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Due to their recent pedigree, despite being the lowest-ranked side in the group, many when predicting the Euros will perhaps feel a reticence to condemn Slovakia to group stage exit. They do have individual players of quality in the squad; Geordie cult hero Martin Dúbravka in net, Serie A title-winning centre back Milan Škriniar is an outstanding centre back on the cusp of the elite level, and record capper and goalscorer Marek Hamšík is a national hero who can still put the ball onto a sixpence from anywhere on the pitch.
However, an ageing squad, limited depth and managerial chaos have rendered Slovakia as the side most likely, in my eyes, to end the tournament with the dreaded nul points. A ballsy topic of conversation for a Brit to write about given last Saturday’s Eurovision fiasco.
Their managerial situation is of great concern going into the Euros. Ex-manager Pavel Hapal, appointed midway through an average 2018 Nations League campaign for the Slovaks, failed to capitalise on a kind Euro 2020 qualifying group- an impressive double over neighbours Hungary was undone by timid performances against Croatia and a failure to find a cutting edge in both matches against Wales.
However, with a playoff via the Nations League to fall back on, Hapal remained in post, waiting until the October first leg against the Republic of Ireland in Slovakia’s new national stadium of the rebuilt Tehelné pole in capital Bratislava. Anyone who’s seen even 5 minutes of Stephen Kenny’s Boys in Green knows how weak they are in the final third, and yet dominated a game against a Slovakia side at sixes and sevens, with only Matt Doherty, Callum Robinson and Conor Hourihane to thank after all three missed guilt-edged chances.
A penalty shootout victory for the Repre saved their skin- but the Slovak FA had seen enough, and Hapal was duly sacked just a couple of weeks before their playoff final against Northern Ireland in Belfast, a match whose significance was exemplified by Hamšík deciding to stay put in Europe and not fly back to his club in China in order to avoid Covid complications for the crunch game.
Rookie manager Štefan Tarkovič came in, assistant for their very respectable Euro 2016 campaign, came in originally as a one-off, striking gold against a Northern Ireland side whose dearth in attacking quality has become even more clear under the stewardship of Ian Baraclough. Despite a 5-minute spree at the end of the 90 minutes, Slovakia did run out as worthy winners on the night and booked their place at the tournament.
But the long-term worries of Tarkovič have already become clear, further building on the Slovaks’ mixed results in the first round of 2022 World Cup qualifiers last March. As already implied, they were lucky in coming across two playoff opponents at a particularly low ebb, and too a kind qualifying group which disguised the lack of options both in defence and attack, but the March fixtures were undoubtedly worrying.
Their crippling lack of width made sure they only left Cyprus with a point, with ageing full backs of failing to provide the zip needed from full backs Peter Pekarík and Tomáš Hubočan (combined age of 69 for these regular starters, with the latter having to come back out of international retirement) with the two inside forwards of Ondrej Duda and Albert Rusnák (the latter, as of the moment, not even in Slovakia’s 24-man squad for the Euros.
Without wishing to be too disparaging, there are few excuses for a side of Slovakia’s quality to be going 2 goals down at home to Malta, where they only salvaged a point, leaving their campaign in jeopardy after just two matchdays in a group which again has been kind to them.
An impressive 2-1 win against Russia signed off the international break in a positive manner and renewed optimism, but the long-term trends of an ageing defence and a dearth of attacking options are more clear and pressing than they have ever been. They had these exact two same problems at their last tournament appearance, Euro 2016, which was now 5 (yes, 5) years ago…
Their limited squad options could come as a blessing in disguise, much like Iceland during their successes in the late 2010s. Tarkovič has so far only called up 24 out of a possible 26 places for the Euro 2020(1) squad, following in the footsteps of fellow Group E manager Luis Enrique.
Said 24 includes just 6 defenders, including Pekarík and Hubočan- time will tell whether it will be a solid, tight-knit back four who know each other inside out (I’ll resist the Dychean ‘game geography’ term), or one whose age becomes a problem that must urgently, and yet cannot, be solved. Width, more generally, is also extremely worrying.
Now Rusnák has been axed, veteran Vladimír Weiss and Róbert Mak are the only two wingers, and both of these have had their attribute of pace shot by age and spells in weak leagues in far-flung corners of the globe and are both inside forwards. Yes, in their wealth of centre midfielders, certain individuals such as Duda or Lukáš Haraslín can operate out wide, but in a side who are seemingly wedded to a 4-3-3, it could be an Achilles’ heel.
That said, there are positives for Slovakia. Dominik Greif, the 24-year-old goalkeeper, would be a shoo-in for any other area of squad, and the Slovan Bratislava man is sure to move on to a top European league this summer, hopefully easing the pain of missing out on the final squad.
In the squad instead are Dúbravka, the likely number 1, a man rejuvenated on Tyneside, veteran Dušan Kuciak, a member of their 2010 World Cup squad (remember Róbert Vittek) and Fulham goalkeeper Marek Rodák, a man that myself and many others have felt extremely sorry for, booted on to the bench for the 2020/21 season despite being pivotal in getting Fulham to the Premier League.
There is too a wealth of options in centre midfield, arguably better than fellow sides in their group Sweden and Poland. Stan Lobotka is versatile, energetic and loves to pop up in the box in a Lampardian fashion (as his goal for Slovakia against England at Wembley in September 2017 showed), Juraj Kucka is metronomic, possesses a crisp, line-breaking pass and has a rocket strike on him (as his goal vs Wales in October 2019 showed).
Hamšík you know all about, and has moved IFK Göteborg specifically to get European game time under his belt after a dud spell in China, and Haraslín and László Bénes are on the cusp of breaking onto the hipster footballer scene. Up front, young Róbert Boženík has yet to truly come alive at Feyenoord, but plays well for Slovakia, and is a cool, if often timid, finisher in front of goal.
However, it doesn’t bode well for Slovakia overall. Two friendlies, one against Bulgaria and the other against an out-of-sorts Austria suggest a need to build up confidence before the tournament, always making one fear the worst. In the tournament, they come up against two sides in Sweden and Poland who are much more comfortable in their own skin.
They may be salvaged by these former two having to change plans for the tournament at short notice- changing of their team camp locations was necessitated by the change of Group E venue from Dublin to St. Petersburg. But Sweden and Poland are that little bit more confident and established than the Repre, and Spain, by the time of their match-up in the final group game, could be in full pomp.
Even 3 points might be enough to make it through the groups, but Slovakia look doomed to come up just short in each game, and a swift group stage exit may follow.
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