Slovakia – National Team EURO 2021 – All Important Information

June 14, 2021

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Slovakia - Euro 2021 - Lineup. Learn about form of the Slovakia team, lineup, stats and much more.

Slovakia – National Team EURO 2021 – All Important Information

The Slovakia National Team has managed to make their European Championship debut in 2016, which was one of the brightest moments in the history of Slovakian football. After a couple of years, more precisely in 2020, they’ve entered EURO 2020 (2021), looking forward to improving their performance on the field and growing as a football team throughout this major tournament.

The participation at the EURO 2021 for Slovakia is a really big deal, since they’ve only participated in 2 major tournaments since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993 – qualifications for the 2010 World Cup and European Championship 2016. At both tournaments Slovakia ended in the last 16.

When it comes to their participation at the 2016 World Cup, they weren’t lucky enough, and they finished as the lowest-ranked runner up, missing out on the Russia National Team.

After two major tournaments, the EURO 2021 will be their third attempt to achieve what they’ve always desired as a football nation. Get to know all the important information about the football manager of the National team, full squad, possible line-up, tactics, and more!

Football Manager of the Slovakia National Team

The manager of the Slovakia National Team is Stefan Tarkovic. He started managing the team in 2013, as an assistant manager, to become the official football manager in 2018. Before managing the National Team of Slovakia, Tarkovic has managed Zilina, Tatran Presov, And Kosice football teams.

Tarkovic got the permanent role of the official football manager of Slovakia National Team at the end of 2020, until the end of 2021. Even though many people think of him as one of the best football coaches in the history of their football, some of them were doubtful whether he will be able to meet his country’s expectations to achieve the best possible result with the National Team of Slovakia in the upcoming tournament

He stated a year ago that he is assertive enough and often communicates with players so that he understands them correctly. He also pointed out that there are many cases where a person who didn’t have a rich playing career in the past, turned out to be a very successful football coach.

Slovakia Possible Lineup for the European Championship

The “Trio Fantastico” in the possible lineup formation of the Slovakia National Team is the central midfield one and it includes Marek Hamsik, Huraj Kucka, and Stanislav Lobotka. So far, Lobotka is the most-expensive player in Slovakia ever, having moved from Celta Vigo to Napoli in 2020 for £21.5m!

Duris is expected to lead the front line, alongside Robert Mak and Albert Rusnak. With Skriniar in the midfield and Martin Dubravka on the goal, this squad could do miracles on the field!

See the full possible lineup for the 2021 European Championship:

The Key Player of the Slovakia National Team

Perhaps the biggest star of the Slovakia National Team is Marek Hamsik, a 33-year-old attacking midfielder who’s currently playing for Allsvenskan club IFK Goteborg from Sweden. For his astonishing performances on the field, Marek Hamsik has won numerous awards. He was awarded as the Slovak Footballer of the year 8 times so far!

Hamsik got the recognition as the Serie A Young Footballer of the Year in 2018, while in 2011, 2016, and 2017 he was named to the Serie A Team of the year. In 203 he was ranked as the 8th best footballer in Europe by Bloomberg, while in 2015, Marek Hamsik was included in the UEFA Europa League Squad of the season.

So far, Hamsik has scored 26 goals for Slovakia National Team which is more than any other footballer in the brief history of Slovakia. He is the most-capped player of Slovakia, representing it 126 times in 14 years.

Besides Hamsik, one of the best Slovakian players are also Martin Dubravka, the great Newcastle United goalkeeper, alongside Mialn Skriniar, one of the key players in the defense, and Michal Duris, a 32-year-old striker who has managed to score 7 goals in 54 matches for Slovakia.

Duris scored one of the most important goals for his team in the play-off final over Northern Ireland, which was crucial for their participation at the EURO 2020.

The Full Squad of the Slovakia National Team

Goalkeepers: Martin Dubravka (Newcastle), Marek Rodak (Fulham), Dusan Kuciak (Lechia Gdańsk),

Defenders: Peter Pekarik (Hertha), Ľubomír Šatka (Lech Poznań), Denis Vavro (Huesca), Milan Skriniar (Inter Milan), Tomas Hubocan (Omonoia), Jakub Holubek (Gliwice)

Midfielders: Marek Hamsik (IFK Goteborg), Erik Jirka (Mirandes), Vladimir Weiss (Slovan Bratislava), Stanislav Lobotka (Napoli), Lukáš Haraslín (Sassuolo), Tomas Suslov (Groningen), Patrik Hrošovský (Genk), Juraj Kucka (Parma), Ondrej Duda (Koln), Robert Mak (Ferencvaros), Laszlo Benes (Augsburg), Matus Bero (Arnhem),

Forwards: Michal Duris (Omonoia), David Strelec (Slovan Bratislava), Robert Bozenik (Feyenoord),

Tactics & Form of the Slovakia National Team for the EURO 2021

We suppose that Stefan Tarkovic will try to get the best out of his team with the following setting: 4-1-4-1, which was the case when Slovakia won 2-1 oer Northern Ireland, the decisive match which led them to this major tournament. His best tactics would be mixing defensive solidity and the attacking threat.