Slovakia vs Liechtenstein prediction: EUROPE: Euro – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-09-10 18:45.
Slovakia held their place in the top two of Group J on goal difference alone after a narrow 1-0 loss at home to undefeated group leaders Portugal last time out, keeping them on track for an expected third straight European Championship appearance. With surprise package Luxembourg playing in Portugal at the same time that they host Liechtenstein on Monday evening, there’s a good chance that Slovakia can regain some clear air in second place.
Their head coach Francesco Calzona didn’t have a bad word to say about his players following the loss to Portugal, praising a “fantastic tactical performance … against a great team” and arguing they deserved at least a point from the contest. To Calzona’s credit, it was just the second loss of his nine games as Slovakia boss (W3, D4), and the team’s average of one goal scored and 0.77 conceded per match during his tenure shows the Italian is not afraid of an arm wrestle.
Liechtenstein’s pursuit of Euro 2024 qualification is not going according to plan, but is certainly going to script. The side ranked #200 by FIFA have now failed to win 30 consecutive matches, with their only minor highlights being low-scoring draws with Armenia (1-1) in 2021, and fellow obscure footballing entities Gibraltar (1-1) and San Marino (0-0). Perhaps a positive they could take from their most recent outing, a 2-1 loss to Bosnia & Herzegovina, is that they at least bagged their first goal in nine outings.
Their qualification hopes were all but over almost as soon as they began when they conceded 11 goals in their opening two games against Portugal (L 4-0) and Iceland (L 7-0), but their three Euro 2024 qualification losses under Konrad FĂĽnfstĂĽck have been nothing short of admirable, and FĂĽnfstĂĽck took pride in his players finding the strength to equalise against the Bosnians despite the final result.
Players to watch: This could be the day that Lukáš HaraslĂn finds his fourth international goal after he came into the international window with back-to-back goalscoring appearances for Sparta Prague. Sandro Wolfinger’s third goal for Liechtenstein not only ended a five-year goalscoring drought for his country, but will go down as one of the goals of the tournament!
Hot stat: Slovakia’s 2-0 win at home to Bosnia & Herzegovina in March was the only one of their last 13 matches to be decided by a multiple-goal margin.