Jambor, Kóša and Ujlaky. What does the Slovak team look like at EURO U19 2022?
TRNAVA. They will experience the prestigious tournament at home. In the second half of June, Slovak youths will play the European Under-19 Football Championship (June 18 – July 1, 2022).
At the stadiums in Trnava, Dunajská Streda, Banská Bystrica or Žiar nad Hronom, the greatest talents of France, Italy, Romania or England, Serbia, Israel and Austria are presented.
There are 26 players in the wider nomination of Slovakia, the final 20-member menoslov will be announced to the head coach Albert Rusnák the Elder on Friday, June 17, the day before the first match.
Let’s imagine all Slovak football hopes.
Goalkeepers
Filip Baláž
Age: 18 years (August 12, 2003)
Club: MFK Dukla Banska Bystrica
The goalkeeper of the Banská Bystrica youth made his debut among men in the memorable cup quarter-final against Dunajská Streda last April. He completely trampled the then top scorer of the league, Eric Ramírez, and with his performance he deserved Dukla’s progress to the semis.
He also got the opportunity against the Slavs. He still has three matches in the Slovnaft Cup and one in the II. league.
Adam Hrdina
Age: 18 years (February 12, 2004)
Club: ŠK Slovan Bratislava
In a club like Slovan, it is not easy for a young offspring to get into the line-up and gain experience in the senior period. However, the young goalkeeper Hrdina has the potential to imitate Dominic Greif or Daniel Kiss.
The hero got into the three poles of the A-team at a young age, despite numerous competitors (Adrián Chovan, Michal Šulla, Matúš Ružinský and other young men from the academy Martin Trnovský, Tomáš Rybár and others).
Already in the 2020/21 season, he repeatedly got on the bench and collected several starts in the jersey of the second league junior. In the last year, he caught a fortune-winning and a cup match in the first team, while in both of them he scored a clean sheet. In the national team, he captured 270 minutes in the same way as Baláž.
Adam Danko
Age: 18 years (June 27, 2003)
Club: FK Železiarne Podbrezová
In the past two years (2021-2022) he has caught in five of the twelve duels of the national team under 19, he has the most starts of all goalkeepers and the most minutes (405). Dovedna got a chance for up to six different young goalkeepers.
Danko started with football in Banská Bystrica, he also went through the Spartak Academy in Trnava, he has been wearing the Podbrezová jersey for three years. In the end, he has one more start in the second league, but in the last six months he has been hampered by injury plans for which he had to take a break.
Defenders
Samuel Kopásek
Age: 19 years (May 22, 2003)
Club: MŠK Žilina
The right defender of Žilina was a stable element of the team’s lineup in the Youth Champions League, the autumn match with PAOK Thessaloniki even led as captain. He scored six starts in the second league, since the winter he has been a member of the A-team Žilina, in which at the end of the season he collected three hundred first league minutes in four meetings and signed the first professional contract.
He played regularly in the national team matches last year and has a minute (777 minutes) behind him, he was missing for health problems in two of this year’s preparatory matches.
Jakub Luka
Age: 18 years old (August 18, 2003)
Club: MFK Ružomberok
The young tracker made his debut in the Fortuna League at the end of last season, he currently has ten premier league starts at the end and all of them in the starting line-up. In the last league round, he also scored a goal assist against Seredi (3: 1).
Luka is the leader of the Slovak national team under the age of 19, in the last two years (2021-2022) he has missed only one match of the national team and has to find a minute – 891 minutes out of eleven matches.
Samuel Magda
Age: 18 years (July 2, 2003)
Club: FC Košice