Slovakia managerJan Kozak says that he is concerned about the threat of Scotland in the latter stages of the World Cup 2018 qualification group, as the team appears to be better than ever due to the presence of a strong Celtic factor.

Scotland are back in the race for World Cup 2018 qualification after moving within a point behind Slovakia after the latest round of results. Slovakia appeared to be in a comfortable position heading into the last three matches, but a 2-1 loss against England in the latest qualifier led to the team dropping perilously close. Scotland were able to get an uninspiring 2-0 victory over strugglers Malta even at home.

Extremely poor form at the start of the World Cup qualification campaign has led to Slovakia being in a dire state even after just only four games. Manager Jan Kozak says that the only hope for the national team when it comes to qualifying for the World Cup 2018 is to beat Scotland in the next game.

It represents one of the toughest fixtures for the national team in the qualification campaign apart from facing England. A good start to the campaign is always essential when it comes to qualification and Slovakia certainly did not achieve this after back-to-back defeats.