Finishing second in their qualifying group behind Portugal, they did extremely well to win seven out of 10 games including a 4-2 home win over Iceland in their final fixture.
Their best finish as an independent nation came eight years ago when they reached the round of 16
Tournament Record
1996-2012: did not qualify
2016: round of 16
2020: group stage
Star Players:
Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka needs no introduction and will surely be called into action regularly.
In front of him, the most high-profile name is that of Paris St Germain’s former Inter Milan centre-back Milan Skriniar whilst the ever-dependable Ondrej Duda lines up in midfield and veteran Juraj Kucka, now 37, makes his international swansong. Keep an eye out too for the Feyenoord pair of Leo Sauer, given his Champions League debut at just 17 by Arne Slot, and David Hancko.
Manager: Francesco Calzona
Slovakia’s Italian coach has done an incredible job since taking over in November 2022, especially since for some of that time he has been juggling the role with coaching Napoli – until recently released by the club. Sticking to a largely unchanged squad, his side ran Portugal close twice during the qualifiers.
What to Expect:
Gone are the days of relying on playmaker Marek Hamšík. Still, experience remains the bedrock of the squad with several players aged 30 or over. They may need to find a little bit of something extra in attack if they are to make any real impact plus maintaining that strong defensive unit. But they do have a tactically astute manager at the helm.
Schedule:
vs Belgium (Frankfurt, 17 June, 18:00)
vs Ukraine (Düsseldorf, 21 June, 15:00)
vs Romania (Frankfurt, 26 June, 18:00)