This is the very first time that the Slovakian national football team will be competing in the European Championship since claiming their independence and separating themselves from Czechoslovakia.
Slovakia has showed potential in the past as they managed to get passed the group stages of the 2010 World Cup which is a fairly impressive result, especially taking into consideration the fact that they finished ahead of Italy and even claimed a victory over the Italian nation.
The Slovakian national side has a few well renowned players such as: Martin Skrtel and Marek Hamsik. Skrtel is a veteran defender who performs for the Premier League side Liverpool meanwhile Hamsik is a regular starter for Napoli. Not all the coaches of national teams have the advantage of being able to utilize the experience of players who are competing in some of the biggest leagues and clubs in Europe but Slovakia’s Ján Kozák has a few players that know what it’s like to perform in top competitions.
"It is important that the team has not reached its best. There's still room for improvement. We've been fighting for something and succeeded. Now we need to do the same at the championship." Slovakia’s Ján Kozák said as he talked about how big it’s been for his team to qualify for the 2016 Euro’s but the Slovak manager also said that there still is more growth and enhancement that needs to be done in his squad.
Slovakia’s upcoming 2016 Euro’s matches are scheduled to take place on June 11 as they face off with Wales and 4 days after that Slovakia will play against Russia and their last opponent is England in a match that will be played at the Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium.
Ján Kozák’s team managed to qualify for the 2016 Euro’s by finishing as runners up in Group C behind Spain and they are now aiming to reach even further.