FIFA World Cup 2010
Slovakia
 SlovakiaSlovak Football Association Best Results
World Cup No shares European Championship No shares Olympic medal No shares |
Leaving aside the excellent work of the national soccer team of the former Czechoslovakia, Slovakia's soccer team appeared for the first time in the 1994 USA World Cup Qualifying Stage under the name Representation of Czechs and Slovaks (RCS). However, this year is the first time that Slovakia represents itself in a World Cup.
The Slovakian team began to establish since the 1998 France World Cup qualifying, where they finished fourth in their qualifying group. In the 2002 Korea-Japan qualifying, the team improved its performance and finished third in their group. For the most recent tournament, 2006 Germany World Cup, the team finished second, but it still wasn't enough to qualify. However, as it was expected, the Slovak squad took that last big and important step to finish first in its qualifying group and get a ticket for the 2010 World Cup.
Slovakia's squad does not have world-famous players or figures that stand out in the greatest soccer leagues. Their teamwork and good knowledge of each other, however, could make a difference. They are in a group a bit complicated, but Coach Vladimir Weiss bets on a well-balanced scheme for South Africa 2010 and give the surprise.
Qualifying Stage
Slovakia's team qualified to the World Cup after winning the spot of the Group 3 of the UEFA on October 14, 2009. The team managed to score 22 points in 10 games, so they finished two points ahead of his nearest rival, Slovenia, who beat them in both matches during the qualifying round. Despite the defeats against the Slovenes, the Slovak team achieved excellent performances against Northern Ireland, the Czech Republic and Poland. In particular, the crucial victory of 1-0 in Poland thus secured their classification to the 2010 World Cup.
Players
Without a doubt the best Slovak player is defender Martin Skrtel. The expert defender has several years of experience in the English Premier League, where he plays for Liverpool. Midfielder Marek Hamsik has done well for Napoli's offensive in the Italian Serie A. As well, the 27-year-old forward Stanislav Sestak, may continue his good streak in Africa.
Head Coach
Vladimir Weiss directs the Slovakian team since 2008 after his predecessor could not classify the team to the Euro Cup. The former player of Czechoslovakia's national team has formed a pretty solid team that has managed to perform very good on the field.
Weiss has been a very successful coach in his area. His most important achievements to date happened when leading the Slovak team Artmedia Bratislava. The Artmedia qualified to the 2005-2006 UEFA Champions League and became the Slovakia champion at the end of the season that same year. Becoming the national coach has been the icing on the cake for Weiss career.