Slovakia at the FIFA World Cup
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This is a record of Slovakia's results at the FIFA World Cup, including those of Czechoslovakia which is considered as both theirs and the Czech Republic's predecessor by FIFA. The FIFA World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, due to World War II.
The tournament consists of two parts, the qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the World Cup Finals). The qualification phase, which currently takes place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 48 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) for about a month. The World Cup final is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final.[1]
Czechoslovakia has been one of the better performing national teams in the history of the World Cup, having ended twice as runners-up, in 1934 and in 1962. Between 1930 and 1994 they qualified for 8 out of 13 World Cups they played qualifiers for, and did not enter in two other World Cups.
After the political and peaceful split-up into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the official successor football teams of the Czech Republic and Slovakia have been less successful at the World Cup than Czechoslovakia, qualifying only for one out of the seven tournaments held since (the 2010 FIFA World Cup) without surviving the group phase and got eliminated in the last 16 respectively.
Throughout the World Cup history, Brazil became the team's historical rival. The two countries have met each other five times but the Czechs and Slovaks (always Czechoslovakia) never won, with three victories for the Brazilian side and two draws.[2] Two other historical opponents in the finals were (West) Germany and Italy with three encounters each: Czechoslovakia won, drew and lost once against the Germans[3] and the matches against Italy all ended in a defeat.[4][5]
| FIFA World Cup record | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Q | |
as  Czechoslovakia |
as Czechoslovakia | ||||||||||||||||
 1930 |
Did not enter | Declined invitation | |||||||||||||||
 1934 |
Runners-up | 2nd | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 6 | Squad | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1934 | |
 1938 |
Quarter-finals | 5th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | Squad | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1938 | |
 1950 |
Did not enter | Did not enter | |||||||||||||||
 1954 |
Group stage | 14th | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | Squad | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1954 | |
 1958 |
Group stage | 9th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 6 | Squad | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 1958 | |
 1962 |
Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | Squad | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 7 | 1962 | |
 1966 |
Did not qualify | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 1966 | |||||||||
 1970 |
Group stage | 15th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | Squad | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 7 | 1970 | |
 1974 |
Did not qualify | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 1974 | |||||||||
 1978 |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1978 | ||||||||||
 1982 |
Group stage | 19th | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | Squad | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 6 | 1982 | |
| 1986 |
Did not qualify | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 12 | 1986 | |||||||||
 1990 |
Quarter-finals | 6th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 5 | Squad | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 3 | 1990 | |
 1994 |
Did not qualify | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 21 | 9 | 1994 | |||||||||
as  Slovakia |
as Slovakia | ||||||||||||||||
 1998 |
Did not qualify | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 14 | 1998 | |||||||||
  2002 |
10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 9 | 2002 | ||||||||||
| 2006 |
14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 26 | 14 | 2006 | ||||||||||
 2010 | Round of 16 | 16th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | Squad | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 22 | 10 | 2010 | |
 2014 |
Did not qualify | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 2014 | |||||||||
 2018 |
10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 7 | 2018 | ||||||||||
 2022 |
10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 10 | 2022 | ||||||||||
 2026 |
7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 2026 | ||||||||||
  2030 |
To be determined | To be determined | |||||||||||||||
 2034 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total | Round of 16 | 1/9 | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 49 | 52 | – | 152 | 79 | 35 | 38 | 280 | 149 | – | |
| List of FIFA World Cup matches | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Score | Result | Slovakia goalscorers |
| 2010 | Round 1 |  New Zealand 1 – 1 Slovakia | Draw | Vittek |
| Round 1 | Slovakia 0 – 2 Paraguay  | Loss | ||
| Round 1 | Slovakia 3 – 2 Italy | Win | Vittek (2), Kopúnek | |
| Round of 16 |  Netherlands 2 – 1 Slovakia | Loss | Vittek | |
Slovakia at the 2010 FIFA World Cup
Slovakia were drawn in group F of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Paraguay |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 5 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Slovakia |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 4 | |
