England forward Wayne Rooney. (Photo : Getty Images)
Two of Europe's best teams, Slovakia and England, are set to square off at the Štadión Antona Malatinského in Trnava on Sep. 4, Sunday to open Group F matches in the first round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup UEFA qualifiers.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 6 p.m. UTC+2. It can be viewed live online thru FuboTV.
Slovakia and England are with Scotland, Slovenia, Lithuania, and Malta in a tough Group F, but the two teams are the favorites to compete for the outright World Cup berth at the end of this opening round of qualifiers. Both participated in the Euro 2016 tournament last June and were also both eliminated in the round-of-16 stage.
Slovakia has head coach Ján Kozák at the helm with team captain and former Liverpool standout Martin Škrtel, who recently joined Turkish side Fenerbahçe, leading the players. Skrtel is joined by Hertha Berlin's Peter Pekarik, Napoli's Marek Hamsik, and AC Milan's Juraj Kucka as some of the most notable players in the squad.
The Falcons were eliminated by Germany, 0-3, in the knockout stage of the Euros last June in a game held at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, as per SkySports.
After earning a spot in the last 16 by topping the ranking of third-placed teams, the Slovakians were paired with Die Nationalelf and were not able to score a single goal against the reigning World Cup champions.
Meanwhile, powerhouse England had an embarrassing campaign in the Euros as one of the favorites to at least reach the quarterfinals of the said tourney.
Instead, they were eliminated by lowly Iceland, 1-2, at the Stade de Nice in the final match of the round-of-16 competitions, The Guardian reported.
The consequences were serious as manager Roy Hodgson immediately resigned from his post after the game.
New head coach Sam Allardyce, formerly of Sunderland in the Premier League, is now keen on giving his team enough preparation and a clear identity to their game, things that former boss Hodgson said to have failed to provide his squad before this summer's Euros.
Team captain Wayne Rooney is back in this tournament together with the country's other top-notch stars such as Tottenham's Harry Kane, Eric Dier, and Dele Alli, Manchester City's Raheem Sterling and John Stones, Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge and Adam Lallana, Rooney's Manchester United teammates Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw, and goalkeeper Joe Hart, who is now on loan to Torino.
Prediction and Predicted Lineup
The predicted result is a 2-1 decision for England.
Slovakia starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Kozacik; Pekarik, Skrtel, Durica, Gyomber; Hrosovsky, Skriniar, Hamsik; Kucka, Duris, Weiss
England starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Hart; Walker, Cahill, Smalling, Rose; Alli, Dier, Rooney; Sturridge, Kane, Sterling
