[2024 European Cup Slovenia]Even Small Teams Have Big Dreams! - Live

Slovenia Overview: Joined FIFA in 1992 and has participated in three world championships.

Slovenia has only participated in three World Championships in its history. This year's European Cup is also the first time it has reached the finals in 24 years. As a weak team in the European Cup, Slovenia's biggest possibility is to upset.

The Slovenian Football Association was actually established in 1920, but for special reasons, Slovenia did not join FIFA and UEFA until 1992. Slovenia's first official match was on June 3, 1992, against Estonia, and their first victory was also against Estonia, but this was already the second match between the two teams.

After joining FIFA, Slovenia faced an important qualifying match for the first time, which was the qualifying match for the 1996 European Cup in England. However, this qualifying match ultimately ended in failure. In the 1998 World Cup qualifiers, Slovenia still failed to pass the test.

In the 2000 European Championship, Slovenia beat Ukraine 3-2 in the two-legged playoff to advance to the finals for the first time. However, in the group stage, they drew 3-3 with Spain, lost 1-2 to Spain, and drew 0-0 with Norway, failing to advance from the group stage. At the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, Slovenia also successfully advanced to the finals, but lost to Spain 1-3, lost to South Africa 0-1, and lost to Paraguay 1-3 in the group stage, losing three consecutive games.

In the 2010 South Africa World Cup, Slovenia once again successfully qualified for the finals through the tough tests of the qualifiers and playoffs. Especially in the playoff against Russia, after losing 1-2 in the first leg away, they won 1-0 at home to advance. In the 2010 South Africa World Cup, Slovenia defeated Algeria 1-0 to win their first match in the tournament. They then drew 2-2 with the United States and lost 0-1 to England, failing to advance to the round of 16.

Zahovic and Novakovic are more well-known players in Slovenia's history. The two players scored 35 and 32 goals for the national team respectively. Novakovic was also a key player in helping Slovenia qualify for the 2010 South Africa World Cup. Currently, the more well-known players in the Slovenian team include goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who plays for Atletico Madrid, defender Jaka Bijol, who plays for Udinese, and forward Benjamin Sesko, who plays for RB Leipzig.

Review of the qualifiers: Advantageous grouping leads to smooth advancement

In the qualifying stage, Slovenia was grouped with Denmark, Finland, Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland, and San Marino. Because the strength of the teams in the same group is relatively balanced, Slovenia's road to advancement is also very favorable. In the first two rounds of the qualifiers, Slovenia defeated Kazakhstan and San Marino in succession. Although they lost to Finland in the third round and drew 1-1 with Denmark at home in the fourth round, they then won both matches against Northern Ireland, avenged Finland with four consecutive victories, and laid the foundation for advancement.

Coach & Player Overview: Kek Leads the Team, Team Strength Greater Than Fame

Matjaz Kek has been in charge of the team since 2018, and this is also Kek's "second entry into the palace." During the period from 2007 to 2011, Matjaz Kek served as the head coach of the Slovenian national team for the first time, leading the team to the finals of the South Africa World Cup.

In this European qualifiers, Matjaz Kek led the team to break through the pre-qualifiers for the second time, helping the Slovenian national team reach the finals of the World Championships again after 14 years, and also reach the final stage of the European Cup again after 24 years. It is also the second time in the history of the team to participate in the final stage of the European Cup.

Compared with the group's Serbia, England, and Denmark, Slovenia not only lags far behind in terms of fame, but also lags behind in strength. Although most of the players in the team play in Europe, there are few players from the top five leagues in Europe. Only including goalkeeper Jan Oblak who plays for Atletico Madrid, defender Jaka Bijol who plays for Udinese, defender Petar Stojanovic who plays for Sampdoria, midfielder Sandi Lovric who plays for Udinese, forward Benjamin Sesko who plays for RB Leipzig, and forward Sasa Kalajdzic who plays for Stuttgart.