On Sunday (5.30 p.m. / live ORF 1) Slovakia will have to do without captain Marek Hamsik at their dress rehearsal for the European Football Championship in Vienna against Austria. The 33-year-old is not yet back to 100 percent after his calf injury, explained team boss Stefan Tarkovic in a press conference on Saturday afternoon. “It would be a risk so he won’t play tomorrow.”
With 126 internationals and 26 goals, Hamsik is the most experienced international player in the Slovak 26-man squad. The former offensive star of SSC Napoli now earns his living at IFK Gothenburg in Sweden after an adventure in China. “I always feel better,” said Hamsik. “But it’s still not 100 percent, so I have to be careful.” The Slovaks will play their European Championship opening game against Poland on June 14th in St. Petersburg.
Apart from his captain, Tarkovic wants to send the best possible team onto the field against Austria. “This is a dress rehearsal, you can’t experiment with that much anymore,” said the Slovak coach. He may therefore disagree with the ÖFB team boss Franco Foda, who, according to his own account, is considering giving one or the other regular player a break before the European Championship due to the high stress of the past weeks and months.
“2021 is very specific, we only have two test matches. It’s not easy,” said Tarkovic. “You can’t just try something during a tournament, it must have happened before that.” The Austrians would definitely send a strong team onto the field. “They have very good, very experienced players.” The 48-year-old highlighted future Real Madrid professional David Alaba. “Of course it makes a difference whether Alaba is playing in one position or another player. But the principle of their game will not change.”
Foda has developed his own character with the ÖFB team through the long collaboration (since the end of 2017). “They are strong in the combination game, a dominant team, very self-confident,” said Tarkovic. “You play well through the middle and use small spaces.” Tarkovic himself has been with the Slovak Association since 2013, but has only been team boss since October. He also wants to play to win in Vienna. “You play every game to win. That’s the main thing.” The game is also important in order to identify any weaknesses before the EM.
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