The Slovak national football team is in an unprecedented crisis, from which there will most likely be a very difficult way out. On Thursday, it suffered its third defeat in the “C” group of the League of Nations, when it was not enough against Azerbaijan at its stadium. After this debacle, the national team of our eastern neighbors was attacked by the local media and experts, who did not leave a thread dry about it. Not to mention, instead of the expected progress, the round before the end is up to third place in the group.
Italian coach Francesco Calzona did not imagine such a premiere on the bench of the Slovak team. After a lackluster performance, his team lost 1:2 to Azerbaijan in Trnava. “We started badly, we were afraid and the opponent was better with the ball. After the change of sides, we improved, we had more chances than the opponent, but we didn’t convert them. But the second half is our hope for the future,Calzona was looking for positives after Thursday’s embarrassment.
Although his team managed to equalize from a penalty kick in the setup of the second half thanks to Viktoria Plzeň player Erik Jirka, he conceded again in the 95th minute. “It was a lesson for us. We learned that the game lasts 95 minutes and we have to stay focused until the end. I’m still getting to know the players and I can see their willingness, they also showed their quality in the second half,” said the 53-year-old coach at a press conference.
However, the national team got a lot of attention from the Slovak media and experts. “A miserable visit and a kick to the head from Azerbaijan!” or “Horrible Calzona debut and shame for Slovakia. Unbelievable what happened in the appointed time,” reads the headlines on the website sportky.zoznam.sk. The portal sport.aktuality.sk is not far behind: “Not even Guardiola can make a delicacy out of semi-finished products,” where he also evaluates the performances of individual players, among whom was Viktoria Plzeň’s midfielder Emil Jirka.
“What is not enough for the basics in Pilsen, it is in the national team. Although he converted the penalty, the lack of play was noticeable every time he approached the penalty area. Mostly followed by a hasty cross from an unprepared position. Addressee? Undetermined. When he could have gone to the goalkeeper alone, he mishandled the ball. In addition, after half an hour he dropped a clear goal with his head. He lacks greater physical resistance and, above all, the quality to assert himself individually and come up with an unconventional solution,” is the assessment of the only player from the Czech Fortuna League who started the match. On a scale from 1 to 10, he received a grade of 2, which makes him, together with Kristián Valle, the worst player of the Slovak team.
RTVS television commentator Marcel Merčiak was quite critical. “At the beginning of the announced new era of the national team, there is a disaster. We have to admit it, it’s true. The unbelievable is coming true, we lost to Azerbaijan 1:2,” were the first words shortly after the match.
Former Sparta player Juraj Piroška also commented on the match in the studio. “It should look different at the representative level. The fact that it was the first game under a new coach is no excuse. Offensively, there was very little quality in our team. On the other hand, we defended poorly during the first and second goals. We’ve seen a lot of negatives,” a player who has three national team starts on his account did not take napkins.”We must not concede two goals in such a match. Are we going to talk about how the defense didn’t look bad? But she got two goals! This is the first fundamental mistake. We cannot collect twice from such opponents,” he concluded in the studio of Slovak public television.
After five matches of the League of Nations, third place in the group belongs to Slovakia. The last match will be played on Sunday against Belarus. They lost to Kazakhstan on Thursday, so the last place cannot be avoided and the Slovaks will play a long way for the second place with Azerbaijan.
The Czech national football team presented new jerseys:
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