Are you eager for more international content? Look no further as we give you the definitive guide of who failed to impress at EURO 2020.

Which team had the worst record at EURO 2020?

EURO 2020 was absolutely massive and one of the better tournaments in recent years. Despite England and Italy being two of the standout teams in the tournament, there were also a handful of teams that really struggled to make a name for themselves. In this article, we’ll be running through the teams which we feel disappointed the most before giving you our final verdict. Disagree with some of our choices? Make sure to let us know your pick is.

Winning the EUROs is one of the biggest wins in sport but here are the teams that didn’t quite go all the way in the most recent iteration of the hugely popular football tournament.

Turkey

Football is a massive sport in Turkey. According to a survey by Ipsos in 2017, 78 percent of Turks say they are interested in football. This is significantly higher than the rates for other sports, such as basketball (27 percent) and volleyball (14 percent). Turkish football clubs are some of the most successful in Europe, with several playing in the Champions League. There are also many passionate fans of the sport in Turkey that attend every game without fail.

Despite being tipped for greatness thanks to their seemingly robust defensive line, the defense just didn’t do the job required and chaos ensued. This frailty was most notable against Italy when their central defenders looked unfit and unable to compete with the playmaking genius of Domenico Berardi and Manuel Locatelli. Turkey’s young players struggled to make an impact in the tournament, despite having tons of exciting potential.

North Macedonia

Football is by far the most popular sport in Macedonia, where the national team has enjoyed some success, notably in qualifying for the UEFA Euro 2004. The country hosted the 2009 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. The top football clubs in Macedonia are FK Vardar, FK Rabotnicki and FK Metalurg Skopje. Despite being a small nation, Macedonia has regularly competed with bigger countries with much larger talent pools and budgets.

This might be a little harsh because their success should not be measured by how far they progressed, their qualification as an achievement on its own, but it can’t be ignored that the county failed to flatter. The gap in quality between the North Macedonian players and many of the other nations was most evident against Holland, where a goal from Barcelona’s Memphis Depay, as well as a brace by PSG’s Gini Wijnaldum, absolutely blew them away.

Scotland

Football is the most popular sport in Scotland. The country’s national football team, known as the Scottish National Team or simply Scotland, has qualified for the FIFA World Cup on eight occasions, most recently in 1998. The team has also competed in UEFA European Championship qualification matches on a total of twenty occasions. The most successful teams are Celtic and Rangers, who have won over one hundred league titles between them.

Scotland has a good set of players, a squad that is better or equal to many others in Europe. It was because of this that many were surprised at the Scots’ lackluster showing when it came to EURO 2020. The country had waited over two decades for their most recent appearance at a major tournament but not even the likes of Andy Robertson (Liverpool), Scott McTominay (Manchester United), and Kieran Tierney (Arsenal) could save them.

Poland

Just like their German neighbors, Poles absolutely love football with a passion. The Polish Football Association (PZPN) was founded in 1912 and is responsible for the administration of football in Poland. The top division in Polish football is the Ekstraklasa, which was founded in 1927. The Polish national football team has had a fair share of success in international competitions, reaching the quarterfinals of the World Cup in 1974 and 1982.

This tournament really looked like one that would have allowed Poland to make some moves and cement their place as a proper footballing nation, alongside the likes of Croatia and Denmark. It wasn’t to be though, with not even the goals that Robert Lewandowski provided enough for the central Europeans to progress. While not as bad as some other countries, Poland really should have played better and it was a big disappointment for them.

Slovakia

The country’s national team has enjoyed some success, qualifying for two World Cups and one European Championship, and as a result, the sport is absolutely massive in the country. There are also several professional clubs in Slovakia, including top-division sides Slovan Bratislava and Spartak Trnava. The country had a lot more success prior to the 1990s when it competed as Czechoslovakia, with the state winning the EUROs in 1976.

Despite beating previous inclusion Poland, Slovakia was underwhelming at the summer tournament falling to Sweden and Spain, the latter of which scored five goals against them. While it was always going to be a tricky tournament for the Slovakian players, you can tell just how much they missed their former captain Martin Skrtel, who had retired back in 2019, with not even the leadership of talisman and legend Marek Hamsik enough help for them.

So, who is our pick?

Turkey has to go down as the team with the worst record and account for themselves at EURO 2020. Many football fans were expecting Turkey to be one of the tournament’s dark horses because they have some exciting young players as well as a defense that looked pretty solid going into the Pan-European sports spectacle. Unfortunately, that didn’t quite work out though with the Eastern Europeans really struggling to make an impact.