Slovakia EURO 2024 National Team: Who is Francesco Calzona Bringing to Germany?
We have already covered the Belgium national team for the EURO 2024 from Group E. Now, it is time for Slovakia national team to be presented.
Who is Francesco Calzona taking to the 2024 European Championship in Germany?
Slovakia national team is on the good run. This is their third consecutive EURO. In 2016, they reached the round of 16 and in 2020 they failed to advance from their group.
Slovakia was not in Qatar on the World Cup. They only qualified for World Cup in 2010 in South Africa where they reached round of 16.
Francesco Calzona took over Slovakia national team in 2022.
He has complete the list of players that will travel to European Championship in Germany. So, let’s see the 26-man roster.
Slovakia National Team By Positions
Goalkeeprs
View this post on Instagram
There will not be any surprises when it comes to the position of goalkeepers. Martin Dubravka is the choice number one. Good performances with Newcastle this season goes to his favor.
| Name | Club |
|---|---|
| Henrich Ravas | Widzew Lodz |
| Martin Dubravka | Newcastle |
| Marek Rodak | Fulham |
Defenders
The star player of the Slovakia national team and their captain is Milan Skriniar. Denis Vavro will most likely be his pair in defense. When it comes to full-backs, there are plenty of options for Calzona but it is most likely that Norbert Gyomber and David Hancko will be the first option due to their more defensive skills.
| Name | Club |
|---|---|
| Adam Obert | Cagliari |
| David Hancko | Feyenoord Rotterdam |
| Denis Vavro | FC Copenhagen |
| Milan Skriniar | Paris Saint-Germain |
| Norbert Gyömbér | Salernitana |
| Peter Pekarik | Hertha Berlin |
| Sebastian Kósa | Spartak Trnava |
| Vernon De Marco | Hatta |
Midfielders
View this post on Instagram
Since Napoli won the Serie A in the season 2022/2023, Stanislav Lobotka is omni-present. He is integral part of this team since Marek Hamsik retired from Slovakia national team and football in general in 2023.
Lobotka’s task will be to control the midfield. Juraj Kucka and Ondrej Duda will complete the trio in the midfield due to their vast experience.
| Name | Club |
|---|---|
| Juraj Kucka | Slovan Bratislava |
| László Bénes | Hamburg SV |
| Matus Bero | VfL Bochum |
| Ondrej Duda | Hellas Verona |
| Patrik Hrosovsky | Racing Genk |
| Stanislav Lobotka | Napoli |
| Tomáš Rigo | Banik Ostrava |
Forwards
For the Slovakia national team, the big battle is for the starting XI. There will be three attackers but there is no one who is choice number one (or in this case choices one, two and three). Slight advantage is on Dusic, Bozenik and Suslov.
| Name | Club |
|---|---|
| Dávid Strelec | Slovan Bratislava |
| David Duris | Ascoli |
| Ivan Schranz | Slavia Prague |
| Leo Sauer | Feyenoord Rotterdam |
| Lubomir Tupta | Liberec |
| Lukas Haraslin | Sparta Prague |
| Róbert Bozeník | Boavista |
| Robert Polievka | Dukla Banska Bystrica |
| Tomas Suslov | Hellas Verona |
Expected XI
As we mentioned already, the forward is quite uncertain. According to some reports it is highly possible that the following will be the starting line-up:
The formation will be 4-3-3: Dubravka; Gyomber, Vavro, Skriniar, Hancko; Kucka, Lobotka, Duda; Dusic, Bozenik, Suslov
Group Stage
Apart from Belgium national team being in this group, Slovakia has fair chance of advancing the group stage. They will face Ukraine and Romania in the Group E. Slovakia national team will play their first game on the European Championship in Germany against Belgium on 17th of June. On 21st of June they will play against Ukraine and the final round in group stage is scheduled on 26th of June against Romania.