Ireland have played one game less than the rest of their group (Group A – UEFA) but sit level on points with Slovakia.

An away win in Finland got Vera Pauw’s side off the mark after an own goal last time out in Tallaght against World number two Sweden spelt defeat in their first game.

Record ticket sales have been recorded for the match, with a new attendance record expected to be announced during the match – the fans are behind the Women’s side much like the Men’s.

Ireland have no injury issues ahead of the game, with all players called up available for selection.

Slovakia are the first side that Ireland will face in the campaign that are below them in the rankings – the Falcons sit 45th in the world, 12 behind the Republic of Ireland.

Defeats to Sweden and Finland saw them start their campaign on the wrong foot but they will step out under the Tallaght floodlights on Thursday night in search of a second successive win.

Peter Kopún’s players earned their first three points at home to Georgia, who play the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday, November 30.

22-year-old midfielder Mária Mikolajová has scored twice for Slovakia in their last two games.

Vera Pauw’s Tigers are yet to keep a clean sheet in the qualification campaign, which Mikolajová could take as an invitation.

Yet, Slovakia have never beaten Ireland, losing all five times the two sides have played each other, only scoring once.

Tonight could change that, but with a record crowd behind them, Ireland will fancy their chances.

Teams

Republic of Ireland (5-4-1): Brosnan; O’Gorman, Fahey, Lo. Quinn, McCarthy, McCabe (C); Finn, Connolly, O’Sullivan; Payne, Lu. Quinn.

Subs: Moloney, Walsh, Atkinson, Caldwell, Littlejohn, Barrett, Carusa, Farrelly, Grant, O’Mahony, Whelan, McLaughlin.

Slovakia (5-4-1): Korenciova; Horvathova, Broova, Fischerova, Bartovicova, Vojtekova; Skorvankova (C), Mikolajova, Surnovska, Hmirova; Matavkova.

Subs: Rezekova, Chladekova, Zemberyova, Ceriova, Panakova, Fabova, Mazuchova, Ondrudova, Kosikova, Lemisova, Bytcankova.

Odds

Republic of Ireland 1/2

Draw 13/5

Slovakia 4/1

Where To Watch

The match will kick off at 7 pm and will be available to watch on RTÉ 2 from 6:30 pm.

The post Ireland v Slovakia – Preview, Teams, Odds, Where To Watch appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

At 17:30 on Wednesday, 7^th July, Shamrock Rovers will travel to the National Stadium in Slovakia to face Slovan Bratislava.

Bratislava has won the Slovakia football championship for three years in a row. Their squad includes a few of the internationals that traveled to Euro 2020 with Slovakia.

Although they have not qualified for the Champions League group stages before, they made an appearance at the Europa League in the 2019/2020 season. The club’s greatest moment was winning the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup way back in 1969.

The young Rovers manager, Stephen Bradley who is still only 36, says that his team is prepared for the occasion.

“They’re obviously a really good side. They dominate Slovakian football, and they have real quality all over the pitch, top-level quality with internationals. But we’re excited by it,” said Bradley.

“We know what they’re about, they’re a very good side but it’s one that excites us and one that we’re looking forward to.”

Shamrock Rovers are preparing for a clash with Slovan Bratislava in the first qualifying round of the Champions League on Wednesday. @Corktod spoke to Stephen Bradley and Richie Towell to get the mood in the camp #RTEsoccer pic.twitter.com/7fOv1Fhr6u

— Soccer Republic (@SoccRepublic) July 5, 2021

Shamrock Rovers team news

Shamrock Rovers will be without Irish midfielders Chris McCann and Neil Farrugia who won’t travel due to injury.

They currently sit on top of the League of Ireland after 19 games, only ahead of Sligo Rovers on goal difference.

Rovers will begin their Champions League run away in Bratislava. Many believe that teams will play very differently now that the ‘away goal’ rule has been removed from the competition.

“That’s been taken out of it so I’m sure that will alter how teams go away from home and play in Europe when it’s not important. It’s going to be different, but it is what it is, and we’ll go there with a game plan,” added Bradley.

𝐖𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲

#RoversInEurope pic.twitter.com/OWZhI234rE

— Shamrock Rovers FC (@ShamrockRovers) July 6, 2021

The League of Ireland is yet to have a representative at the Champions League group stages, could Rovers be the first? If they lose over the two legs, they will be placed into the third qualifying round of the newly made Europa Conference League.

The post Shamrock Rovers prepare for first Champions League game in ten years appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Ireland had already got the wins needed for the qualification final after their first two comfortable victories against Finland and Hungary. Slovakia had also qualified so this was to be an interesting game, who would show their cards and who wanted to win more.

