Upcoming European Football Teams on the Rise

Europe is home to many elite football teams like Real Madrid, Liverpool, Barcelona, and Paris Saint-Germain. However, there are also some dark horses in the Euro matches that are deemed could potentially replace the aforementioned squads. Some of these sides are from the least known leagues from Eastern European nations.

Here are the upcoming football teams in Europe that you should know about.

Levante

Spain has two of the most popular football teams on the planet, Barcelona and Real Madrid. Who would forget about these two clubs? They were once home to the two footballing legends of the modern era, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. 

La Liga also has plenty of rising clubs and one of them is Levante. This team has risen from the Segunda Division to the La Liga. The aforementioned teams were defeated by Levante in December and are now considered a threat in the Euro matches. 

Napoli

Napoli finished in the third spot last year at the Serie A which is the reason why they qualified for the Champions League. Even though they landed on what is considered a “group of death” in the Champions League, their odds of rising in the group are pretty high. 

Lille

People are already familiar with the Lille players but only a few know the feats that the team achieved last year. The French squad has triumphed in the Ligue 1 and has gained several Coupe de France trophies in the last edition. 

Despite losing some of their top players, they still have key names like Moussa Sow and Eden Hazard. 

Molde

The Tippeligaen had plenty of successful teams in the last edition and one of them was Molde. The Norwegian side has plenty to boast this year including the news that they will be handled by former Manchester United coach, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. 

Whether Solskaer will stay at the club or not for the next few years, Molde will still be on top of the rankings and will manage to get through. 

Schalke

Last season, Schalke was eliminated earlier in the Champions League due to poor performances. However, there are plenty of hopes this year for the Gelsenkirchen team in the Euro matches. 

Stoke City

These past few years have been exciting because there are a lot of unknown clubs that have risen from the ranks in the Premier League. The squad has qualified for the Europa League and they have been unbeaten ever since. 

Stoke City has a pretty promising lineup this year with known names like Kenwyne Jones and Peter Couch. The Potters are now virtually unbeatable with the inclusion of German center-back, Robert Huth.

APOEL Nicosia

Who would have thought that a Cypriot squad would finish on top of Group G of the Champions League? They have won their three matches with grace and ease, so now they have qualified for the Round 16 of the Champions League. 

Having decimated some strong contenders along the way such as Zenit St Petersburg, they are currently set to play with Shakhtar Donetsk and Porto.

AZ Alkmaar

Despite having bad luck in chasing their championship title at the Eredivisie for five years, the Dutch teams managed to have early success at the Euro matches this edition. AZ Alkmaar sit on the upper echelon of the Eredivisie and they are unstoppable. 

Udinese

Udinese has been strong right from the get-go this year just like their friends from Serie A, Italian side Napoli. To make matters better, they also have a lot of players that are lined up for transfer from some of Europe’s elite clubs. A few of these names are Mauricio Isla, Samir Handanovic, and Kwadwo Asamoah. 

Porto

Porto is the epitome of a versatile football club due to their good performances in all of the top four Euro matches. However, they are still known for what they are doing best, Portuguese football. Having risen from the ranks of the Portuguese Liga, they have enough footballing talents to utilize at European club competitions. 

Now that the world has seen plenty of the top sides like Barcelona and Liverpool, it is now time for us to see new faces at the Euro matches. Indeed, there is no shortage of strong contenders in European football. Now that you are acquainted with some of them, it is now time to pick the one you will keep tabs on for the upcoming edition of Europe’s elite club tournament.