World Cup qual. - Meet the Slovaks

Eurosport - Fri, 27 Mar 15:13:00 2009

Slovakia take on England at Wembley as underdogs, but anyone expecting them to roll over for Fabio Capello's men could be in for a shock.

2008 Slovakia Marek Hamsik - 0

The Czech Republic might have grabbed the headlines since Czechoslovakia's break-up in 1993, but Slovakia has a rich football history.

The smaller of the two neighbours provided the majority of the 1976 European Championship-winning side, and since then has produced players such as Lubomir Moravcik and Peter Dubovsky.

Since gaining independence, Slovakia have not qualified for a major tournament, but the current crop have perhaps the best chance yet, presently topping a World Cup group containing Northern Ireland, the Czechs, Poland and Slovenia.

Coach Vladimir Weiss took over in 2008 having led unfancied Artmedia Petrzalka to the Slovakian league title before a short stint in Russia with Saturn Ramenskoye.

He has moulded a solid, cohesive unit and a record of three wins from four qualifiers pays testament to the team's progress under Weiss's charge.

Liverpool's Martin Skrtel is a familiar face at the back, and he will play alongside Marek Cech of West Bromwich Albion.

Although the former Porto man has struggled to assert himself at the Hawthorns, he is highly rated in his homeland and can perform a number of roles in defence and midfield.

Chelsea youngster Miroslav Stoch has two caps to his name but is in the U21 squad this time, while there is no place for Bristol City striker Peter Styvar.

Slovakia pose a real threat going forward, starting with talented playmaker Marek Hamsik (pictured). The 21-year-old already has 20 caps to his name and has been described as the country's best player since Dubovsky.

Hamsik has nine goals this season for Napoli and plays in a similar style to Pavel Nedved - Juventus have been linked with a move for Hamsik as a long-term replacement for the Czech veteran.

Robert Vittek has replaced Marek Mintal as the Slovaks' leading striker. He has 17 goals to his name and is a certainty to overtake Szilard Nemeth's national record of 22.

The 26-year-old joined Lille from Nuremberg last summer but has struggled to establish himself with the Ligue 1 side.

Stanislav Sestak should partner him - the Bochum man scored both goals in Slovakia's dramatic 2-1 win against Poland last October and is a fine deep-lying foil for Vittek.

Alex Chick / Eurosport

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  1. Re post #7: While you make two excellent points, Rasto,­ your second doesn't work in the English-speaking­ world because most of us cannot pronounce­ "ch" properly, so "Czechia" would­ be confused with "Chechnya"; surely you know­ that most people west of Rozvadov don't see any­ difference between Slovakia and Slovenia either, the­ poor fools. Thanks for trying to educate us, but­ you're wasting your time, mate.

    From Brendan, on Fri 27 Mar 8:12PM

  2. Hamsik will soon become the best midfielder in the­ world and win the Balon D'Or. He is already in the­ top 5-6, hes an absolute phenom...only Gerrard is­ better for England...

    From justin, on Fri 27 Mar 6:42PM

  3. On the 18th line from the top - adjective to Slovakia­ is Slovak, not Slovakian.

    On the 3rd line from the top­ - the Czech Republic is the longer form of the­ country´s official name, while Czechia is the official­ one-word name of the Czech Republic. In 1993 Ministry­ of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic in its­ memorandum to all Czech embassies and diplomatic­ missions recommended to use the full name "Czech­ Republic" only in official documents and titles of­ official institutions. In all other cases, the one-word­ name Czechia should be preferred.

    From Rastislav, on Fri 27 Mar 4:00PM

  4. i hope so michael c. i'm english, but unlike some­ others i'd like to see as many of the home nations­ as possible there, (if ireland are included as a home­ nation). I think via the play offs is very possible.

    From a.titterington, on Fri 27 Mar 12:36PM

  5. can ireland make it to the world cup english people pls­ let me know

    From michael, on Fri 27 Mar 12:26PM

  6. I forgot the news about Ireland on Yahoo Sport is Duff­ is out and McGready is doubtful but that info is easily­ and readily available on this website. On the home page­ there is space for only a few headlines and as new news­ comes along, some of them drop off the bottom.­ That's all, the Ireland news got to the bottom but­ is still available in the appropriate place

    From trouble, on Fri 27 Mar 11:51AM

  7. ian.lapsley, my little leprechaun friend there is news­ about the Ireland game you are too full of prejudice to­ even bother opening the page. I would post a link for­ you but the system just won't let me

    From trouble, on Fri 27 Mar 11:44AM

  8. why is this under the banner world cup qualifer? its a­ friendly - ah it involves england - no mention of the­ other home nations and ireland thou who actually have­ world cup qualifiers - bet there is a beckham article­ here somewhere!

    From Bigeye, on Fri 27 Mar 11:16AM
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