Who are the biggest UEFA Euro 2024 group stage disappointments?

The knockout stage starts at the weekend and before that we will deal with the UEFA Euro 2024 group stage disappointments. In the continuation of the competition, we will not see Croatia, the second-and third-placed national team from the last two World Cups, and the failure of this national team can be classified as one of the biggest UEFAEuro 2024 group stage disappointments.

UEFA Euro 2024 group stage disappointments: Croatia fell twice in the finish line and were eliminated

In previous years, Croatia delighted the entire planet with great results at the last two World Cups. The results at the UEFA Euro were not so good, but at least Croatia managed to get to the knockout stage. This time it didn’t happen. In this way, for the first time after four major competitions, Croatia did not make it to the knockout stage, and we quite rightly rank it among the biggest UEFA Euro 2024 group stage disappointments.

This national team, after a convincing defeat against Spain in the next two matches, succumbed in the last moments. Croatia managed to turn things around in the match against Albania and it seemed that they would win 2-1 in the end, but in the last minutes there was a shock and it was a draw. At that time, it was clear that Croatia would have to beat the defending champions, Italy, in the last round to advance to the knockout stage.

The third-placed national team from the last World Cup was well on its way to doing so, but conceded a goal again at the end of the match. Instead, Croatia tops the list of biggest UEFA Euro 2024 group stage disappointments. Mattia Zaccagni sent Italy to second place in the group and Croatia home with a brilliant shot from the left wing. Modric missed the penalty but redeemed himself a few moments later and scored to take the lead. In the end, he and his friends were in tears and had to go home.

Luka is the leader of this national team, in which he has a significantly different role compared to the club. In Real Madrid, he enters the game at the end of the match, while at the Euros he played from the start all three times. It should be borne in mind that he turns 39 in September, but it seems that we could still see him in the national team and that he could put an end to his career at the next World Cup in 2026.

We rank Croatia among the biggest UEFA Euro 2024 group stage disappointments because the result was not at the level of previous competitions, although the game was not that bad. The match against Spain was already decided in the first half, but Croatia had its chances in that match, where it also missed a penalty. In the previous competitions, this national team proved to be very disciplined and combative, but at this Euro, they succumbed twice at the finish line, and when that happens, it’s hard to hope to advance.

Who are the other UEFA Euro 2024 group stage disappointments?

Among the UEFA Euro 2024 group stage disappointments, we can also include Poland, which played this Euro according to the way it played in the qualifiers. This national team was only third in the group behind Albania and the Czech Republic, which also finished their performance already in the group stage of UEFA Euro 2024. Poland, with a lot of luck, managed to qualify for the Euro because they were better than Wales after a penalty in a match in which they did not send not a single shot on target.

The Poles were unlucky before the start of the Euro because Lewandowski was injured and after a convincing defeat against Austria in the second and before against the Netherlands it was known that Poland was the first national team to be eliminated in the group stage. In the end, we saw a draw against France which meant nothing to them but cost the world vice-champion the first place in the group. With a weak game, the injury of the best player, Poland could not do more in this tournament, and this is the second consecutive appearance at the Euro in which this national team failed to make it to the knockout stage.

Among the UEFA Euro 2024 group stage disappointments, we can list two more national teams. One national team is a neighbor of Croatia and the other of Poland. After 24 years, Serbia managed to qualify for the UEFA Euro and the goal was to advance to the knockout stage. In the end, this national team finished the tournament with only one scored goal, which is the weakest performance in the championship. The game was disappointing with only a few scoring opportunities in all three matches.

On the other hand, among the UEFA Euro 2024 group stage disappointments, we can also include Ukraine, which won 4 points, but believe it or not, it was not even enough for the third place in the group. All national teams in the group in which Ukraine competed had the same number of points, and in the end, this national team ended its participation due to a disappointing game against Romania, in which Ukraine was demolished 0-3.

As for the other national teams that were eliminated, we cannot classify them among the UEFA Euro 2024 group stage disappointments because the Czech Republic, Albania, Scotland and Hungary played according to their capabilities and objectively did not deserve a place in the knockout phase.