FIFA 2022 - 5 Dark Horses Likely To Wreak Havoc On Fancied Teams

It is the unwritten logic of every FIFA World Cup that one or two of the least favoured teams will come up with unexpectedly great performances, preventing some of the pre-tournament favourites from advancing to the next round

Football, or any sports in general, hard-sells itself as a sealed meritocratic arena where every difference in terms of identity vanishes, and performance remains the only criteria of judgement. But the ubiquity of words like 'stunned' or 'upset' in sporting parlance tells you the contrasting reality. An explicit demarcation exists between traditional powerhouses and unfancied outsiders. If both teams were equal in every measure, what's there to be stunned about, say, Austria beating West Germany in the 1982 World Cup, Senegal beating France in the 2002 World Cup, or Croatia reaching the World Cup final four years ago?

The history of the World Cup is dotted with such odds-defying stories. While the names of potential World Cup winners are always on everyone's lips, here are five dark horses who can spring up a surprise in Qatar.

Denmark

Group D: France, Australia, Denmark, Tunisia

Current manager: Kasper Hjulmand

Star player: Christian Eriksen

It shouldn't be counted as an upset if Denmark trounces the defending champion France on November 26 at Stadium 974, since they have already done the same thing twice this year. The unfortunate collapse of Christian Eriksen last year still haunts the collective memory, but the team showed great resilience and unity to reach all the way to the semi-final of the tournament.