatar-2022-world-cup-dark-horses-denmark-to-beat-france-uruguay-to-topple-portugal\/","title":{"rendered":"The Qatar 2022 World Cup Dark Horses: Denmark to Beat France, Uruguay to Topple Portugal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Pundits and fans across the world are making their predictions about potential winners. Groups of friends are pooling money and taking part in sweepstakes. While most are focussed on the usual favourites, it feels as if there are more dark horses than ever in this year\u2019s tournament. Here are previews of four teams who are the World Cup dark horses this winter and the players to look out for.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">World Cup Dark Horses That Could Cause a Shock in Qatar<\/span><\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Denmark come into the World Cup on the back of a Euros Semi Final and beating Word Champions France twice in the Nations League. <\/p>\n<p>They lost on penalties in 2018 to eventual finalists Croatia in the R16. They\u2019ve only made the QFs once, can they match or better that in Qatar? \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddf0 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/e7Wy2wAV9a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/e7Wy2wAV9a<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; The European Football Express (@TheEuroFE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheEuroFE\/status\/1593977446323425285?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 19, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Denmark \u2013 The Popular Dark Horse<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Denmark have been picked by many as the dark horse for this World Cup, with good reason too. The Euro 2020 semi-finalists topped their qualifying group, losing just one game out of ten and winning the other nine, all while scoring 30 goals and conceding just three.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Many would expect the Danes to beat Australia and Tunisia in Group D, but ultimately finish behind current World Champions France, but there is every chance that they might win the group.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Read More<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">:\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2022\/11\/19\/qatar-ecuador-tv-channel-stream\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Where You Can Watch the World Cup Opener<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Danes already have two victories over France this year in the UEFA Nations League. The French squad have been hit by injuries for this World Cup, and have been unable to call on stars such as Paul Pogba and N&#8217;Golo Kante, and now Christopher Nkunku has now been\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sport\/football\/63646189\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">ruled out<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0of the tournament. They were also dealt a hammer blow with the news that Ballon d\u2019Or winner Karim Benzema has also been ruled out of the World Cup through injury.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">This is still a French team that includes the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Aur\u00e9lien Tchouameni, and other incredible talents. But this Danish squad will back themselves to beat France for the third time this year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">One To Watch: Andreas Skov Olsen.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The twenty-two-year-old winger was part of a Club Brugge side that qualified for the Champions League last 16 ahead of Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid. He registered five goals and three assists for Denmark in qualifying, and he has seven goals and four assists in 20 appearances for Brugge this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Senegal\u2019s captain Kalidou Koulibaly received the participation plaque from the FIFA representative at the teams arrival meeting. \ud83d\udea8\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddf3<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WorldCupwithMicky?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#WorldCupwithMicky<\/a> I <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WorldCup2022?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#WorldCup2022<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/niTHgrba5o\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/niTHgrba5o<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Micky Jnr (@MickyJnr__) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MickyJnr__\/status\/1593214762628059137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 17, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Senegal \u2013 Difficult to Predict<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">There would not be any doubts about Senegal being a World Cup dark horse ordinarily. This is the team that won the African Cup of Nations this year and they are the highest-ranked African team according to FIFA. While their Group A fixture against the Netherlands might be a tough opening fixture, you would expect them to beat hosts Qatar and an Ecuador side that has won just twice in 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">But the focus this last week has been on the injury to star player Sadio Mane. Despite being included in the squad, coach Aliou Cisse admitted there is no guarantee he will be available. Speaking to reporters, and\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sport\/africa\/63576021\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">quoted on BBC Sport<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, he said: &#8220;On Thursday, Sadio spent the whole day in Munich before travelling to Austria for further tests, where he received some positive news that he does not need an operation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cIt is important to continue to monitor his injury and hope that in two or three weeks there is a change. We will give everything to have Sadio back.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Read More<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">:\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2022\/11\/19\/benzema-out-of-world-cup-through-injury\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">French Star Ruled Out of World Cup Through Injury<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">However, this is a Senegal team that includes the likes of Chelsea centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, Everton midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye, and Watford forward Isma\u00efla Sarr. Having a fit Mane available certainly helps, but this is a strong squad that can still cope without him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Should Senegal progress, they may potentially be England\u2019s opponents in the round of 16, and a fully fit Mane could go on to terrorise the English defence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">One to watch: Isma\u00efla Sarr.<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0The Watford forward has scored six goals and set up three others for his club this season. Moreover, his 2022 goal record for Senegal is bettered only by Mane and Alanyaspor\u2019s Famara Diedhiou. With the former currently, a doubt, expect Sarr to step up in his place.