Slovakia will be appearing in their second consecutive European Championship this summer as an independent nation. They declared the 26 men squad for the tournament after trimming down the 35 men provisional one on the squad submission deadline day.
Goalkeepers: Martin Dúbravka (Newcastle), Dušan Kuciak (Lechia Gdańsk), Marek Rodák (Fulham)
Defenders: Dávid Hancko (Sparta Praha), Tomáš Hubočan (Omonoia), Martin Koscelník (Liberec), Peter Pekarík (Hertha Berlin), Ľubomír Šatka (Lech Poznań), Milan Škriniar (Inter Milan), Martin Valjent (Mallorca), Denis Vavro (Huesca)
Midfielders: László Bénes (Augsburg), Ondrej Duda (Köln), Ján Greguš (Minnesota), Marek Hamšík (IFK Göteborg), Lukáš Haraslín (Sassuolo), Jakub Hromada (Slavia Praha), Patrik Hrošovský (Genk), Juraj Kucka (Parma), Stanislav Lobotka (Napoli), Tomáš Suslov (Groningen), Vladimír Weiss (Slovan Bratislava)
Forwards: Róbert Boženík (Feyenoord), Michal Ďuriš (Omonoia), Róbert Mak (Ferencváros), Ivan Schranz (Jablonec)
Key Player: Marek Hamsik
This will largely be Marek Hamsik's last dance at a major tournament. Now employed at IFK Goteborg in the Swedish top-flight league, there is spring in his steps even at the swansong age of 33 in his playing career. Hamsik is a breathing legend of Slovakia building a platform of dreams for the nation's football lovers. The talisman played a decisive role in the Euro qualification campaign ultimately captaining his side to the finals beating Northern Ireland in the playoff round. Hamsik's legacy at Slovakia and previous club Napoli is unmatchable. Having such a charismatic figure in the dressing room fuels the nation's belief and the team. Slovakia knows Hamsik will be there to reward their faith in him & with his class develop an aura of belongingness to the tournament. Hamsik wants to cap off his brilliant career with a brilliant show at the Euros.
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Strength & Weakness :
Along with Hamsik, Slovakia have long serving veterans in Vladimir Weiss and of course Juraj Kucka. They are aged 31 and 34 respectively and combined with Hamsik (33) are most probably the oldest combined age trio in the Euros. As guessed by their age, all of them have massive experience under their belt. Kucka has been an impactful player wherever he has plied his trade at club level and for his country too. Inter's terrific center back Milan Skriniar has also got the necessary experience playing in the Nerazzurri colors and the national team. So, it is the old legs that will be providing the spectacle for Slovakia at the Euros.
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It also means Slovakia relies more on these individuals to make the game for them. Keeping aside Hamsik, Kucka and the other bygones cannot put the same output game after game. They have shown signs of slowing down. So over-dependency can cost them in such an instance. There is also no proper partner for Skriniar in the defense and ever-changing personnel restrict building cohesion between the center-backs. Although, Lubomir Satka of Lech Poznan has started in the last two friendlies.
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