Soccer Slovakia – Russia – coaches’ reactions / Tarkovič, Karpin – ŠPORT.sk

For the 0: 1 loss in Kazan to Russia, the Slovaks’ chances of advancing are only in the category of miracles, but they want to try a revenge in two days in Osijek, Croatia, against the reigning vice-champions of the world.

Štefan Tarkovič’s charges dropped to fourth place in the table, with the leading duo Croatia-Russia already losing seven points, while only nine of them remained in the game. Only the winner of the group will advance directly to Qatar for the final tournament, the team in the second place fights in the draw. After the match in Croatia, the Slovaks will start on November 11 in Trnava against Slovenia and three days later they will finish their qualification in Malta.

“Zborná” took the lead in the 24th minute after the own goal of the stopper Milan Škriniar. After all, it was the only goal of the duel, when the guests did not take advantage of several good chances. “It’s hard for me to judge the match. We really had a lot of chances and we were very close to winning. Unfortunately, we didn’t like it there. If we played another half, we would definitely score a goal. If we change the chances against Croatia, we can be successful. “ said winger Lukáš Haraslín at a post-match press conference.

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Qualifying match for WC 2022 Russia – Slovakia.

Source: reuters

The Slovaks were a better team in the match, they had the ball more often on their feet, the Russians were only sporadically dangerous. Coach Štefan Tarkovič stated immediately after the match that under his lead the players gave the best performance, but the ending was the weakness of his charges.

“It is a great disappointment for us. We played the match knowing we had to succeed. We gave better performance among the sixteen than in the home measurement of forces with this opponent. The Russians played very well organized, but unfortunately, we did not show what we should have in its penalty area. We were able to assert ourselves in combination in the fourth match in a row, but we also have to be effective and we have to work on that. “ said the coach of Slovaks.

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Ivan Schranz had the best chance of having a match in the second half, Lukáš Haraslín hadn’t pushed through a quick break before. “I have nothing to blame the players for. I can’t say they wouldn’t. We were more dominant, but in the final phase we did not change opportunities. When we are more efficient, we will collect points, but at the moment it is not so, “ added Štefan Tarkovič.

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WC 2022 Qualification: Russia – Slovakia: Russian players celebrate after the match

Source: reuters

The home helmsman Valerij Karpin was much happier after the match, who lacked several supports. The Russians managed even without them, although they did not dazzle with their performance. In the end, they did not collect in the fourth match in a row.

Valerij Karpin praised the game of Slovaks: “We can’t play all four matches well. I have to say that now we were lucky, plus the dexterity of the defenders and the goalkeeper. Fortunately, you need to earn. The players showed up as a team. The football god gave us everything, luck turned to us. Slovakia has created a good chance, they have not created that much in the three previous matches. “