Slovakia vs Liechtenstein

Slovakia will be odds-on favorites to get their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign back on track when they meet continental minnows Liechtenstein at Tehelné pole in Bratislava.

Despite their best effort, Slovakia couldn’t avoid defeat against a mighty Portugal last time out, succumbing to a narrow 1-0 home loss, which halted their three-game winning streak in Group J. Level on points with third-placed Luxembourg, they cannot afford a slip-up here if they’re to reach the European Championship for the third tournament running. With Luxembourg heading to Portugal, this is a prime opportunity for Slovakia to create a three-point buffer and return to winning ways against a nation they’ve defeated eight times in their ten historic H2Hs (D2). Anything less would be an unmitigated disaster, but an underwhelming run of one win from their last eight home internationals (D4, L3) calls for cautious optimism. Scoring has proved one of Slovakia’s shortcomings of late, with Francesco Calzona’s side drawing a blank in three of their four most recent home outings.

On the other hand, Liechtenstein could be staring down the barrel of a first pointless Euro qualifying campaign for the first time in the nation’s history after a 2-1 defeat at Bosnia & Herzegovina last week left them at the bottom without a point from five Group J matches. But if it’s any consolation, they at least found the net for the first time in the ongoing qualifying cycle. That’s hardly a positive, knowing they’ve now failed to win 30 consecutive international fixtures! Liechtenstein can find some comfort in the fact they have only conceded five goals in their last three Euro qualifiers after opening the 2024 qualification cycle with back-to-back defeats via an aggregate score of 11-0.