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Photo: Peter Morrison / TT NEWS AGENCY
Slovakia to the final of the European Championship after the thriller.
Triple defensive errors resulted in three goals in the playoff drama in Belfast.
Slovakia made the best use of them and went through overtime and 2-1 against Northern Ireland in the European Championship.
There, Marek Hamsik and his teammates will face Sweden on June 19.
In playoff games, it’s important to avoid mistakes.
But in front of 1,060 home fans, George Saville actually did it with a back kick that released Juraj Kucka, who ran away from Jonny Evans.
Parma midfielder Kucka coolly made it 1-0 for visiting Slovakia after 17 minutes of play.
Receipt haunted
Then it was a matter of chasing a draw with the classic British style of play in Northern Ireland without the home team taking particularly advantage of many scoring chances.
But in the end, the enforcement and public support paid off, after another big mistake.
Paddy McNair got strong on the right wing with just three minutes left in regular playing time, registered the ball and close to the goal, Interstar Milan Skriniar failed to 1-1 in their own area.
The drama in front of the enthusiastic audience at Windsor Park in Belfast was expanded.
But there, the home team’s European Championship dreams were shattered after a decisive third mistake for the match.
On a Slovak counterattack in the 110th minute, Jonny Evans accounted for a fumble by substitute Michal Duris to put Slovakia 2-1 low and strong at the near post of Northern Ireland goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell.
Meets Sweden in Dublin
Slovakia, led by team captain and former Napoli star Marek Hamsik (now in the Chinese Dalian Pro), qualified for both the 2010 World Cup and the 2016 European Championship final.
According to the European Championship schedule, Sweden will now face Slovakia in the second group match, on June 19 in Dublin, unless the European Championship is rescheduled due to the crown pandemic.
▪▪▪
How closely did the players of the Swedish national team follow the playoffs and the upcoming opposition of the Swedish European Championship?
Some were probably in control, some even more, but then in the other European Championship qualifying drama.
Dejan Kulusevski’s parents hail from North Macedonia and the Juventus star has played two international matches and scored three goals for the country’s U-16 national team before deciding on Sweden.
Kulusevski was asked about playoff games Thursday afternoon:
– I just hope that North Macedonia goes to the European Championship, he said and showed that it is good to have the heart in two places.
Kulusevski came to cheer. National icon Goran Pandev, 37, scored the only goal away from Georgia and led North Macedonia to the first final of the country’s championship.
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