Northern Ireland and Slovakia meet at Windsor Park, in a match for this phase of the European Championship Qualifying (Qualifying Play ‑ offs Path B – Final). There is no recent record of direct confrontations between these two teams, who have not played a game in the last 3 years. The last time they met was on 04‑06‑2016, in a match that ended with the final score: Slovakia (0‑0) Northern Ireland. Particular attention is needed for the home / away condition, as both teams present significantly different results at home and away.
Northern Ireland:
The home team reaches this stage of the European Championship Qualifying (Qualifying Play ‑ offs Path B – Final) after having eliminated Bosnia ‑ Herzegovina, after a win away by (3-4) in the tiebreaker by penalties in the previous round. This is a stronger team with the support of its fans, since in the last 30 games it has registered 3 wins, 5 draws and 7 losses as a visitor, with 10 goals scored and 22 suffered; against 7 wins, 1 draw and 7 losses in their stadium, with 17 goals scored and 18 suffered. The team comes to this match after an away loss against Norway by (1‑0). Northern Ireland won 2, drew 1 and lost 1 of their last 4 home matches for the European Championship Qualification.
For this competition, she has not won 5 games. His attack has scored regularly, as he has scored goals in 7 of the last 9 matches for this competition.
Northern Ireland comes to this game unmotivated, after registering another defeat, this time against Norway, by 1×0. We recall that the local team reaches this final of the play-off for access to Euro 2020 after beating Bosnia on penalties. In this match against Slovakia, coach Ian Baraclough should play 5-3-2, favoring offensive transitions and channeling his attacks through the flanks. The two arrows pointed at the opponent’s goal will be Josh Magennis and Conor Washington. It is possible that Jordan Thompson, George Saville and Corry Evans perform in the most central area of the field. The coach can count on all his players.
Slovakia:
The visiting team reaches this stage of the European Championship Qualifying (Qualifying Play ‑ offs Path B – Final) after having eliminated the Republic of Ireland, with a victory by (4-2) in the shoot-off on penalties at home in the previous round. This is a stronger team with the support of its fans, since in the last 30 games it has registered 4 victories, 2 draws and 9 defeats as a visitor, with 18 goals scored and 20 suffered; against 7 victories, 4 draws and 4 defeats in his stadium, with 27 goals scored and 17 suffered. The team comes to this match after a home loss to Israel by (2‑3). In the last 4 away matches that they played for the European Championship Qualification, Slovakia won 2 and lost 2.
Slovakia enters this performance after a 2×3 reception loss to Israel, adding the second consecutive defeat in official matches: the team’s goals were scored by Marek Hamsik and Robert Mak. It should be noted that the Slovaks beat Ireland on penalties in the last game of these play-offs. Unlike the rival in this match, the visiting team generally acts in a 4-3-3, in which the three most advanced players are Robert Mak, Albert Rusnák and Robert Bozenik. Coach Pavel Hapal cannot count on Denis Vavro, Martin Koscelnik and Lukas Haraslin, all with physical problems.
