Slovakia national football team

The Slovakia national football team (Slovenská futbalová reprezentácia) represents Slovakia in men's international football competition and it is governed by the Slovak Football Association (SFZ), the governing body for football in Slovakia. Slovakia's home stadium from 2019 is the reconstructed Tehelné pole in Bratislava. Historically, up to the split in 1993, the team participated mostly as Czechoslovakia,    while it also competed as Slovakia during World War II.

Since 1993, Slovakia has qualified for four major international tournaments, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2016, UEFA Euro 2020 and UEFA Euro 2024. Slovakia qualified for the FIFA World Cup in 2010 after winning their qualifying group. At the World Cup, Slovakia progressed beyond the group stage after a 3–2 win against Italy, before bowing out of the tournament after a 2–1 defeat in the knockout stage against the eventual runners-up Netherlands. It was the first time the newly independent national team had ever played in a major football competition, after playing every FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign since 1998 and every UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign since 1996. The nation did come close to securing a berth at the 2006 finals in Germany, after finishing second in their group ahead of Russia and behind Portugal, before drawing Spain in their qualification play-off, in which the Slovaks lost by a wide margin on aggregate (1–5, 1–1).

Slovak Republic and Czechoslovakia
The first official match of the first Slovak Republic was played in Bratislava against Germany on 27 August 1939, and ended in a 2–0 victory for Slovakia. The Slovak team played a series of friendlies during the Second World War, all against Axis-aligned nations.

After the Second World War, the national football team was subsumed into the team of Czechoslovakia, and for over 50 years Slovakia played no matches as an independent country. During this period, they contributed several key players to the Czechoslovak team, including the majority of the team that won the UEFA Euro 1976 (8 of the 11 players who defeated West Germany in the final were Slovak).

1994–present: Slovakia
Slovakia's first official international after regaining independence was a 1–0 victory in Dubai over the United Arab Emirates on 2 February 1994. Their first home match was a 4–1 victory over Croatia in Bratislava on 20 April 1994. Slovakia suffered their biggest defeat since independence (6–0) on 22 June 1995 in Mendoza against Argentina. Their biggest victories (7–0) have come against Liechtenstein in 2004, as well as San Marino (twice) in 2007 and 2009.

Slovakia attempted qualifying for a major championship as an independent team for the first time in Euro 1996 qualifying, but finished in third place in their qualifying group, behind Romania and France, recording wins against Poland, Israel and Azerbaijan, twice. In the 1998 World Cup qualifiers, Slovakia finished fourth in their six-team group with five wins, one draw and four defeats. Their first four games in this were all wins, one of them against their Czech neighbors, helping the team reach their highest FIFA World Ranking to date, 17th.

2010 FIFA World Cup
Slovakia participated in the FIFA World Cup for the first time as an independent nation after finishing in first in Group 3 of 2010 World Cup qualification ahead of Slovenia, Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, and Poland. On 14 October 2009, they clinched qualification with a 1–0 away win against Poland. On 24 June 2010, at the tournament proper, Slovakia finished second in the group stage after defeating reigning champions Italy in a game which ESPN dubbed "epic": the game saw three goals being scored after the 80th minute, two by Italy and one by Slovakia, as well as a disallowed goal by Italy flagged offside by "the tightest of decisions". The result led Slovakia to the knockout stage and eliminated Italy, who finished last in the group. The result of this match meant that for the first time in World Cup history, both finalists from the previous tournament had been eliminated in the first round, champion Italy and runner-up France.

In the round of 16, Slovakia played the Netherlands in the round of 16, falling behind 2–0 only to score a late goal from the penalty spot by striker Róbert Vittek, the last kick of the game in a 2–1 defeat. Despite elimination, the goal returned Vittek to the top of the goalscoring charts joint top with David Villa until Villa himself later scored against Portugal in Spain's 1–0 win in the same stage of the tournament.

