Preview: Slovakia vs. Chile
Two teams that will not be present at the 2022 World Cup will lock horns in an international friendly on Sunday afternoon, as Slovakia welcome Chile to Bratislava.
Slovakia will enter the contest off the back of a 2-2 draw with Montenegro on Thursday, while Chile suffered a 1-0 defeat to Poland in their last match on Wednesday.
Slovakia have qualified for the World Cup on just one previous occasion, competing in the 2010 competition, when they reached the last-16 stage of the tournament.
The European nation were not present at the 2014 or 2018 competition, and they also failed to secure a spot in Qatar, having finished third in their Group H qualification section.
Slovakia played in the European Championship in both 2016 and 2020, though, while they will begin their Euro 2024 qualification campaign against Luxembourg in March and will be determined to get off to the best possible start.
Francesco Calzona’s side have not been victorious since recording a 1-0 win over Azerbaijan in the UEFA Nations League on June 10, losing two and drawing two of their last four matches.
Slovakia will enter this match off the back of a 2-2 draw with Montenegro in a friendly on Thursday, with the visitors leading by two goals before a late double from Stefan Savic earned the hosts a share of the spoils.
Chile, meanwhile, competed in the finals of the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, but they failed to qualify for the tournament in Russia four years ago and will also not feature in Qatar.
The Red One found it difficult in their South American qualification section, only picking up 19 points from 18 matches, which left them in seventh spot in the table, five points behind fifth-place Peru.
Chile have not actually won a single match since their 3-2 success over Bolivia at the start of February, losing seven of their last eight games in all competitions.
The South American nation played two friendlies towards the end of September, losing 2-0 to Morocco before drawing 2-2 with Qatar.
Eduardo Berizzo’s side will enter this match off the back of a 1-0 defeat to Poland, meanwhile, with Krzysztof Piatek scoring the only goal of the contest in the 85th minute.
Slovakia International Friendlies form:
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Slovakia form (all competitions):
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Chile International Friendlies form:
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Chile form (all competitions):
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We say: Slovakia 1-1 Chile
Chile are losing a lot of football matches at the moment, but they have a number of quality players and should provide a tough test for Slovakia in this game. We are expecting to be a close fixture on Sunday, with the spoils potentially being shared at the end of the 90 minutes.