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Official Serbia list for 2022 World Cup. \ud83d\udea8\ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\uddf8 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WorldCup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#WorldCup<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WorldCup2022?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#WorldCup2022<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7qoybSHHGb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/7qoybSHHGb<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FabrizioRomano\/status\/1591334983016370176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 12, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Serbia \u2013 Low Ranking but Full of Talent<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Serbia are the lowest-ranked team in this article (<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fifa.com\/fifa-world-ranking\/men?dateId=id13792\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">21st in FIFA\u2019s world rankings<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">). But that will not dent their confidence going into the tournament. Serbia beat Portugal to automatic qualification last year, thanks to a 90th-minute winner from Fulham striker Aleksander Mitrovic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">They have carried that form into 2022, only losing twice this year \u2013 3-0 to Denmark in March, and 1-0 to Norway in June. They also earned a much-deserved promotion to the top Nations League group along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Serbian squad is full of attacking talent, with Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic, and Mitrovic leading the attack. These two strikers are supported on the wings, and in midfield by Filip Kostic, Ajax\u2019s Dusan Tadic, and Lazio\u2019s midfielder Sergej-Milinkovic Savic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Read More<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">:\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2022\/10\/11\/world-cup-group-a-predictions\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Dazzling Dutch Looks Set to Top Group A<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Confidence will be high going into this World Cup, and they will be looking to qualify from Group G with Brazil, and progress to the knockout stages for the first time in their history.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">One to watch: Dusan Vlahovic.<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0Despite Juventus\u2019 poor start to the season, the striker has scored 7 goals and has two assists in 15 games at just 22 years old. With Mitrovic not guaranteed to start after missing Fulham\u2019s last two Premier League games before the World Cup with an injury, Vlahovic will be responsible for leading the line.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Only three countries have won more World Cups than Uruguay:<\/p>\n<p>-Brazil<br \/>-Germany<br \/>-Italy<\/p>\n<p>Can La Celeste pull off a third triumph in Qatar and a first since 1950? <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wilsoncs97?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@wilsoncs97<\/a> on Uruguay\u2019s chances: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5W44WHb0OQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/5W44WHb0OQ<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JgW1R6Erfk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/JgW1R6Erfk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Breaking The Lines (@BTLvid) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BTLvid\/status\/1593983868410990595?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 19, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Uruguay \u2013 The Strongest Underdog?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">It feels strange to label Uruguay as a World Cup dark horse, as they have a stellar record at recent tournaments. But with all expectation on Brazil and Argentina, Uruguay are the South American team who have slipped under the radar.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Their qualifying process was not straightforward, with four consecutive losses leading to coach Oscar Tabarez being replaced by Diego Alonso. Despite those damaging defeats, they went on to recover and qualify anyway.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Uruguay have built up form ahead of the tournament without too much attention, having lost just once in 2022 to Iran in September. They have formidable squad depth, with Alonso having options such as Luis Suarez,\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2022\/06\/17\/darwin-nunez-transfer-benfica-fans-comment\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Darwin Nunez<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, Federico Valverde and many others to choose from.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Read More<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">:\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2022\/11\/16\/qatar-world-cup-2022-issues\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Issues Behind the Qatar 2022 World Cup<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">A re-run of the 2010 quarter-finals against Ghana awaits, along with games against Portugal and South Korea. Portugal would ordinarily be the favourites to go through, but after Cristiano Ronaldo\u2019s recent interview, relationships between him and his Manchester United teammates Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot could be strained and affect the chances of Portugal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Should Uruguay top the group, they may face fellow dark horses Serbia in the round of 16. If they win that game, then they could potentially face Senegal or England in the quarter-finals. With the talent at its disposal, Uruguay could make it to the latter stages of the Qatar World Cup.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">One to watch: Giorgian De Arrascaeta.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Only Suarez has scored more goals for Uruguay than Arrascaeta in 2022. And the midfielder has been impressive in the Brazilian Serie A for Flamengo in 2022, with three goals and ten assists in 24 games.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Last Word on Football recognises and opposes the human rights and governance issues surrounding Qatar and the organisation of the World Cup. See information about the concerns surrounding the competition\u00a0<\/span><\/em><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2022\/11\/16\/qatar-world-cup-2022-issues\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">here<\/span><\/em><\/a><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pundits and fans across the world are making their predictions about potential winners. Groups of friends are pooling money and taking part in sweepstakes. While most are focussed on the usual favourites, it feels as if there are more dark horses than ever in this year\u2019s tournament. Here are previews of four teams who are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4374,"featured_media":619579,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2132,161],"tags":[4432,1172,2113,1171,750],"class_list":["post-619436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-cup","category-international-football","tag-2022-world-cup","tag-denmark","tag-senegal","tag-serbia","tag-uruguay"],"modified_by":"Ricky Carroll, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4374"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/619579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}