UEFA Euro 2012
In the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying, Slovakia was drawn against Russia, the Republic of Ireland, Armenia, Macedonia and Andorra. The campaign in South Africa boosted team performance ahead of the qualifiers, which started in September with two 1–0 wins against Macedonia at Štadión Pasienky and Russia away. However, in October, they were easily beaten in Armenia (3–1) and drew 1–1 against the Republic of Ireland at home. In February 2011, the team was stunned in a 2–1 friendly defeat against Luxembourg and could only beat group minnows Andorra by one goal. Despite creating better chances, Slovakia earned a goalless draw with Ireland away. Four days later, after creating chances in a goalless first half, Slovakia conceded four goals to Armenia in a match that eliminated the team. In the final two group matches, Slovakia was beaten at home by Russia (1–0) and drew 1–1 in Macedonia, finishing in a mediocre fourth-place position and scoring only seven goals in the entire process. For the first time since the Euro 1996 qualifying process, Slovakia finished a qualifying campaign with a negative goal differential. As a result of this outcome, coach Vladimír Weiss left his job after four full years, being replaced by his assistants Michal Hipp and Stanislav Griga, although both themselves were later replaced due to poor results.

By late June, former Czechoslovakia national team footballer Ján Kozák became the head coach after the unsuccessful qualifying campaign with a victory in Bosnia and Herzegovina followed by two defeats to Bosnia and Greece.

UEFA Euro 2016
In the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying, Slovakia was drawn against Spain, Ukraine, Belarus, Macedonia and Luxembourg. Slovakia began the qualifying campaign with a 1–0 victory against Ukraine in Kyiv. On 9 October 2014, Slovakia beat Spain 2–1 in a shock victory and claimed the first place. Slovakia's 3–1 victory over Belarus confirmed their status as group leaders. Later on, they won 2–0 against Macedonia in the Philip II Arena, beat Luxembourg with a score of 3–0 in Žilina, and beat Macedonia 2–1 on 14 June 2015, also in Žilina. The next matches were a 2–0 defeat against Spain, a goalless draw against Ukraine, and a shocking 0–1 home defeat against Belarus. Slovakia finished qualification by defeating Luxembourg 4–2 and got the second place, qualifying to their fourth European Championship, first as an independent nation.

Slovakia was drawn in Group B of Euro 2016 alongside England, Russia and Wales. Slovakia began their tournament against Wales where Ondrej Duda scored Slovakia's first goal in the history of the European Championship in an eventual 2–1 defeat. Slovakia then defeated Russia 2–1 with goals from Vladimír Weiss III and Marek Hamšík, then drew 0–0 against England to advance to the round of 16 as one of the tournament's best third-placed teams. They were eliminated at this stage by world champions Germany with a 3–0 defeat.

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
During the qualification campaign for the 2018 World Cup, Slovakia was drawn in UEFA Group F. They were third in the group after the penultimate match ended in a 1–0 defeat to Scotland, who moved up to second place. Slovakia won their final group match 3–0 against Malta, and overtook Scotland after they failed to beat Slovenia, but they missed out on a play-off place as the other second teams' results went against them, meaning Slovakia finished as the worst group runners-up.

UEFA Euro 2020
Slovakia struggled to qualify for Euro 2020, only reaching the tournament after a difficult away victory over Northern Ireland. Being drawn with Spain, Sweden and Poland in group E, Slovakia beat Poland 2–1. However, Slovakia subsequently lost to Sweden 0–1 before getting thrashed by Spain 5–0, thus finishing third with the worst goal difference due to scoring own goals as a result of their performance. Slovakia was eliminated in the group stage for the first time ever.

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
The country finished third in 2022 World Cup qualifying behind Croatia and Russia, the latter of which would be banned from the final tournament due to the country's invasion of Ukraine. Despite the third-place finish in the group, the team dropped points to footballing minnows Cyprus and Malta.

UEFA Euro 2024
After a series of disappointing results, former Napoli coach Francesco Calzona was appointed as the manager.

