On Sunday, at 14:00, Slovakia and Scotland meet in the 5th round of the UEFA Nations League groups. It is an extremely balanced match, between two teams at a favorable moment, after the dam to qualify for the Euro! At the same time, we note that the Scots have a generation worthy of all praise, being in the best period of the last three decades.
For the first time in history, Slovakia has ensured its presence at consecutive editions of the European Championship! Hamsik’s national team, coached by “interim” Stefan Tarkovic, passed Northern Ireland after extra time (2-1), even if it came after a modest series of results. The hosts are forced to win this match to avoid relegation from the league they are in, but the euphoria of qualifying for the Euro could take precedence over the importance of the game. The white-blues have quite a lot of quality in attack, but Skriniar’s game is not enough in defense.
Given that 10 of the last 12 goals conceded by Slovakia came after the break, it is expected that the second half will be a bit more spectacular than the first! On the other hand, Scotland has just qualified for its first final tournament since the 1998 World Cup.
It is an indescribable joy in Edinburgh and Glasgow, with high hopes for the final tournament. The Scots heroically resisted the tiebreaks in front of Serbia. Thus, they obtained a hard-earned and deserved qualification, after the fourth consecutive match with less than three goals scored in regular time. 90 years have passed since the last invincible series of this caliber for Scotland – 9 games! Without failure in this League of Nations campaign, the guests have good chances.
Marek Hamsik will be the main “actor” in the Slovak game, which Steve Clarke’s students will want to block, and the collective game of the visitors could be a big plus. From this point of view, the homogeneity is on the side of Scotland, which has a Ryan Christie a real “talisman”: he has scored in the last 3 consecutive trips of his national team.
At Trnava we are waiting for a quality match, between two teams on the wave. Scotland won the home game in October, 1-0, thanks to the goal scored by Dykes in the second half. It was a match with 20 shots on goal and 14 corners and we are waiting for a similar scenario. This time, maybe the rivals will be more generous with the goals, especially since their game has looked good lately.
For 6 consecutive matches, Slovakia has not won in regular time;
The Slovaks come after a 2-1 draw with Northern Ireland at the dam, where Duris scored the decisive goal (‘110);
Slovakia won a single corner in Belfast. Scotland had 4 corner kicks in Serbia;
Griffiths, McGregor, McTominay, McBurnie and McLean scored on penalties in Serbia;
In 4 of Scotland’s last 5 matches, they have scored less than 2.5 goals;
Scotland won 1-0 in the last two direct duels against Slovakia, both at home;
In the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, Scotland lost 0-3 in Slovakia (Nemec goal and “double” Mak);
PREDICTION: Both teams to score / YES @ 1,81