| 3 | New Zealand |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | Italy |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 2 |
Coach: Vladimír Weiss
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Ján Mucha | 5 December 1982 (aged 27) | 14 |  Legia Warszawa |
| 2 | DF | Peter Pekarík | 30 October 1986 (aged 23) | 21 | VfL Wolfsburg |
| 3 | DF | Martin Škrtel | 15 December 1984 (aged 25) | 37 | Liverpool |
| 4 | DF | Marek Čech | 26 January 1983 (aged 27) | 38 | West Bromwich Albion |
| 5 | DF | Radoslav Zabavník | 16 September 1980 (aged 29) | 42 | Mainz 05 |
| 6 | MF | Zdeno Štrba | 9 June 1976 (aged 34) | 20 |  Skoda Xanthi |
| 7 | MF | Vladimír Weiss | 30 November 1989 (aged 20) | 7 | Bolton Wanderers |
| 8 | MF | Ján Kozák | 22 April 1980 (aged 30) | 22 |  Timişoara |
| 9 | MF | Stanislav Šesták | 16 December 1982 (aged 27) | 29 | VfL Bochum |
| 10 | MF | Marek Sapara | 31 July 1982 (aged 27) | 24 |  Ankaragücü |
| 11 | FW | Róbert Vittek | 1 April 1982 (aged 28) | 69 | Ankaragücü |
| 12 | GK | Dušan Perniš | 28 November 1984 (aged 25) | 1 |  Dundee United |
| 13 | FW | Filip Hološko | 17 January 1984 (aged 26) | 37 | Beşiktaş |
| 14 | FW | Martin Jakubko | 26 February 1980 (aged 30) | 21 | Saturn Moscow Oblast |
| 15 | MF | Miroslav Stoch | 19 October 1989 (aged 20) | 10 | Twente |
| 16 | DF | Ján Ďurica | 10 December 1981 (aged 28) | 35 | Hannover 96 |
| 17 | MF | Marek Hamšík (c) | 27 July 1987 (aged 22) | 30 | Napoli |
| 18 | FW | Erik Jendrišek | 26 October 1986 (aged 23) | 13 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern |
| 19 | MF | Juraj Kucka | 26 February 1987 (aged 23) | 5 | Sparta Prague |
| 20 | MF | Kamil Kopúnek | 18 May 1984 (aged 26) | 7 | Spartak Trnava |
| 21 | DF | Kornel Saláta | 4 January 1985 (aged 25) | 3 | Slovan Bratislava |
| 22 | DF | Martin Petráš | 2 November 1979 (aged 30) | 38 | Cesena |
| 23 | GK | Dušan Kuciak | 21 May 1985 (aged 25) | 2 | FC Vaslui |
New Zealand vs Slovakia
| New Zealand | 1–1 | Slovakia |
|---|---|---|
Reid  90+3' |
Report | Vittek 50' |
          New Zealand[7]
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     Slovakia[7]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Slovakia vs Paraguay
     Slovakia[8]
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    Paraguay[8]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Slovakia vs Italy
Slovakia[9]
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     Italy[9]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Second Round - Netherlands vs Slovakia
The Netherlands and Slovakia played on 28 June 2010 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. The Netherlands won 2–1. The Netherlands' first goal was an excellent individual effort from Arjen Robben in the 18th minute, taking on the Slovak defence with the ball before scoring from 25 yards. The Dutch had chances to extend their lead in the second half; Arjen Robben cut inside on his left foot just like he did when he scored the first goal, but this time the slovak goalkeeper Jan Mucha saved the shot going to his far post. The Slovaks also had 2 big opportunities to equalize but forced 2 great saves from Maarten Stekelenburg. The Dutch however in the 84th minute sealed their win, with Wesley Sneijder scoring off an assist from Dirk Kuyt into an unguarded net after Kuyt got the ball past the Slovak keeper. Róbert Vittek slotted a penalty kick late in stoppage time, but it was no more than a consolation goal for Slovakia. The penalty had been awarded for a trip on Vittek by the Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.[10] The Netherlands' win threatened to be overshadowed by Robin van Persie responding angrily to being substituted by coach Bert van Marwijk. Van Marwijk called a team meeting over the incident, and insisted later that there was no residual unrest in the squad.[11][12]
     Netherlands[13]
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Slovakia[13]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Record players
Excluding Czechoslovakia's records, six players played in all four matches Slovakia played in 2010, making them record players for their country.
| Rank | Player | Matches | World Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ladislav Novák | 12 | 1954, 1958 and 1962 |
| 2 | Josef Masopust | 10 | 1958 and 1962 |
| 3 | Svatopluk Pluskal | 9 | 1954, 1958 and 1962 |
| Ján Popluhár | 9 | 1958 and 1962 | |
| 5 | Andrej Kvašňák | 8 | 1962 and 1970 |
| 6 | Josef Košťálek | 7 | 1934 and 1938 |
| 7 | Oldřich Nejedlý | 6 | 1934 and 1938 |
| František Plánička | 6 | 1934 and 1938 | |
| Adolf Scherer | 6 | 1962 | |
| Viliam Schrojf | 6 | 1962 | |
| Jozef Adamec | 6 | 1962 and 1970 | |
| 12 | Ján Ďurica | 4 | 2010 |
| Marek Hamšík | |||
| Jan Mucha | |||
| Martin Škrtel | |||
| Miroslav Stoch | |||
| Róbert Vittek |
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Goals | World Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oldřich Nejedlý | 7 | 1934 (5) and 1938 (2) |
| 2 | Tomáš Skuhravý | 5 | 1990 |
| 3 | Robert Vittek | 4 | 2010 |
| 4 | Zdeněk Zikán | 3 | 1958 |
| Adolf Scherer | 3 | 1962 | |
| 5 | Antonín Puč | 2 | 1934 |
| Milan Dvořák | 2 | 1958 | |
| Václav Hovorka | 2 | 1958 | |
| Ladislav Petráš | 2 | 1970 | |
| Antonín Panenka | 2 | 1982 | |
| Michal Bílek | 2 | 1990 | |
Head-to-head record
| Opponent | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 100.00 |
| Netherlands |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0.00 |
| New Zealand |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 0.00 |
| Paraguay |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 0.00 |
| Total | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 25.00 |