Slovenia vs Kazakhstan

Slovenia’s pursuit of their first win in the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League season continues at the Stadion Stozice against minnows Kazakhstan.

Slovenia refused to bow to the highest-ranked nation in Group B3 in their curtain-raising fixture last week, holding Austria to a 1-1 draw on foreign soil to assert themselves as genuine promotion contenders. Despite never competing in League A, Matjaz Kek’s men seem destined for high achievements after reaching the knockout stages of Euro 2024, only to lose to Portugal on penalties in the round of 16. Interestingly, Slovenia’s four matches in the summer tournament ended level in regulation, forming part of their formidable run of losing just three of their last 26 internationals (W13, D10). Defensively robust, the Slovenians have conceded precisely once per game in five of their seven most recent matches, suggesting they’ll be a tough nut to crack for any team in this section.

While it’s hard to expect Kazakhstan to test Slovenia’s Nations League credentials, the visitors embarked on their maiden League B campaign with a spirited 0-0 home draw against Erling Haaland’s Norway. Stanislav Cherchesov’s side excelled in the last Nations League cycle, topping their League C group with four wins from six games (D1, L1). However, they failed to translate that form to the second tier, facing 19 shots against Norwegians, who generated a decent-looking 1.69 xG. Nonetheless, that draw saw Kazakhstan end a dire four-game losing run that started with a humiliating 5-0 loss to Greece in the Euro 2024 qualifying playoffs. Another disappointing result is on the cards as the Hawks lost both Euro 2024 qualifiers against Slovenia via an identical 2-1 scoreline.