Slovakia Matches at World Cup 2010

Slovakia World Cup Profile

LiveSoccerTV.com finishes its exploration in Group F of the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa by taking a tour in Slovakia.

Slovakia – The country, the football

Landlocked in the eastern side of the European continent, the Slovak Republic – better known as Slovakia – is a country surrounded by the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Ukraine, and Hungary. It has an estimated overall area of about 49,000 km2, and it contains over 5,000,000 inhabitants.

Slovakia’s Football Association was founded in 1993, after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, linking itself with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, and the Union of European Football Associations since then.

The Slovak national football team, also called “Repre”, is among the poorest teams in the world in terms of achievement, and this is the first time they qualify for a FIFA World Cup tournament since the creation of their Football Association.

Slovakia – The road to the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals

Only 13 places for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa were reserved for European countries. Incontestably, many overlooked Slovakia on several occasions during the qualifiers, but surprisingly, the Repre proved to be much more arduous than the public thought they were.

Owing to an unsatisfying position in the FIFA World Ranking, Slovakia landed in Pot D before the draw for the group stage of the World Cup’s qualifying First Round in the European zone. Next, on November 25, 2007, Slovakia arrived in Group 3 with Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Poland, and San Marino.

Analytically, this was a fair group with a lot of positives for the Slovakians, who eventually didn’t fail to take advantage of this fact; and in truth, their determination for a place in the 2010 World Cup’s finals in South Africa was quickly confirmed after their 2-1 home victory over Northern Ireland on match-day 1.

Unluckily, the Repre were incapable of keeping their good start on match-day 2 against Slovenia, as a double from Novakovič offered the Slovenians a 2-1 win over a disappointed Slovakia side. Šesták, Kozák, Karhan then refreshed Slovakia with a goal each to provide their national team with a 3-1 triumph over San Marino, before Šesták again showed his worth with a double in Slovakia’s next game against Poland; which they finally won 2-1.

On April 1 a year ago, the Repre imposed theirselves 2-1 over the Czech Republic at the AXA Arena in Prague, thanks to goals from Šesták and Jendrišek. Five days later, they had a great celebration, following a 7-0 wonderful victory against San Marino in Bratislava.

2-2 was subsequently the final result of Slovakia’s encounter away to the Czech Republic, and as they were willing to get the maximum possible points out of their qualifiers, the Slovakians went on to defeat Northern Ireland 2-0 with goals from Šesták and Hološko.

Unfortunately, the Repre were humbled 2-0 by Slovenia at home on the 10th of October 2009, but a 1-0 victory 4 days later over Poland was enough to hand the Slovakians an automatic place in the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa. Slovakia qualified with 22 points out of 10 games – either two points above runners-up Slovenia.

Slovakia – 2010 FIFA World Cup group stage

The final draw for the 2010 World Cup finals occurred in the South African city of Cape Town on December 4, 2009, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. With other seven European countries including France and Portugal, Slovakia were inserted in Pot 4 before the draw.

The important event started at 19:00 local time, and when it was over, it was understood that the Repre were positioned in Group F along with World Cup title holders Italy, plus Paraguay, and New Zealand. Such a table definitely called for a little bit more progress from the new visitors, as they were drawn with strange opponents – well at least, opponents who seemed more extraordinary than those they had faced during their qualifiers.

Match-day 1: New Zealand vs Slovakia

New Zealand will welcome Slovakia at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg on the 15th of June 2010 – in a match where chasing an opening victory will be the main concern.

Just as Slovakia, New Zealand aren’t regular participants in the FIFA World Cup, but the fact that both sides lack of experience in the competition could make the match hotter somehow, since both teams will be looking to snatch a good start in such an infrequent tournament.

Match-day 2: Slovakia vs Paraguay

In match-day two on June 20, Slovakia will play as the home team against South American side Paraguay, at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein. This game is expected to kick-off at 13:30 local time.

Paraguay qualified ahead of giants Argentina in the South American zone, and they even beat Diego Maradona’s country with all its big stars. This should be a strong warning to the Slovakians, who will hope to capitalize on the physical weaknesses of their visitors to steal a win.

