Which teams are the most popular back-up teams in Europe?
Which teams are the most popular back-up teams in Europe?
With Euro 2024 right on our doorstep, it goes without saying that every fan is grabbing their home nation’s metaphorical (or physical) flag and getting ready to enthusiastically wave and cheer them on as they hopefully score their way to victory in this year’s biggest sporting event.
However, whether we want to think about it or not, there’s a very real chance our home nation may not make it to the final, let alone win. First, they need to come out on top in their group stage, and then they have to make it through all the playoff matches, and then the quarter and semi-finals – that’s no easy task even for the most skilled team.
So, that begs the question, which teams are getting the most support to win from other countries if the latter country’s home nation gets knocked out of the tournament? To find out, we decided to examine positive mentions online for each competing country for every country in the competition, to see which other teams might have that nation’s backing.
With that data now in hand, we can now reveal the second most popular non-home teams that countries want to win Euro 2024.
As you may expect, when it comes to popular teams in the football world, outside of common sporting rivalries, most fans appear to have their sights on supporting one or more of the bigger nations in the tournament, as supported by our findings below:
Perhaps somewhat shockingly, it would seem that the most popular non-home team other countries want to see win Euro 2024 is none other than its host – Germany – who have the support of at least 10 other nations as their fan’s second choice, suggesting football enthusiasts are far from wanting to see the host nation cut down to size.
These countries include the likes of Austria, Ireland, Croatia, Sweden, Czechia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Hungary, but there’s also surprise support from long-time sporting rivals, France, and possibly most mind-bogglingly of all, England!
Being one of the most well-known and professional sports teams out there, one who always puts on an excellent show, it makes a good degree of sense for many nation’s fans to want to pick Germany as their second supporting option. And with Germany seeking victory on nothing less than their home turf, we’re sure they won’t be disappointed.
Following on from Germany, we next have France, who came very close to taking the top spot with support from the fans of 9 other nations, which includes fans from countries like Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Greece, Russia, Denmark, Wales, and again, Ireland, before being rounded out as a surprise second support pick from German fans as well.
Much like Germany, France is widely considered one of the better football teams in Europe, consistently qualifying for the Euros and being one of the favourites to win this year’s Euros after a fantastic set of qualifying games, which likely helps to explain why so many other countries are happy to support their bid for glory should their own teams fall out.
In third, we have England, the team that’s considered by many to be the favourites to win this year’s Euros, especially after their stellar performance in the last tournament, which saw them narrowly lose to Italy in the last final after victory came down to every English person’s favourite football tiebreaker – penalties.
Still, despite this loss, England’s team are raring to go, with four other nations having their backs should their own teams drop out, including big-name countries like the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as Poland and Iceland. While a lack of support from the likes of Wales, Scotland, and Ireland is to be expected based on the usual home-isle rivalries.
Taking our fourth-place spot, we have Spain, who currently sit tied with Germany for having won the most Euros of all time, at 3 wins each. But it may be for this reason why a team as good as Spain only has backing from 3 other nations, which includes their neighbour, Portugal, as well as Slovenia and Turkey.
Still, Spanish fans shouldn’t be disheartened by this lack of outside support from other nations. After all, as one of the best teams in Europe based on team seeding, the odds of Spain breaking the tie with Germany to be the country with the most Euro wins is certainly not off the table.
Last, but not least, rounding out our top five, we have the Netherlands. Playing alongside France in this year’s qualifying games in a bid to deliver the perfect qualifying round, for whatever reason, the Netherlands don’t seem to have as much external support as the other countries in our top five, sitting at just 2 nations – Ukraine and Albania
Unlike the other four countries ranked above them, neither of these two nations are particularly big hitters, at least when it comes to football. However, fans of these nations clearly feel a kindred spirit with the Dutch, and will be cheering them on should their own teams not make it into the final.
And there you have it, those are the top five teams that fans want to see win the Euros should their own teams not make it through. But while all of the teams we’ve mentioned have a good chance of winning, their victory is no guarantee if you’re planning on placing a bet or two.
So, if you want a better chance of playing the odds as you celebrate this year’s Euros, head over to the Nordicbet website where we’ll be covering the whole football tournament, including the chances of each team winning every match, and giving you the best chance to come away with a win or two yourself.
BML Group Ltd er lisensiert og regulert av Malta Gaming Authority under lisens MGA/CRP/108/2004 utstedt 1. august 2018. BML Group Ltd var opprinnelig lisensiert av Malta Gaming Authority 30. mars 2006.