(Football news) Following a stellar start to the season, Slovakia has gained 13 points from their first six games to move into second place in Group J, while Roberto Martinez’s team leads the division with 18 points.
Portugal leads Group J with 18 points, five ahead of Slovakia in second place and, more importantly, eight ahead of Luxembourg in third place after playing the same amount of games. Portugal has won six of their six games, demonstrating that they have not missed a beat.
With three games remaining, a win would secure Martinez’s team’s position at Euro 2024; conversely, should Luxembourg lose to Iceland—which is also scheduled for this Friday—a draw would suffice.
Portugal comes into this game fresh from an incredible 9-0 victory against Luxembourg in their Group J match last month, which saw braces from Goncalo Inacio, Goncalo Ramos, and Diogo Jota.
The Spanish national team is hoping to duplicate its 2016 tournament triumph, and the Iberian team, who are unbeaten since their historic 1-0 loss to Morocco in the 2022 World Cup quarterfinals, appear well-positioned to be a serious contender for the European Championship next summer.
Portugal has never lost to Slovakia and has won four of the previous five encounters between the two teams. Bruno Fernandes scored the game’s only goal in the 1-0 victory in the rematch last month.
In Group J, Slovakia has only actually surrendered twice, and they are currently second in the area with 13 points, four victories, one draw, and one loss on their record.
After a surprising draw with Luxembourg in their opening sectional encounter, Francesco Calzona’s team went on to win three straight against Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iceland, and Liechtenstein before losing 1-0 at home to Portugal on September 8.
Nevertheless, Slovakia returned to winning ways three days later, defeating Liechtenstein 3-0. In the first six games of that encounter, the home team scored three goals.
The Falcons have participated in three major competitions: the 2010 World Cup, the 2016 and 2020 European Championships, and the World Cup.
Slovakia did not make it to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, although they did make it to the final 16 of the 2016 Euro. They were eliminated in the 2020 competition’s group stage.
