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Euro qualifiers: Slovakia vs. Andorra

Having reached the round of 16 at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Slovakia had already sprung a pleasant surprise in recent years. Now, however, they are aiming to qualify for a European Championship finals for the first time since independence, especially as the tournament will be held in neighbouring Poland and Ukraine in the summer of 2012. A fundamental prerequisite for achieving this goal is a win in their home match against underdogs Andorra tomorrow, Saturday, in Bratislava, with kick-off at 8:15 p.m. In Group B of the European Championship qualifiers, Slovakia is locked in an exciting four-way contest with Russia, Ireland and Armenia.

Euro qualifiers: Slovakia vs. Andorra
Mit einem Heimsieg gegen Andorra will die Slowakei ihre gute Ausgangsposition in der EM-Qualifikation verteidigen.

Date: 30/09/2026

International football matches have ranked among the most important events in Slovakia ever since the country’s successful participation in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. This seems to put a certain amount of pressure on coach Vladimir Weiss’s team, as their last away match in Andorra showed. Slovakia did win 1–0 in the Pyrenees, but did little to impress against minnows Andorra. Even so, Slovakia lead Group B with ten points from five matches, level on points with immediate challengers Russia and Ireland, while surprise package Armenia are just two points behind. Macedonia and Andorra, the other two teams in Group B, are likely to play no more than a bit part in the race for places at Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine.

The recent successes of the Slovak national team are no coincidence, of course, as the country currently has a “golden generation” of players. Several members of the current squad earn their living in Europe’s top leagues. Vladimir Weiss can call on four Bundesliga players, including Peter Pekarik (VfL Wolfsburg), Radoslav Zabavnik and Miroslav Karhan (both FSV Mainz 05), and Erik Jendrisek (1. FC Kaiserslautern). Striker Robert Vittek, who won the German Cup with 1. FC Nürnberg in 2007 and is currently under contract with MKA Ankaragücü in Turkey, is also familiar to German football fans. Other stars include the coach’s namesake son Vladimir Weiss (Manchester City), Martin Skrtel (Liverpool FC), Jan Mucha (Everton FC) and Marek Hamsik (SSC Napoli).

Kai Rebmann