It might be stretching a point to say Slovakia are Group B’s sleeper cell but they are certainly doing their business away from the glare under which their peers have been placed. Visitors to their base in Vichy have been relatively few; three foreign journalists – two English, one Russian – attended their media activities afternoon and external strains on their preparations have been notable only for their absence.
The slow-moving pace of life in Vichy, whose welcome has been one of restrained politeness, probably helps focus the mind and not too many brains around the camp need to be picked before it seeps out that two weeks here have fermented a degree of stir-craziness. The days of the État Français might be long gone, but self-government is hardly an issue in a town best known nowadays for the restorative qualities of its spas.
Matchdays are the escape valve and Slovakia certainly burst into life in Lille on Wednesday, when Russia were flattered to lose 2-1 under a closed roof. Their performance, and particularly the movement of their front four, saw a return to the levels that have accounted for Germany and Spain in the past two years and confidence, dented after their defeat to Wales, is high once more.
It was certainly evident when the midfielder Patrik Hrosovsky, dropped for the Russia game, was asked how the final matchday would pan out. “With our advance,” he said and, with some encouragement, he proceeded to forecast a win over England and first place in the group.
The latter predictions were given mainly in jest, but they are hardly outlandish thoughts and there is a clear enough idea of how Slovakia might cause danger. “We’ve watched England plenty of times,” Hrosovsky said. “Their strength is in going forwards and that our advantage could come through counterattacks.”
Slovakia’s speed of foot and thought bemused the Russians. Vladimir Weiss and Robert Mak were livewires on the flanks and Marek Hamsik, scorer of perhaps the tournament’s best goal when he thudded in their second from an angle, profited from the space and options afforded by those ahead of him. Their coach, Jan Kozak, opted to play Ondrej Duda – an attacking midfielder – in the nominal centre-forward role and the result was a series of slick buildups and interchanges that pulled an immobile defence apart.
There might be the temptation to deploy the more physical presence of Adam Nemec against England, even if only to assist in defending the set-piece threat Slovakia have identified, but although a point will put them in the last 16 Hrosovsky was keen to play down notions of a more pragmatic approach in Saint-Étienne. “It’s not wise to enter a match thinking about a draw,” he said. “Many times it goes against you. Perhaps if that is the outcome we will say afterwards that it was enough, but we are not interested in looking for a point in advance.”
The pre-match noises about England have nonetheless been respectful, even if it raised an eyebrow when Hrosovsky compared the style and threat of Roy Hodgson’s side to that of France. They expect a harder game than Wales, who they believe should have been beaten, or Russia could provide and there have been no bold statements of the kind that came from the Welsh ranks before England and Daniel Sturridge intervened.
“It’s a team made of big individual players but also strong collectively,” said the defender Dusan Svento. “They showed both things against Wales and this will be our toughest match in the group. But we want to focus on ourselves and our strategy, and if we play at 100% we can be successful.”
If there was the slightest hint of a mind game it came when Hrosovsky, asked whether Slovakia’s underdog status might work in their favour, refused to bat the thought away. “That could play a role,” he said. “It might be good for us that England will be under much larger pressure and it could work to our advantage when we break.”
A team whose creative hub is Hamsik, the most extravagant talent on either of Monday’s teams, cannot really be regarded as a long shot. The truth is that Slovakia’s mindset under Kozak, who has done an outstanding job mixing young talents into the maturing spine of a team that qualified for the 2010 World Cup, is not one of a minnow and that is reflected in how they are perceived elsewhere.
“He gave the team something special that was missing before,” Svento said. “Under him we have gained the respect of our opponents.”
Slovakia might be kicking their heels in Vichy but England must be wary of the spring in their step when they emerge at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