Today they faced a much tougher opponent in Slovakia who beat also beat the Finnish and Hungarians in their first two games. Slovakia also has the advantage of being the home team with the competition being hosted in Bratislava.

Congratulations to Fionn Gallaher-Hall on being named to the Irish Men's National Baseball Team! Fionn came to America in 2017 to attend a Nike Baseball camp as part of our Baseball Exchange Program. Here's a video of Fionn after getting off his flight at JFK! Good luck Fionn! pic.twitter.com/zj20xTD0el

— Baseball United Foundation (@Share_Baseball) June 22, 2021

Slovakia (15) v Ireland (5), Bratislava

Ireland started the game with some nerves, it didn’t help that Slovakia had a very capable pitcher, knocking three Irish batters out comfortably.

Brendan Scott was chosen to start pitcher for this game, and he continued the strikeouts. A quick first inning ended with no singles, just outs.

Ireland pushed on in this inning getting all three bases filled with two outs, but the Slovakians caught Brendan Power before he could make it home.

The home team batting improved as well but they only managed a single. Going into the top of the third, the quality pitching contest heated up.

After a quiet start, the third inning would set the tie alight.

Fionn Gallahar-Hall and captain Leo Farrell managed a lovely double steal at the start of the round. Ireland got the bases loaded again and a Jamie Cuevas hit got the two base stealers home for the first two points of the game.

Patrick Mitchell, Cuevas, and Power followed them home after some questionable Slovakian catching and defending.

An early double by Adam Zacko left Slovakia in a fruitful position with two on the bases, they capitalized with Grandzadonsky getting their first point. A double by Gotshall next let two more Slovakians make it home.

Slovakia got four more men home due to some poor Irish defending errors before a brilliant triple by Brunegraf got two more points for the Slovakians. They added one more to get their tenth of the round.

The third inning finished at 5-10 to Slovakia.

Ireland needed to bounce back but they found it hard against some strong Slovak pitching with Farrell only making it to third base.

Scott had troubles with his pitching in the last inning and tried to steady the ship at the bottom of the fourth. Power also improved with some clean defensive catches.

The game continued in the same vein with Ireland and Slovakia failing to score in the fifth and sixth innings.  The boys in green switched pitching duties to Liam Shier.

It took until the bottom of the seventh inning for the game to liven up a bit again. Another new pitcher Patrick Mitchell was struggling to get into the game and let a Slovakian walk home. Next another great hit by Mario Gotshall sent three more Slovakians to home base.

The inning ended 5-14 to Slovakia.

Matt Dutton tried to give Ireland some energy in the eighth with a good double and then stealing third, but they couldn’t find a finishing touch to grab some points.

The game slowed as the clouds covered the field in Bratislava. Slovakia had the first two bases filled for Brunegraf to hit a great double and put the game out of Ireland’s reach.

With too much of a deficit for Ireland to overcome in one inning, the game was called one round early with a scoreline of 5-15 to Slovakia.

This Irish performance lacked any real energy and bite, it’s a good thing that the final tomorrow is the game that counts. The winner of the final will get a place at the European Baseball Championships in Piemonte, Italy.

Frank Andrews will have to pick his team up and give them some belief for their next meeting with Slovakia.

The final will be streamed live on YouTube at 15:00 with Ireland in need of some home support.

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The four that will contest it are Poland, Slovakia, Spain, and Sweden.

Each side has noticeable flaws that can be exploited by the opposition on any given day.

POLAND

Poland enters this tournament with the same squad they always enter tournaments with – Robert Lewandowski and the other guys.

However, that view is unfair on Poland.

Their side may rely on Lewandowski, but the quality is visible across the pitch in Paulo Sousa’s setup. 

Six players scored 30+ goals across Europe's top five divisions, Champions League and Europe league in 2020/21.

Only Robert Lewandowski hit 40+. pic.twitter.com/L7khevYGLP

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) May 31, 2021

Mateusz Klich and Piotr Zielinski will look to improve upon impressive seasons at their respective clubs.

They will provide the midfield engine for the Eastern European side.

Centre-back Jan Bednarek and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny will be the key defensive options for Sousa’s Poland but there is a considerable lack of adequate depth when compared to the bigger sides in the tournament.

Nonetheless, their first-choice eleven should do enough to progress.

SLOVAKIA

Slovakia entered the European Championships via the Nations League play-offs.

They beat both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland to earn their spot.

However, their results are very up-and-down, and their star names are not enough for consistency.

Marek Hamsik, Milan Skriniar, Ondrej Duda and Martin Dubravka are all part of the current Slovakian core.

