Slovakia – Belarus

After an embarrassing loss to Azerbaijan, the Slovaks should redeem themselves in the final round

In Group Three of the Nations League C, any tournament intrigue was exhausted in the fifth round. Kazakhstan won here and gained a ticket to League B, losing only two points out of a possible fifteen. Belarus left Liga C and will have to prove their mettle against the likes of Andorra, San Marino, and other "midget" football countries. This outcome for the Belarusians was a logical consequence of the poor development of football in that country in the last decade. Bookmakers were quite obviously favorable to the Slovaks, with odds of around 1.50 for a win. Despite their lack of tournament motivation, the Slovakian team is quite keenly motivated of a different kind. On Thursday, this side suffered a dreadful defeat to Azerbaijan, who came to Trnava as the clear underdog. The defeat came in dramatic and humiliating fashion, with the Slovaks drawing level at the 90+3 minute mark, before conceding the game-winning goal at the 90+5 minute mark to an Azerbaijani defender. Given that we're talking about a loss to a far from the weakest European team, the home side will surely come together in the upcoming match to rehabilitate themselves for an embarrassing setback. Belarus' qualification for the 2021 World Cup highlighted their level of play. In eight games in qualifying, the team amassed a combined total of three points and conceded an average of three goals per game. The team's abysmal state in the current Nations League draw has been multiplied by UEFA's ban on playing matches on home soil. If in the Serbian city of Novi Sad, which became the temporary home of the Belarusians, the team held two draws (Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan), the away games in Baku and Astana ended in defeats. In their first game against Slovakia, Kondratyev's charges also lost, conceding the only goal of the game in the 61st minute. Belarus is deprived of opportunities for personnel strengthening and a drastic improvement of the game. In this regard, one can hardly expect the visitors to score at least a draw. In addition, the Slovaks are very angry after their defeat to Azerbaijan, which was a result of their lack of spirit. The home side are confident of winning the last round of the Nations League.