The Underdogs
Iran
It will be Iran's first participation into a Native Nation Cups and therefore it's a bit hard to imagine how they're going to perform since not many know what they're capable of. It doesn't look like any of the players on their current roster are well known among the competitive scene, yet their captain showed some confidence prior to the start of the competition so we could expect them to offer a good showing for their first matches.
This said, with such a small roster, having them completing all their group matches without dropping from the competition would already be a decent performance for a first time, as I simply don't see them making it past this stage.
Georgia
Georgia has been partaking twice in the NC already but with a really small roster of eleven men, it certainly isn't going to be an easy road for them this year. Especially since they have been placed in a group with the last finalist, BeNe, but also Germany and the United States, two teams which have proven their worth a long time ago. I'm not sure what to expect from Georgia this year besides one sided matches so I will be most likely looking at their confrontation against Yugoslavia but even there, I'm not sure they have what it takes to upset a team consisting of many veterans from the scene. However, I'd be happy to be proven wrong.
Brazil
The oldest player will certainly remember that this is not Brazil's debut as they already participated in the 2012 Edition of the Nation Cups, and also fielded a team the following year. Since then, it seemed the Brazilian community didn't have enough player or was unable to gather enough interest to continue playing in the NC; which is why we’re even gladder to welcome them back this year. There are some names on their roster which were already playing 4 years ago but with the ping difference, it certainly isn't going to be easy to approach a match with them, no matter their real strength. Their match against Canada will certainly be an exception as pings will be a bit better than against EU teams (to an extent).
But even with that, it is hard to see Brazil being capable of pulling out an upset in their group which, on top of the Canadians, consist of two favorites of this edition, the United Kingdom and Poland, and the Austro-Swiss coalition.
Czechoslovakia
Despite Czechoslovakia having a bunch of veterans within their roster, it's going to be hard for them to hope for anything else but a 4th place in their group. Last edition of the NC certainly proved that the team had some interesting qualities but it just wasn't enough to prevail versus Sweden, BeNe or France. This year, their group doesn't look any easier but with the new system, at least do they have the chance to be qualified for the lower bracket as long as they don't end up being last.
It will be all about coming on top of their confrontation against Iran, which isn't that easy when you don't know much about the real strength of your opponent.
Wales
If Wales' participation in the Nations Cup certainly lead to an extensive press coverage, the team has some sort of potential. Fietta, their captain, managed to gather an interesting roster in a few times and if it would be somewhat short against many top-teams, the fact they have been placed in the arguably ‘easiest’ group of the competition improved their chances by much. That being said, they will have to play their A game basically every match of their group if they want to have a chance of upsetting France, Sweden or Finland.
In a similar fashion to the other groups, Wales' best chance to qualify is to beat Ireland, something doable but certainly not easy.
Ireland
Speaking about them, Ireland is making his second participation in a row for the Nations Cup. Their first participation wasn't necessarily successful in term of results, as you could have expected, but it probably helped them gain experience and going against Sweden in their first match tonight, they will certainly need it. But as said previously, this year their group isn't as difficult as previously, which is why I hope they will try harder this year as they have a fair shot at qualifying. A lot will probably come down to Kiano, their captain and most experienced player but no matter what happens, Ireland is probably one of the most fair-play team so any of their opponent should have a good time going against them.
Yugoslavia
Among all the underdog teams, Yugoslavia is the team which got the most chance to upset any other team. Their roster consists of a bunch of really skilled veterans but also many experienced players which are familiar with the competitive scene. Unfortunately for them, they also have one of the hardest groups and if I see no problem whatsoever for them going against Georgia, being capable of defeating any of the other three of Group B looks like a hell of a challenge.
Too much for Yugoslavia? We’ll see that in the upcoming weeks.
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