Slovakia – Germany

Slovakia is unlikely to challenge the German team.

In Group A, as in several other quartets, the qualifying round for the World Championship will start in September. Here, the participants' line-up may superficially suggest a lack of rivals for the favourites. Moreover, the Germans' first opponent looks to be the most serious. It is unlikely that Northern Ireland and Luxembourg will be able to trouble the Germany team. Furthermore, the Slovaks have a good tradition of beating the Germans. However, this has only happened in friendly matches so far. Exactly 20 years ago, on 3 September 2005, Slovakia defeated Germany 2-0, and after 8.5 years, they won 3-1. However, in the summer of 2016, the Germans took a more than convincing revenge against their opponents in the round of 16 of EURO 2016, scoring three unanswered goals against Kozacik. While the Germans were failing in the home "final four" of the Nations League, in June of this year, Slovakia also had an unsuccessful two friendly matches. The first was lost to Greece 1-4, and the second to Israel 0-1. Bookmakers have identified the guests as favourites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.44 for their victory. The Slovakia national team participated in EURO 2024. There, the team competed in the "strangest" group, where all opponents finished with the same number of points. The additional indicators were enough for the Slovaks to reach the playoffs against England, and they brought the match to determining the winners in "extra time." In normal time, Slovakia was seconds away from victory, but Bellingham equalised in the 90+5th minute. In the Nations League last autumn, the Slovaks finished second after Sweden in their group, but their path to League B was blocked by Slovenia in the playoffs. Undoubtedly, in their own backyard, the hosts will focus not only on a solid defence but also on effective counterattacks against the favourites. Germany was expected to win at the home EURO, but in the quarter-finals, they were knocked out by the future winner - Spain. In the following Nations League after the EURO, the Germans managed to reach the "final four", but the decisive stage ended with them in last place after defeats by Portugal in the semi-finals and France in the third-place match. The guests have many unfulfilled ambitions, so we can expect an open game with goals from both teams.