The dust has barely settled on Lionel Messi leading Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory three months ago, but the cutthroat world of international football has already moved on, especially in Europe. The qualifying campaign for the 2024 European Championships in Germany got underway on March 23rd, and there are already a plethora of talking points. There have been stunning wins as well as a number of disappointing performances.
On the opening night, England laid to rest the ghost of their Euro 2020 defeat to Italy with a 2-1 victory in Naples. Goals from Declan Rice and Harry Kane, who himself laid to rest the ghost of that missed penalty against France at the World Cup, were enough to secure the victory and a massive three points for the Three Lions. Gareth Southgate however will be fully aware that the English performance throughout the second half was poor, and they were very fortuitous to cling on to the victory.
France manager Didier Deschamps took a risk when he announced that Kylian Mbappé would be the new captain of the French national team. As those that play Joe Fortune online pokies in Australia will tell you though, occasionally you can hit it big when gambling and that’s exactly what happened for Deschamps. His captain assisted one and scored two as his World Cup runners-up secured a brilliant 4-0 victory against a lacklustre Netherlands in Paris.
All the aforementioned nations are regular staples at the European Championships, however, there are a number of nations that are on droughts that could make anyone wince. Let us take a look at who they are.
Serbia – Euro 2000
The Balkan nation of Serbia has never qualified for the European Championships under their own flag. Their last appearance for the tournament came under the flag of Yugoslavia way back at Euro 2000. That’s a stat that’s even more surprising considering the fact that the Serbians have qualified for four of the last five World Cups including the last two on the bounce.
The FIFA World Cup is notoriously more difficult to qualify for than the European Championships. When it comes to qualifying for global football’s biggest tournament, only the top team in European qualifying groups automatically qualifies for the competition, with the runners-up being forced to go through an arduous playoff to secure their places at the tournament. When it comes to the Euros, however, the top two teams automatically progress to the finals, and since 2016, even a number of best-placed third-place teams have qualified via the playoffs.
Still, however, the Serbs have not managed to feature on the European stage. In qualifying for Euro 2020, they lost on penalties to Scotland in Belgrade who in turn ended a drought of their own. On the attempt before, they finished fourth in their qualifying group, with Portugal and Albania finishing first and second, and Denmark advancing to the playoffs in third.
In qualifying for Euro 2012, Serbia finished behind Italy and shockingly Estonia, and in qualifying for Euro 2008, they finished behind Portugal and Poland. Four years prior to that, it was Wales and Italy that had the honor of claiming the top two spots, but Serbia’s 2023 campaign got off to the perfect start when they picked up a 2-0 victory over Lithuania in their opening game.
Norway – Euro 2000
Norway have also not appeared at a European Championship since 2000, which was hosted in the Netherlands and Belgium. That tournament marked the only time in the history of Norwegian football that they reached the Euros. They have reached the FIFA World cup on three occasions, but their last appearance came way back in 1994.
In recent years, The Lions have struggled. Their team has been defeated in the playoffs in each of their last two attempts, including losing to Serbia in extra time in qualifying for Euro 2020. But as their drought approaches 24 years, the Norwegians will never have a better chance to put themselves on European international football’s grandest stage.
Their team now contains a number of the planet’s greatest players. Manchester City’s Erling Haaland is perhaps the best out-and-out striker on the planet, while Norway and Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard has been the best midfielder in the Premier League this season. Both players are still just 22 and 24 years of age respectively.
Elsewhere, Sheffield United midfielder Sander Berge has been coveted by Europe’s finest. Brentford defender Kristoffer Ajer has featured prominently in The Bees’ chase for European club football this season. Those two are also under the age of 25.
There can be no denying that Norway’s future is bright, and with Erling Haaland leading the line anything is possible. But will that future begin at next summer’s European Championships?
Photo by Unsplash
About the Author