Slovakia's poor form meant they were placed as low as the fifth pot for the qualifying phase of the tournament, the worst position the country has ever been in. Slovakia was drawn into a group with Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein. After a poor 0–0 draw in the first match against Luxembourg, the team went on to win eight and lose two matches in total, both being narrow losses against Portugal (0–1 at home and 3–2 away). As a result, Slovakia qualified automatically for Euro 2024 by finishing second in their qualifying group.

The team was drawn in Group E of Euro 2024, together with Belgium, Ukraine, and Romania. In Frankfurt on 17 June, Slovakia produced one of the biggest shocks in the history of the tournament by beating Belgium 1–0.

Slovakia eventually progressed to the knockout stage of the tournament. In the round of 16, they faced eventual Runner-up England and lost 2-1 in extra time. Slovakia's Ivan Schranz became the joint-UEFA European Football Championship Top Goalscorer of Euro 2024.

Stadia
The Slovakia national football team plays its home matches at the Tehelné pole in Bratislava and the Štadión Antona Malatinského in Trnava. Štadión pod Dubňom in Žilina was used from 2003 to 2015, but cannot be used because of artificial grass installation in 2016. In the past, home games have occasionally been played at other venues including Všešportový areál and Štadión Lokomotívy in Košice, Štadión pod Zoborom in Nitra, Mestský štadión in Dubnica nad Váhom, and Tatran Stadion in Prešov.

Stadia which have hosted Slovakia international football matches:

Nickname
Traditionally in Slovakia the team is typically referred to as the Repre (short for Reprezentácia – translates into national team). However, in 2016, during the buildup to Slovakia's first appearance at the European Championship, SFZ introduced a new nickname for the team. The national team was given the nickname Slovenskí sokoli (Slovak Falcons). The U15 to U21 national teams were given the nickname Slovenskí sokolíci (Slovak Little Falcons). Despite a lack of immediate identification with the nickname by the fans, it went into usage during the tournament and the subsequent qualification for the 2018 World Cup and is now often used, especially in the media, along with Repre, which still remains to be preferred in an informal conversation.

Kit
Slovakia's home kit since 1993 is blue, but Slovakia changed their home kit from blue to white, which lasted for 25 years until 2020, when Slovakia changed its home kit to blue once again. The team wears either a set of white jerseys, shorts and socks or a set of blue jerseys, shorts and socks. A combination of a blue jersey and white shorts has also been used in some matches. Until recently, the official shirt supplier was Puma, which had signed a long-term agreement with the Slovak Association until 2026, but in 2016 the Association announced the contract had been terminated and that the national team would be supplied by Nike, which had previously supplied the team from 1995 to 2005.

Results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Coaching history
1939–1944

1993–present

Current squad
The following 26 players were called up for a friendly fixture against Wales (9 June) and the UEFA Euro 2024 final tournament.

Caps and goals updated as of 30 June 2024, after the match against England.

Recent call-ups
The following players have also been called up to the Slovakia squad within the last twelve months:


 * Notes
 * INJ Withdrew/Unavailable due to an injury or an illness.
 * RET Retired or resigned from international football

Player records

 * Players in bold are still active with Slovakia.

Head-to-head record
The following table shows Slovakia's all-time international record, correct as of 30 June 2024 after a match against England. Records with defunct teams are marked in italics.

Major tournaments

 * FIFA World Cup
 * Appearances (1): 2010
 * UEFA European Championship
 * Champions (1): 1976
 * Football at the Summer Olympics
 * Appearances (1): 2000

Minor titles

 * King's Cup
 * Winners (2): 2004, 2018
 * Kirin Cup
 * Winners (1): 2000
 * Third-place (2): 2002, 2004
 * Shanghai International Football Tournament
 * Runner-up (1): 1992
 * Copa Ciudad de Valparaíso
 * Runner up (1): 2000
 * Cyprus International Football Tournaments
 * Third place (2): 1998, 2003
 * Friendship Tournament (UAE)
 * Third place (1): 1994

Recognitions

 * FIFA Best Mover of the Year
 * Runner-up (1): 2014
 * Slovak Sportsperson of the Year – Team Award
 * Winners (4): 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015
 * Runner-up (1): 2016