Their goalscoring threat is quite low with just 15 goals in 18 games since 2019.

The squad is not strong enough to offer a huge threat to the rest of Group E.

SPAIN

Spain, on the other hand, has brought a strong side to the Euros, albeit an underwhelming 24-man strong side.

Star defender Sergio Ramos was snubbed due to a lack of match fitness while Eric Garcia got in after making half as many appearances as the former.

Spanish boss Luis Enrique has brought the French-born Aymeric Laporte in from the international wilderness, called up the exceptional Marcos Llorente, and assembled an all-star midfield, but the forwards lack options.

Villarreal’s Gerard Moreno looks set to lead the line for the three-time European Championship winners, but Alvaro Morata does not inspire confidence and most of the options have not had consistent spells of good form this season.

Their recent stalemate against Portugal in Madrid is a clear example of their struggles in the final third.

Regardless, La Roja is a clear favourite to win this group and have a home advantage for their games.

SWEDEN

Finally, we come to Sweden.

The Swedes are bringing one of the oldest sides to the European Championships this summer with an average age of 29.2.

Their goalkeeping options inspire as much confidence as their backline would – not a lot.

Their most exciting play will take place on the wings and through the middle, where the best of their talents resides.

Emil Forsberg and Dejan Kulusevski are available on either side of their centre-midfielders while Robin Quaison, Jordan Larsson, Marcus Berg, and Alexander Isak can all play through the middle.

Sweden has failed to beat many of the heavy hitters in Europe over the recent years but poses a strong threat to their competition in Group E.

Group E Fixtures:

Poland v Slovakia Monday, 14th June 17:00.

Spain v Sweden Monday 14th June 20:00.

Sweden v Slovakia Friday, 18th June 14:00.

Spain v Poland Saturday, 19th June 20:00.

Sweden v Poland Wednesday, 23rd June 17:00.

Slovakia v Spain Wednesday, 23rd June 17:00

Betting

The post Euro 2020 Group E – Team by Team Preview, Fixtures, Betting, Group Table appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Mick McCarthy’s side are due to travel to Bratislava on March 26th. The winners of this tie will play either Bosnia or Northern Ireland in the final. This will be for a right to play at Euro 2020. However, Slovakian government officials have now announced a closing of the countries borders expect to those from Poland to try and limit the spread of the virus.

In a statement, Peter Lazarov, a ministry spokesperson said, “No foreign citizens will be allowed to enter Slovakia”. He continued, “At the border crossings with Poland, only Polish citizens will be allowed to enter the country,”. Schools and airports will also be shut.

The Slovakian Football Association released a statement on their official website stating, “The SFZ respects all measures already taken by state authorities and institutions in relation to the spread of Covid-19”. It continued, “As the situation surrounding the spread of coronavirus and the number of infections with this virus is increasing in Slovakia and also in neighbouring European countries. The SFZ has decided along with the Central Crisis Staff in line with measures published by the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic on social events to send a letter to UEFA”.

They said the Slovak Football Association takes full responsibility for all decisions relating to the Ireland v Slovakia game. It said it not want to risk the health of all concerned. It is obviously now looking increasingly likely that this game will not go ahead in my opinion. If it does go ahead it will be behind closed doors. But even at that I can’t see it going ahead unless there a significant improvement in the next weeks. Personally, I feel it is going to get worse before it gets better.

The post Slovakia look for play-off to be postponed appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Coleman had to be substituted after 28 minutes in the 1-1 draw with Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday. Coleman appeared to be holding his thigh leaving the field. Speaking to RTE, McCarthy said, “I think Seamus is struggling for the games. He’s got a thigh strain, a strain or a tear”. I’m told it could be four to six weeks. That will put him out if that’s the case.

McCarthy said Matt Doherty will be his replacement. Saying, “Matt Doherty is doing great”. “I was at Fulham at the weekend and Cyrus Christie came on and was excellent. But the Doc’s great. He’s doing really well.” McCarthy also was speaking about Jack Byrne, speaking to the FAI website he said, “What did impress me on the night was Jack’s ability to see a pass and make the pass. Plenty of players can see a pass but Jack is able to play the ball as well and that was a key factor in the game”.

McCarthy will be delighted that some of his strikers are banging in the goals. Shane Long has certainly put his hand up for selection, while Scott Hogan, Michael Obafemi and Dave McGoldrick have also been getting goals. Speaking about this McCarthy said, “Our players are scoring at just the right time as we get closer to Slovakia,”.

Ireland will travel to Bratislava on March 26th to play Slovakia. If they win they face an away game against either Bosnia or Northern Ireland for a right to play in Euro 2020.

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