Group F
Coach: Vladimir WEISS
Star Player : Stanislav Sestak
June 15, 2010 @ 11:30GMT Group Stage Group F
New Zealand vs Slovakia
at Royal Bafokeng Stadium
June 20, 2010 @ 11:30GMT Group Stage Group F
Slovakia vs Paraguay
at Free State Stadium
June 24, 2010 @ 14:00GMT Group Stage Group F
Slovakia vs Italy
at Ellis Park
Short Team History
FIFA member since: 1993
All-time caps leader: Miroslav Karhan (95)
All-time leading scorer: Szilard Nemeth (22 goals)
Notable achievements: European Champions (1976 - as Czechoslovakia)
Legendary Player: Josef Masopust was a hard-working midfielder who rose to fame in the 1960s with Czechoslovakia. Masopust scored 10 goals in 63 games for his country, saving his best performances for the 1962 World Cup in Chile when he led a talented Czechoslovakian team to the finals against Brazil. Voted European player of the year in 1962 and considered by many as the best Czechoslovakian player of his generation.
Show your support for SLOVAKIANumber of Previous World Cup Appearances: 0
by buying a World Cup Live Channel
and Watch Live Stream Matches!
Buy
a SLOVAKIA World Cup Soccer Channel !
Hosted the World Cup: Never
Slovakia Main Squad:
#1 Jan MUCHA
#12 Dusan PERNIS
#23 Dusan KUCIAK
#2 Peter PEKARIK
#3 Martin SKRTEL
#4 Marek CECH
#5 Radoslav ZABAVNIK
#16 Jan DURICA
#21 Kornel SALATA
#22 Martin PETRAS
#6 Zdenko STRBA
#7 Vladimir WEISS
#8 Jan KOZAK
#10 Marek SAPARA
#15 Miroslav STOCH
#17 Marek HAMSIK
#19 Juraj KUCKA
#20 Kamil KOPUNEK
#9 Stanislav SESTAK
#11 Robert VITTEK
#13 Filip HOLOSKO
#14 Martin JAKUBKO
#18 Erik JENDRISEK
#1 Jan MUCHA
#12 Dusan PERNIS
#23 Dusan KUCIAK
#2 Peter PEKARIK
#3 Martin SKRTEL
#4 Marek CECH
#5 Radoslav ZABAVNIK
#16 Jan DURICA
#21 Kornel SALATA
#22 Martin PETRAS
#6 Zdenko STRBA
#7 Vladimir WEISS
#8 Jan KOZAK
#10 Marek SAPARA
#15 Miroslav STOCH
#17 Marek HAMSIK
#19 Juraj KUCKA
#20 Kamil KOPUNEK
#9 Stanislav SESTAK
#11 Robert VITTEK
#13 Filip HOLOSKO
#14 Martin JAKUBKO
#18 Erik JENDRISEK
Know More About Slovakia ? READ MORE !!
Appearances at finals:
(As Czechoslovakia)
1934 - Runners-up
1938 - Quarter-finals
1954 - First round
1958 - First round
1962 - Runners-up
1970 - First round
1982 - First round
1990 - Quarter-finals
Overall record at finals: (As Czechoslovakia) Played 30, Won 11, Drawn 5, Lost 14.
Best performance: (As Czechoslovakia) Runners-up in 1934 and 1962.
Most appearances at finals: Jan Popluhar (1958, 1962) - 8 (for Czechoslovakia).
Most goals at finals: Adolf Scherer (1962) - 3 (for Czechoslovakia).
World Cup high: Qualifying for the 2010 finals, which will be their first appearance at a major international tournament as an independent nation.
World Cup low: Being destroyed 5-1 by Spain in the World Cup 2006 qualification play-off, with the humiliating first-leg defeat ending any hopes of appearing in the finals for the first time.
World Cup legend: Jan Popluhar was named the greatest Slovakian player of the 20th century. The defender was an integral part of the Czechoslovakia side that reached the 1962 World Cup final and he played a total of 62 times for his country. Though Czechoslovakia lost the final 3-1 to Brazil, Popluhar had helped stifle the mighty Garrincha and Pele earlier in the tournament as the sides drew 0-0 during the group stages. This was only the second time in 22 World Cup matches that Brazil had not scored a goal.
The story so far: Slovakia have finally emerged from the shadow of neighbours Czech Republic after qualifying for their first major international tournament as an independent nation. Slovakia's political accession from the old Czechoslovakia came in 1993, but the combined football team played together for a further year before disbanding after failing to secure qualification to the 1994 World Cup finals.
