Northern Ireland v Slovakia

SCOUTING REPORT Andy Greeves takes a closer look at Slovakia ahead of tonight’s UEFA Euro 2020 Path B Play-Off Final clash in Belfast.

attack. They managed to get a 1-1 draw away in Israel in a recent UEFA Nations League fixture (7 September) despite having 35% possession during the game. Marek Hamšík usually takes Slovakia’s attacking set-pieces, including corners from both sides of the pitch. Unlike most players, who favour using one foot or the other, Hamšík is comfortable with both feet and will often vary which one he uses to take corners during a match. The Falcons’ central defenders usually come up for corners and free-kicks. STRENGTHS Hamšík is Slovakia’s playmaker and an individual who is capable of conjuring up something from nothing. Coupled with his innate ability on the ball, the former Napoli star is afforded a relatively free role in Tarkovič’s team, which makes him extremely difficult to mark. While Tarkovič’s side are happy to play a counter-attacking style of football, they are also blessed with a number of good passers such as Hamšík as well as Stanislav Lobotka and Juraj Kucka. Slovakia are comfortable playing out from the back with defenders who are calm and composed in possession. Albert Rusnák poses a real threat in wide positions and often exploits the space left by opponents who put too much focus in trying to stop the attacking endeavours of Hamšík.

LOWDOWN Having finished third in UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Group E, Slovakia failed to qualify automatically for the tournament. Like Northern Ireland the Falcons made it into the play-offs as one of four countries from the UEFA Nations League B (2018-19) who did not qualify for UEFA Euro 2020 automatically. Following the dismissal of head coach Pavel Hapal last month, Štefan Tarkovič took temporary charge of the Slovakia national team, with his current contract running until the end of November. Should Tarkovič lead his nation to qualify for just their second UEFA European Championships as an independent state (following the dissolution of the former Czechoslovakia in 1993) he would surely be the frontrunner to be appointed as the national team’s next permanent head coach. TACTICS Slovakia usually line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation that appears more like a 4-3-3 when in possession and a 4-1-4-1 or 4-6-0 without the ball. With Róbert Boženík unlikely to feature in this match due to a foot injury, 1.FC Köln midfielder Ondrej Duda may be deployed as a ‘false 9’, as was the case for Slovakia’s UEFA Euro 2020 play-off semi-final meeting with the Republic of Ireland. Tarkovič’s team are comfortable sitting deep and look to hit their opponents on the counter

Many thanks to journalist Fabian Zerche (www.spox.com/at) for his assistance in the writing of this article. Many thanks to journalist Lukáš Vráblik (Twitter: @LukasVrablik) for his assistance in the writing of this article.