Global InformationSlovakia national football team information
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| Nickname(s) | Sokoli (The Falcons)[1]
Repre (The Representatives)[2] | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Slovenský futbalový zväz (SFZ) | |||||||||||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | |||||||||||
| Head coach | Francesco Calzona | |||||||||||
| Captain | Milan Škriniar | |||||||||||
| Most caps | Marek Hamšík (138) | |||||||||||
| Top scorer | Marek Hamšík (26) | |||||||||||
| Home stadium | Tehelné Pole Štadión Antona Malatinského | |||||||||||
| FIFA code | SVK | |||||||||||
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| FIFA ranking | ||||||||||||
| Current | 48  (4 April 2024)[3] | |||||||||||
| Highest | 14 (August 2015) | |||||||||||
| Lowest | 150 (December 1993) | |||||||||||
| First international | ||||||||||||
as Slovakia (1939-1945): Slovakia 2–0 Germany  (Bratislava, Slovakia; 27 August 1939) (1993–present): Unofficial:  Lithuania 0–1 Slovakia  (Vilnius, Lithuania; 14 October 1992) Official:  United Arab Emirates 0–1 Slovakia (Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 2 February 1994) | ||||||||||||
| Biggest win | ||||||||||||
Slovakia 7–0 Liechtenstein  (Bratislava, Slovakia; 8 September 2004) Slovakia 7–0 San Marino  (Dubnica nad Váhom, Slovakia; 13 October 2007) Slovakia 7–0 San Marino (Bratislava, Slovakia; 6 June 2009) | ||||||||||||
| Biggest defeat | ||||||||||||
 Hungary 8–3 Czechoslovakia  (Budapest, Hungary; 19 September 1937) as Slovakia  Argentina 6–0 Slovakia (Mendoza, Argentina; 22 June 1995)  Sweden 6–0 Slovakia (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 12 January 2017) | ||||||||||||
| World Cup | ||||||||||||
| Appearances | 9 (first in 1934 as Czechoslovakia 2010 as Slovakia) | |||||||||||
| Best result | As Czechoslovakia: Runners-up (1934, 1962) As Slovakia: Round of 16 (2010) | |||||||||||
| European Championship | ||||||||||||
| Appearances | 6 (first in 1960 as Czechoslovakia 2016 as Slovakia) | |||||||||||
| Best result | As Czechoslovakia: Champions (1976) As Slovakia: Round of 16 (2016) | |||||||||||
Medal record
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The Slovakia national football team (Slovak: 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,[5][6][7][8][9] while it also competed as Slovakia during the 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 to the FIFA World Cup in 2010 after winning their qualifying group, despite two defeats against Slovenia. 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).
The national team have achieved some noteworthy results such as the aforementioned win over the then title holders Italy at the 2010 World Cup, and a 1–0 win against Russia in September 2010. Despite this success however, the team later dropped down the rankings and a considerable drop in form went with this, as the team failed to qualify for Euro 2012 finishing their group in fourth place. They also only scored seven goals in the group, only more than minnows Andorra. Slovakia then failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, but secured a spot in France for Euro 2016 under head coach Ján Kozák, which helped the team reach their best ever position of 14th in the FIFA World Rankings.
Slovakia's traditional rival is the Czech Republic which they played twice in the qualification for the 1998 World Cup in 1997, winning 2–1 in Bratislava before losing 3–0 in Prague with both teams already eliminated, before playing each other again in 2008 and 2009 in the qualifying round for the 2010 World Cup. In these two meetings, the teams drew 2–2 in Bratislava with the Slovaks winning 2–1 in Prague. But before that, they also played each other in Euro 2008 qualifying, and they lost 3–1 in Prague and 3–0 in Bratislava.
- ^ "Slovenskí Sokoli". Slovak Football Association (in Slovak). Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "Prezývka slovenských reprezentantov? Suchá". Aktualne Atlas (in Slovak). Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
- ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ Dunmore, Tom (16 September 2011). Historical Dictionary of Soccer. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7188-5.
- ^ "UEFA EURO 2016: How all the teams qualified". UEFA. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ "UEFA EURO 2020 contenders in focus: Czech Republic | UEFA EURO". 22 February 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ "UEFA EURO 2020 contenders in focus: Slovakia". UEFA. 3 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ "Who has qualified for UEFA EURO 2024? | UEFA EURO 2024". UEFA. 28 December 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.