Slovakia could surprise in France

Slovakia will be making their first appearance as an independent nation at the European Championship this summer and could well prove to be a surprise package.

The Fighting Jondas reached the last 16 during their first major tournament outing at the 2010 World Cup and will see no reason why they cannot go further this time around.

Boss Jan Kozak has been praised for getting the most out of his troops since taking over three years ago and, having guided his side to a victory over Spain in qualifying, masterminded a 3-1 success over Germany on Sunday.

Slovakia are currently the outsiders to top Euro 2016 Group B at 10.00, with England 1.73, Russia 4.00 and Wales 5.50. Their underdog tag is unlikely to faze them, however, especially with so much talent within the squad. Veteran duo Martin Skrtel and Jan Durica provide solidity at the back, while in front of them Marek Hamsik and Juraj Kucka have shown themselves to be classy operators in the middle of the park.

Wingers Miroslav Stoch, Robert Mak and Vladimir Weiss also add some magic out wide and, despite uncertainty over who will fill the role of central striker, Ondrej Duda impressed enough on Sunday to suggest he could cause plenty of problems up front.

The Slovakians begin their campaign on June 11 in Bordeaux against Wales, a game they are 2.88 to win, with the draw 3.00 and the Welsh 2.60 favourites. With Slovakia the 2.10 favourites to prop up the group and 151.00 to win Euro 2016 outright, Kozak’s men are certainly outsiders for success in France.

However, these tournaments often throw up a surprise performance and, with talent within their squad and momentum seemingly behind them, there is no reason why it cannot be Slovakia’s time to shine.