Slovakia’s three danger men who could cause England problems
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England’s latest step on their route to next summer’s World Cup is a home tie versus Slovakia.
The two sides will be familiar with each other having met twice in the last 15 months.
After a 0-0 draw in the European Championships, England needed a last-minute goal from Adam Lallana to win 1-0 in Trnava 12 months ago.
So Slovakia have proved that they’re no pushovers, and we’ve picked out the three men most likely to cause England problems under the Wembley arch…
Marek Hamsik
England manager Gareth Southgate will do well to make sure his side keep Marek Hamsik quiet.
The Napoli skipper is the most creative and talented asset in Slovakia’s squad.
He has 20 goals for his country, and last year’s wonderful strike against Russia in the Euros was a global indicator of his potent ability.
Vladimir Weiss
Plenty of English supporters will recognise Vladimir Weiss.
The winger began his career at Manchester City, before loan spells at Bolton Wanderers and Rangers.
He won a Scottish Premiership title at Ibrox, but has since plied his trade abroad. Currently in Qatar, Weiss has the ability to cut in off the flanks and cause problems, as he showed with a fine effort in that win over Russia in France.
Robert Mak
Another graduate of the Manchester City academy, Robert Mak has already shown his qualities in this qualifying campaign.
The forward netted twice against Scotland last October, and has a handy nine goals from 36 appearances for his country.
Mak made a name for himself with 20 goals in Greece for PAOK in 2015-16, prompting Zenit to pay £3.5m for him last summer.
Things in Russia didn’t work out but the 26-year-old is back at POAK on-loan and is already showing signs of rejuvenation – which could be a concern to Harry Kane and co.
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