Our prediction for this match:
Slovakia
Match Time & Date:
05/09/2018
02:45 PM
Prediction: 2-0
Denmark
In anticipation of their opening League of Nations qualifying matches, Slovakia and Denmark will meet at the City Arena in Trnava. The match will serve as a good way to test their current form. While Denmark featured in the World Cup, Slovakia played their last match in June this year, when they lost 2:1 to Morocco. Last win for them was in March this year, against Thailand. In fact, in their last ten games, Slovakia has five wins, four defeats and one draw. Denmark, on the other hand finished second behind the future champions in the group stage od the World Cup only to lose on penalties against future runners up of the World Cup, Croatia in the last 16 match. However, after the first team players failed to reach an agreement with the FA, the DBU had to call back-ups and the squad to face Slovakia now includes some futsal players as well, meaning the hosts are clear favourites to win the match.
Highlighted Player (Martin Skrtel):
Martin Skrtel is without a doubt one of Slovakia’s most famous footballers and with over 80 appearances for the national team, he is also one of their most capped players. Following a bright start to his career at Trencin, the powerful defender secured a move to Zenit, where he would go on to spend next three and a half years.
But, it was the £6.5 million transfer to Liverpool in January 2008 that put him on the map and ensured he would be remembered by football fans everywhere. Known for his uncompromising style of play that often got him into trouble, Skrtel enjoyed some success at Anfield, and even though major titles eluded him and his teammates, the centre-back scored in the 2011/2012 League Cup final to help the Reds lift the coveted trophy.
The Slovakian defender has so far made over 240 Premier League appearances for one of England’s most famous clubs and he has also been a real rock at the back for the Slovakian national team. Skrtel has missed very few competitive matches for his country after making his debut back in 2004, and he started four fixtures at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Highlighted Team (Denmark):
The Denmark national team participated at the World Cup finals on four occasions and they recorded their best result at the 1998 tournament. The Danes made it to the quarter-finals of the 1998 World Cup in France, but Brazil proved to be a big catch for the Nordic side. De Rod-Hvide did remarkably well to win the 1992 European Championship, but they were more than fortunate to qualify for the Euro 1992 finals.
Denmark finished their qualifying campaign in second place in the group, but thanks to Yugoslavia’s exclusion from the competition, the team booked their place at the Euro 1992 finals. Denmark impressed at the tournament in Sweden, with the team outplaying Germany in the title game (2-0).
Brothers Michael and Bryan Laudrup and goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel are regarded as Denmark’s most notable players. It has to be noted that Morten Olsen was in charge of the Danish national team from 2000 to 2015. The Danes play their home games at Telia Parken and the capacity of the venue is 38,065 (all-seater).
