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Slovakia national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Mar 23, 2023 at 7.45pm UK
 
Luxembourg national football team

Slovakia
0 - 0
Luxembourg

FT

Gerson (57'), Jans (90+4')

Preview: Slovakia vs. Luxembourg - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Thursday's Euro Champ Qualifying clash between Slovakia and Luxembourg, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Both nations will be aiming to begin their Euro 2024 qualifying campaigns with a victory when Slovakia host Luxembourg on Thursday.

With two automatic qualification spots up for grabs in each group, there is no reason why these countries cannot compete in what appears to be a wide-open Group J.


Match preview

Juraj Kucka in action for Slovakia in June 2021© Reuters

Having failed to win any of their last five matches, it would be fair to assert that Slovakia do not head into their qualifying games in strong form, with the appointment of their first ever non-Czechoslovakian manager in the shape of Francesco Calzona not going to plan just yet.

The 54-year-old, who has regularly been an integral part of Mauricio Sarri's coaching staff before briefly returning to Napoli to assist Luciano Spaletti in more recent times, is embarking on his first senior managerial role after being appointed as the Slovakia boss in August last year.

The Falcons failed to beat Azerbaijan and Belarus in Calzona's two competitive matches so far, which contributed to them finishing a dismal third in their League C group in the UEFA Nations League, meaning they have failed to gain promotion back to the second tier of that competition in two successive installments.

However, Slovakia's record in qualifying has been more impressive for a relatively small nation, with them qualifying for the World Cup in 2010 as well as both of the most recent European Championships. They went on to win one match at each of those tournaments, reaching the last 16 on two occasions.

As such, Calzona will be aware that he has a lot to live up to, even if there is an argument that the current crop of players he is working with are not quite at the standards of yesteryear.

With the likes of Luxembourg, Iceland and Bosnia & Herzegovina standing in their way of second spot behind Portugal in the group, a strong start on home soil on Thursday feels imperative if they are to secure their main target.

Faroe Islands' Meinhard Olsen in action with Luxembourg's Maxime Chanot on June 14, 2022© Reuters

Luxembourg, on the other hand, are clearly a footballing nation moving on an upwards trajectory in recent years, as was most evident by them winning three matches during their qualification campaign for World Cup 2022 as they finished level on points with Republic of Ireland in the process.

The Red Lions have been led by their 55-time capped international Luc Holtz since 2010, with the 53-year-old playing a major role in improving his home country's fortunes since taking over the Under-21s two years prior to receiving the senior job.

Impressively, Luxembourg have only lost one of their last eight matches heading into their trip to Slovakia this week, which was a 2-0 defeat at home to Turkey in the Nations League. For the second successive campaign, Holtz's side were marginally pipped to promotion from League C, with Turkey edging them out by a two-point difference.

The next step for Holtz and his talented set of players is to push towards qualification for a major tournament, with the European Championships undoubtedly providing the best opportunity for that. Finishing third in the group could be enough to secure a playoff spot, so beating direct competitors such as Slovakia could prove crucial.

Slovakia Euro Champ Qualifying form:


Slovakia form (all competitions):


Luxembourg Euro Champ Qualifying form:


Luxembourg form (all competitions):



Team News

Milan Skriniar celebrates scoring for Slovakia against Poland at Euro 2020 on June 14, 2021© Reuters

Slovakia have retained the services of experienced stars such as Martin Dubravka, Milan Skriniar, Juraj Kucka and Ondrej Duda for the upcoming qualifiers, suggesting that the camp remains united despite their poor form in recent times.

However, Slovak legend Marek Hamsik has finally hung up his boots on the international stage, with his 136th and final cap coming in his nation's last match against Chile in November.

Hamsik's creative burden in midfield is now likely to hand over to Stanislav Lobotka, who has been in exceptional form for Serie A leaders Napoli this season. The busy metronome will be looking to feed the likes of Duda and Laszlo Benes from the base of midfield.

Luxembourg, meanwhile, have displayed their growing experience by only naming one potential debutant in their squad, and that is third-choice goalkeeper Tiago Pereira Cardoso. The Borussia Monchengladbach stopper is only 16-years-old, so he is unlikely to see any first-team action in a competitive match any time soon.

Notable absentees in Holtz's squad include Olivier Thill and Maurice Deville, who have made over 100 caps between them, with the bulk of their goalscoring emphasis set to focus around Portuguese-born Gerson Rodrigues.

Slovakia possible starting lineup:
Dubravka; Petarik, Hancko, Skriniar, Obert; Hrosovsky, Lobotka, Benes; Suslov, Bozenik, Duda

Luxembourg possible starting lineup:
Moris; Jans, Chanot, Mahmutovic, Pinto; V Thill, Olesen, Barreiro, Sanches; Sinani, Rodrigues


SM words green background

We say: Slovakia 1-1 Luxembourg

Despite Luxembourg enjoying arguably the greatest period of their history as a footballing nation, they still head to Trnava 38 places below their forthcoming opponents in FIFA's World Rankings.

However, Slovakia lack goal threat and have struggled to win matches of late, so we can envisage a share of the spoils as both teams look to build towards snatching second spot in the group.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a home win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home Win:data


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Game History

How you voted: Slovakia vs Luxembourg

Slovakia
65.8%
Draw
24.3%
Luxembourg
9.9%
111
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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain870121
Q Scotland flag Scotland852117
3 Norway Norway832311
4 Georgia Georgia82248
5 Cyprus Cyprus80080

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France871022
Q Netherlands Netherlands860218
3 Greece Greece841313
4 Ireland Rep. Ireland82066
5 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar80080

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England862020
Q Italy Italy842214
3 Ukraine Ukraine842214
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia82248
5 Malta flag Malta80080

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Turkey Turkey852117
Q Croatia Croatia851216
3 Wales flag Wales833212
4 Armenia Armenia82248
5 Latvia Latvia81073

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Albania national flag Albania843115
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic843115
3 Poland Poland832311
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova824210
5 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands80262

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Belgium Belgium862020
Q Austria Austria861119
3 Sweden Sweden831410
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan82157
5 Estonia Estonia80171

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Hungary Hungary853018
Q Serbia Serbia842214
3 Montenegro Montenegro832311
4 Lithuania Lithuania81346
5 Bulgaria Bulgaria80444

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Denmark Denmark1071222
Q Slovenia Slovenia1071222
3 Finland Finland1060418
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan1060418
5 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland103079
6 San Marino flag San Marino1000100

Group I

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania1064022
Q Switzerland Switzerland1045117
3 Israel Israel1043315
4 Belarus Belarus1033412
5 Kosovo flag Kosovo1025311
6 Andorra flag Andorra100282

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal10100030
Q Slovakia Slovakia1071222
3 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg1052317
4 Iceland Iceland1031610
5 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina103079
6 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein1000100


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