Match-day 3: Slovakia vs Italy

This is the big match of the Repre. On June 24, at 16:00 local time, Slovakia will entertain Italy at the Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg – wishing to earn three more points which could grant them a place in the knockout phase of the tournament.

Italy are the current defending world champions, and considering all their great players including Gilardino, Pirlo, Grosso, Cannavaro, or even Buffon, the Slovakians will need to be alert and stand their grounds.

Of course, starting the game with fears will be of no use; instead, playing with belief and unity will be the ideal solution for the Repre to upset the Azzurri, if ever they manage to get at least a single point out of this particular encounter.

Slovakia: Quick Analysis – Expectations from the country and its top stars

It is true that, unlike several top seeds in the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament, Slovakia possess very few stars – if not to say “no star player”. They will consequently be travelling to South Africa with not much in their squad, and thus, they could only boost their moral by basing their hopes on their good qualification into the competition.

Stanislav Šesták:

Šesták played a very nice role in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers for Slovakia, pushing his side to success with his numerous goals. He was first introduced into the Slovakia senior national football team in 2004, but he is now among the leading players of the country.

Obviously, the Slovakians wouldn’t to travel to South Africa without him, but Šesták also knows that if his name gets included in the Slovakia squad ahead of the world’s biggest football tournament, then he will have to show his positive side and assume his responsibilities in front.

This is not supposed to be a problem for the growing striker however – who has overall appeared to be scoring an average of a goal in every three international matches, with most goals coming in his recent matches.

Vladimír Weiss:

Vladimír Weiss can still be regarded as a new member of the Slovakia national football team, with a fresh inclusion in the squad (2009). Being the son of the Slovakia national coach – also called Vladimír Weiss – the son should benefit from a very nice relation with his manager in the summer of 2010.

Despite his young age, the 20-year old attacking midfielder already has some experience from the English Premier League, and in a way, his experience gained from England might specially power the Repre in South Africa; even though he will be looking forward to getting more familiar with his country.

Marek Hamšík:

Marek is another young player (22 years of age) who was inserted in the Slovakia national team in 2007.  Since then, the central midfielder has played around 30 games for his country, and in spite of his far position on the field, the Italian Serie A footballer has been able to score a good number of goals for the Repre.

Marek is said to be an impressive goal scorer, and as a result, there is no doubt he is one of his country’s key player. Eventually, Marek Hamšík is expected to play an influencing role at the 2010 World Cup.

Slovakia – Current 2010 FIFA World Cup squad

Goalkeepers:

Dusan Pernis; Dusan Kuciak; Jan Mucha

Defenders:

Kornel Salata; Marek Cech; Radoslav Zabavnik; Jan Durica; Martin Skrtel (now ruled out through injury); Martin Petras;  Peter Pekarik

Midfielders:

Zdeno Strba; Miroslav Stoch; Vladimir Weiss; Marek Hamsik; Marek Sapara; Juraj Kucka; Jan Kozak; Kamil Kopunek

Forwards:

Stanislav Sestak; Filip Holosko; Martin Jakubko; Robert Vittek; Erik Jendrisek

Slovakia – Relevant Quote

Vladimír Weiss: “We are in a good group”

The head coach of Slovakia Vladimír Weiss thinks that his side was placed in a fair group, but he admits that facing Italy will be quite hard. Below is Vladimír Weiss’ statement on this matter:

“What is funny is that we (Slovakia) are now in the same group with New Zealand, and we both are two countries other teams were hoping to get in their respective groups.”

“I know it will be hard to face the world champions (Italy), because they have a lot of experience; and we don't. Anyway, I believe this is a good group and it is great for us to be present in this World Cup tournament.”

Slovakia – FIFA World Cup record

Since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the Repre have joined the FIFA World Cup tournament only once in their history. Below is the record of Slovakia in the tournament:

2010: Qualified as participants

Witness Slovakia's run in their first ever FIFA World Cup tournament on LiveSoccerTV.com! Get news, previews, video highlights, and more here!

Slovakia World Cup Videos

• Jun/24/2010 Slovakia vs Italy (3 - 2)
• Jun/20/2010 Slovakia vs Paraguay (0 - 2)