Northern Ireland v Slovakia

SLOVAKIA’S ROLLERCOASTER RIDE

One of European football’s newer nations has experienced its fair share of ups and downs over the past 27 years.

Slovakia – officially the Slovak Republic – became an independent state on 1 January 1993 following the dissolution of the former Czechoslovakia. The Slovak Football Association (Slovenský Futbalový Zväz) was re-established soon after and the nation’s football team played its first official match in over 50 years in February 1994 as the Sokoli (Falcons) beat United Arab Emirates 1-0 in Dubai. The Slovak Republic had previously been a partly- recognised client state of Nazi Germany, with the Slovak national team playing matches between 1939 and 1945 before being subsumed by the former Czechoslovakia. Slovakian-born footballers played a key role in Czechoslovakia’s successes between 1945 and 1992. Nine Slovak players were included in the Czech squad that were runners-up at the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile, while 14 of the 22-man squad that won the European Championships in 1976 came from Slovakia. Slovakia became an affiliated member of UEFA in 1993 and joined FIFA a year later. Over the last 27 years they have shown considerable progress, rising from 150th position in the FIFA World Rankings in December 1993 to a peak of 14th in August 2015. The Sokoli qualified for their first major tournament as an independent nation when they made it to the 2010 FIFA World Cup having previously suffered a qualifying play-off defeat to Spain in their attempt to reach the 2006 finals. Under the management of Vladmir Weiss they finished second in Group F at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. After a 1-1 draw with New Zealand and losing to Paraguay, Weiss’ team reached the knockout phase with a memorable 3-2 victory over Italy. Robert Vittek netted twice in Johannesburg.

Slovakia star Marek Hamsik in action back in 2016.

Vittek got his fourth goal of that particular World Cup from the penalty spot in a 2-1 defeat to the Netherlands in the Round of 16. Slovakia got revenge for their previous defeat to Spain with a 2-1 victory over the then world champions in a UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifying Group C match enroute to making it to their first European Championship finals. As they had done at the World Cup six years earlier, the Sokoli impressed at the Euros. After defeat to Wales in their opening Group B fixture, Ján Kozák’s side defeated Russia 2-1. The team’s current star man, Marek Hamšík, scored in that game. A goalless draw with England in the final group match saw them through to the tournament’s knockout phase as one of the best third-placed teams in the six groups. Alas a 3-0 defeat to Germany in the Round of 16 halted their progress. There was huge disappointment for Slovakia in October 2017. Even though a 3-0 win over Malta confirmed a second-place finish in FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group F the Sokoli were denied the opportunity to compete in a play-off, as the second- placed team with the lowest points total. The other eight runners-up in the nine groups – including Northern Ireland – took part in two-legged play-offs. Words Andy Greeves

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