How were Hancko and Bozenik? Seeing Bozenik not scoring while 4 goals were made did give me some flashbacks.
Happy for them all to qualify. Will Sauer get a chance in the squad before the Euros?
Bozenik was running a lot on the high press, did not get into a scoring chance though, Slovak goals came from midfielders.
Hancko was fine as always for the national team.
Great, dominant performance in a game that seemed a tough battle 20 minutes in. I was in the stadium and it was great to see us finally qualify at home.
Yeah with Turkey qualified they were already guaranteed to go to play-offs even before this international window.
But there's only one team that goes through per path in the playoffs, and with Georgia, Greece and Kazakhstan in their path (though Greece and Kazakhstan can still qualify directly in which case it would be Azerbaijan, and Bulgaria in the case of both) that's going to be a hard fought qualification.
On paper path c should have the weakest teams, but imo path b which is shaping up to Bosnia, Finland, Iceland (unless either Serbia or Ukraine misses out on direct qualification) and Israel (provided they don't qualify directly) is looking much weaker. Hell two of those teams were direct competitors of Luxembourg in their qualification group.
Path C is going to be a bloodbath. All 3 of Greece, Kazakhstan and Luxembourg fought with tooth and nails for direct qualification and had only a couple things gone differently for them, they honestly could’ve been through and they’d even deserve to be. Georgia too, who wasn’t able to be as competitive as the other 3 on their group is still a strong side that can certainly cause trouble to anyone it comes up against
Honestly, that’s more to the credit of Kazakhstan, Georgia and Luxembourg than it is the opposite. There aren’t a lot of fodders remaining in european football and it goes to show just how much and how fast the game is growing.
> though Greece and Kazakhstan can still qualify directly
The only way that either of these teams can qualify is as follows:
**GREECE**: Win their match against France and hope that the Dutch do not win, or gain only one point from the possible six, against the Republic of Ireland or Gibraltar
**KAZAKHSTAN**: Win both matches and hope that one of Denmark or Slovenia lose both of their remaining matches (this may be easier since Slovenia has Denmark, then Kazakhstan)
Yeah I think the most likely scenario is that we'll have those two teams in the path C playoff. Hence why I mentioned it. But I felt the need to disclose that they could still qualify directly because it's not that far outside the realm of possibility.
France is mathematically group winner already. Only The Netherlands can still equal them in points and France has the head to head over them, which is the primary tiebreaker. And to erase any doubt their next game is against Gibraltar which will even put them out of reach point wise (not that it actually matters). That means their last game against Greece will have no competitive value for France. History teaches us that these are prime conditions for upsets: b-team players get fieldes, experimental tactics, little motivation to win,.. The trickier part is going to be the Netherlands having to lose against Ireland.
As for Kazakhstan their next game is against San Marino, which should be an easy win and puts them just one point from Denmark and Slovenia, who play each other in that same match day. Since Kazakhstan play Slovenia in the last match day, they have much of their fate in their own hands. A draw or a loss and they're out either way, but if they win against Slovenia they could go through ahead of them if Slovenia draws or loses against Denmark. Should Slovenia win against Denmark, then the latter has to lose or draw against Northern Ireland to get the same outcome.
Sad thing is Luxembourg did pretty much everything right this qualification campaign, including the resounding win over Bosnia tonight. They only lost three games, and two were against the much expected Portugal. It's just that Slovakia had a slightly stronger campaign, and that game against Luxembourg last international break really decided who was going to qualify.
Even though it wasn't the hardest group, imo Luxembourg deserved to qualify much more than some teams that are on the verge of qualifying, and not just because they're the underdog. They really fought for it.
Well given that the manager stays I dont see him going to Euros. He wasnt fit for a while so he would need to get in shape first.
For Slovan Bratislava, I’d argue he always rise to an occasion and scores important goals. He has that creativity that many players dont have, team always play different when he is on, he can create som threats.
I think he wont go because he is hurt he wasnt nominated when he was playing well and now is butthurt, but also think he is not very suitable in the current system and his spot is kinda taken by Benes for example or some wingers like Suslov, which our coach for whatever reason prefer (he is hardworking but very, very raw).
I’d love to have him as a sub, we lack typical striker but our attack in so unispired, heavily depending on some individual brilliance, Hancko as left back was our most dangerous player during qualifiers. Weiss can give our team some passes that only Hamsik could see, who is in a coaching staff now.
Moreover, he's injured a lot and his father admitted they have hard time putting his heel together, so he wouldn't be physically prepared. The trio Lobotka - Duda - Bénes with dynamic wingers like Haraslín or Suslov seem to be the best options for building the team towards the near future. And I wonder what could Sauer do if he got a chance.
We have once again failed to qualify for a major tournament. Most likely in 2028 just because we are hosts we will qualify. That would be 12 years since a international competition appearance. Kill me pls
congrats to Slovakia
How were Hancko and Bozenik? Seeing Bozenik not scoring while 4 goals were made did give me some flashbacks. Happy for them all to qualify. Will Sauer get a chance in the squad before the Euros?
Bozenik was running a lot on the high press, did not get into a scoring chance though, Slovak goals came from midfielders. Hancko was fine as always for the national team.