Historically, Slovakia contributed a number of players to the old Czechoslovakian national side, and had four key players play in the team that lost 3-1 to Brazil in the 1962 World Cup final having initially been 1-0 up. Goalkeeper Viliam Schrojf, imperious defender Jan Popluhar, midfield schemer Andrej Kvasnak and prolific striker Adolf Scherer all played a crucial part in the country's impressive progression to the final.
Since competing as an independent nation, Slovakia have been perennial nearly-men, finishing third in qualifying for four of the eight major tournaments they have entered, while Czech Republic have impressed, reaching the Euro 96 final and Euro 2004 semi-finals. In 2005, the Slovakians took a step forward by reaching the World Cup qualification play-offs, but an embarrassing 5-1 first-leg defeat to Spain ended their dream. They looked to have gone backwards with a disappointing fourth-place finish in Euro 2008 qualification, but they bounced back to win a tight group, at the expense of neighbours Czech Republic, to book their place at the 2010 finals.
Qualification: Despite losing home and away to second-placed Slovenia, Slovakia won seven of their other eight fixtures to top Group Three by two points. Inspired by the impressive Marek Hamsik and the goals of Stanislav Sestak, Slovakia grabbed important home and away victories over Poland, Northern Ireland and San Marino. They also beat neighbours Czech Republic away from home to cement their status as group leaders as Slovenia floundered, and qualification was confirmed with a battling 1-0 victory in the snow of Poland to complete the Slovakian fairytale.
Qualifying record: P10, W7, D1, L2, F22, A10, Pts22.
Most appearances: Robert Vittek, Peter Pekarik (9).
Top goalscorer: Stanislav Sestak (6).
TEAM PROFILE SLOVAKIA !!
Appearing for the first time in a major international competition, Slovakia have been striving to relive the glory years enjoyed by the former Czechoslovakia since going it alone in 1993.
While their team is hardly filled with household names, Slovakia can nonetheless rely on a well-organised collective with plenty of admirable qualities. Likewise, their continuing progress gives them good reason to be optimistic about their voyage to South Africa.
The road to South Africa
Fourth in their section in qualifying for the 1998 FIFA World Cup™ France, third on the road to Korea/Japan 2002 and runners-up ahead of Germany 2006, Slovakia continued their rise by sealing top spot in Group 3. Vladimir Weiss's side booked their historic place on 14 October 2009, upsetting a number of predictions that they would struggle to cope with a difficult pool.
Their passage was far from smooth, but slowly and surely Slovakia mounted their bid, losing only to closest challengers Slovenia. Their nearest rivals proved a real thorn in their side, downing them 2-1 in their second outing and, above all, prevailing 2-0 in Bratislva in the penultimate round of matches, yet Slovakia's desire to experience a FIFA World Cup finals shone through in the end. Needing to prevail in Poland in their final outing, they duly triumphed 1-0.
The star players
Solid at the back for Premier League heavyweights Liverpool, Martin Skrtel is a central figure for his country, while midfielder Marek Hamsik has both a knack of scoring goals for Napoli and the welcome habit of shining for the national side. The latter is unlikely to go unnoticed in South Africa and the same applies to Stanislav Sestak, who finished top scorer for Slovakia with six strikes in qualifying and is eager to continue in similar fashion.
The coach
Born in 1964, former Slovakian international Vladimir Weiss was appointed in June 2008, taking over from Jan Kocian after his predecessor failed to take the side through to UEFA EURO 2008.
Blessed with a strong personality, Weiss learnt the coaching ropes at Artmedia Bratislava, leading the unfancied Slovakian outfit into the UEFA Champions League group phase in 2005/06. The following season, he opted to boost his credentials with Saturn Moscow Oblast in Russia, before celebrating a triumphant return to Artmedia with the Slovakian league title a year after. All that remained was a tilt at leading the national team and, given his previous successes, who knows how far they can progress together?
Vladimir Weiss is also the son of... Vladimir Weiss, a former Czechoslovakian international. In fact, he is the father of Vladimir Weiss too, with his son plying his trade at Manchester City and often called up to demonstrate his worth in a national team shirt.
Previous FIFA World Cups
While this may be Slovakia's first appearance on the global stage, the country's footballing past is naturally tied up with that of the former Czechoslovakia, who participated in eight finals overall. Czechoslovakia even reached the final in 1934, losing 2-1 after extra time to Italy, and 1962, when they succumbed 3-1 to Brazil. They also advanced as far as the last eight in 1990.
Honours (as Czechoslovakia)
- 1 UEFA European Championship (1976)
- 1 Olympic Football Tournament (1980)
What they said
"We're very persistant: we don't give up until we've succeeded," Stanislav Sestak, striker.
