The truth is that, following Italy and Paraguay’s 1-1 draw on Monday night, New Zealand and Slovakia both have the chance of topping the table with a victory. It’s down to these two outsiders to show that they can emulate what Slovenia did in Group C – which was to clinch the top spot after match-day one despite the presence of big guns England and the USA in their section.
Slovakia – Rock In Defense Martin Skrtel Shares His Optimism
Slovakia shocked Europe when they secured an automatic 2010 World Cup finals spot last year. The Repre created history by reaching their first ever World Cup tournament and not even 2006 World Cup participants Poland and the Czech Republic could get in their way. Slovakia are not willing to give up and they are in an optimistic mood ahead of their campaign in South Africa which will kick off with a match against New Zealand on Tuesday.
Speaking exclusively to Fifa.com, Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel gave information about Slovakia’s spirit and vision going into their first ever World Cup match, noting that the atmosphere in the squad was a good one. Expressing his confidence against the threat that New Zealand could pose, Martin Skrtel explained:
“We saw them play first-hand in a friendly match against Serbia. Our coaching staff also followed their game against Slovenia (whom Slovakia topped in their 2010 World Cup qualification table). So, we know them well! I am definitely convinced that our coaches will find the best manner to stop them from playing. All that we’ll have to do is to follow their instructions and win the game.”
The defender continued:
“New Zealand are rated as the group’s weakest team. Like us, they are outsiders. We are expecting a tough match against a powerful team who play a no-nonsense type of football. Having said that, I think that the quality is there for us to beat them.”
Slovakia are fresh from an emphatic 3-0 defeat of Costa Rica. A trademark defensive performance will benefit them a lot against a side like New Zealand who have a feble goal scoring record. The Repre have let only one goal into their net in as much as 270 minutes of friendly match football.
Castrol World Cup match predictor indicated that Slovakia are poised to win with 59% of chances compared to New Zealand’s 19% of chances. Actually, if Slovakia manage to make the game theirs within the first ten minutes of the match, one will expect them to go on and tear down New Zealand without any mercy.