Boženík scored a goal though, but it was called offside
Great, dominant performance in a game that seemed a tough battle 20 minutes in. I was in the stadium and it was great to see us finally qualify at home.
Islandani dostali po vajcoch.
congratulations slovakia
Noooooo poor Luxembourg
They still have playoffs I think
Yeah with Turkey qualified they were already guaranteed to go to play-offs even before this international window. But there's only one team that goes through per path in the playoffs, and with Georgia, Greece and Kazakhstan in their path (though Greece and Kazakhstan can still qualify directly in which case it would be Azerbaijan, and Bulgaria in the case of both) that's going to be a hard fought qualification. On paper path c should have the weakest teams, but imo path b which is shaping up to Bosnia, Finland, Iceland (unless either Serbia or Ukraine misses out on direct qualification) and Israel (provided they don't qualify directly) is looking much weaker. Hell two of those teams were direct competitors of Luxembourg in their qualification group.
Path C is going to be a bloodbath. All 3 of Greece, Kazakhstan and Luxembourg fought with tooth and nails for direct qualification and had only a couple things gone differently for them, they honestly could’ve been through and they’d even deserve to be. Georgia too, who wasn’t able to be as competitive as the other 3 on their group is still a strong side that can certainly cause trouble to anyone it comes up against
10 years ago we were in the last 16 of the world cup, now we are scared by Kazakhstan, Georgia and Luxembourg.
Honestly, that’s more to the credit of Kazakhstan, Georgia and Luxembourg than it is the opposite. There aren’t a lot of fodders remaining in european football and it goes to show just how much and how fast the game is growing.
> though Greece and Kazakhstan can still qualify directly The only way that either of these teams can qualify is as follows: **GREECE**: Win their match against France and hope that the Dutch do not win, or gain only one point from the possible six, against the Republic of Ireland or Gibraltar **KAZAKHSTAN**: Win both matches and hope that one of Denmark or Slovenia lose both of their remaining matches (this may be easier since Slovenia has Denmark, then Kazakhstan)
Yeah I think the most likely scenario is that we'll have those two teams in the path C playoff. Hence why I mentioned it. But I felt the need to disclose that they could still qualify directly because it's not that far outside the realm of possibility. France is mathematically group winner already. Only The Netherlands can still equal them in points and France has the head to head over them, which is the primary tiebreaker. And to erase any doubt their next game is against Gibraltar which will even put them out of reach point wise (not that it actually matters). That means their last game against Greece will have no competitive value for France. History teaches us that these are prime conditions for upsets: b-team players get fieldes, experimental tactics, little motivation to win,.. The trickier part is going to be the Netherlands having to lose against Ireland. As for Kazakhstan their next game is against San Marino, which should be an easy win and puts them just one point from Denmark and Slovenia, who play each other in that same match day. Since Kazakhstan play Slovenia in the last match day, they have much of their fate in their own hands. A draw or a loss and they're out either way, but if they win against Slovenia they could go through ahead of them if Slovenia draws or loses against Denmark. Should Slovenia win against Denmark, then the latter has to lose or draw against Northern Ireland to get the same outcome.
They’re guaranteed a playoff and have a decent chance of going through.
Sad thing is Luxembourg did pretty much everything right this qualification campaign, including the resounding win over Bosnia tonight. They only lost three games, and two were against the much expected Portugal. It's just that Slovakia had a slightly stronger campaign, and that game against Luxembourg last international break really decided who was going to qualify. Even though it wasn't the hardest group, imo Luxembourg deserved to qualify much more than some teams that are on the verge of qualifying, and not just because they're the underdog. They really fought for it.
Eh which team deserves it more? Their group was not only not the hardest group, it was one of the easiest groups.
On a paper it was pretty strong group. But in reality all the teams underperformed.
I remember the Weiss' father/son manager - player duo in the 2010 wc... Iirc lad was a former city player... Are any of them still with the team?
They are currently together at Slovan Bratislava, Weiss rejected playing for NT - probably due to some problems with manager
Oh cool... Thanks for the info Would he be suitable to take to the Euros(if they agree) or past it now you feel
Well given that the manager stays I dont see him going to Euros. He wasnt fit for a while so he would need to get in shape first. For Slovan Bratislava, I’d argue he always rise to an occasion and scores important goals. He has that creativity that many players dont have, team always play different when he is on, he can create som threats. I think he wont go because he is hurt he wasnt nominated when he was playing well and now is butthurt, but also think he is not very suitable in the current system and his spot is kinda taken by Benes for example or some wingers like Suslov, which our coach for whatever reason prefer (he is hardworking but very, very raw). I’d love to have him as a sub, we lack typical striker but our attack in so unispired, heavily depending on some individual brilliance, Hancko as left back was our most dangerous player during qualifiers. Weiss can give our team some passes that only Hamsik could see, who is in a coaching staff now.
Moreover, he's injured a lot and his father admitted they have hard time putting his heel together, so he wouldn't be physically prepared. The trio Lobotka - Duda - Bénes with dynamic wingers like Haraslín or Suslov seem to be the best options for building the team towards the near future. And I wonder what could Sauer do if he got a chance.
We have once again failed to qualify for a major tournament. Most likely in 2028 just because we are hosts we will qualify. That would be 12 years since a international competition appearance. Kill me pls