In a pre-match press conference ahead of Slovakia's Europa League group stage second round match against Ukraine, Slovakia's national team head coach Karl Zona shared his team's preparations and outlook for the match.
Calzona started by mentioning the difficult experience of the team in the first match, with special reference to the excellent performance of the player Hantzko, while confirming that all the players are in good shape at the moment. He spoke highly of the Ukrainian team he will be facing, saying that they have already shown a high level of competitiveness under their new coach, and therefore the match will be very tough.
However, Calzona also emphasized that the Slovakian team has its own strengths. "Our greatest strength is humility." He said, and explained that this humility allows the team to always give their best in matches. He revealed that the team treasures every game because, as a small country, they want to bring joy to the nation through soccer matches. Karzona also mentioned how happy the team was to see the support of the many Slovakian fans during the match against Belgium and hoped that the fans would continue their support in the upcoming matches.
Talking about how to prepare mentally for the match, Calzona said that it was not difficult to get the players mentally ready. He mentioned that although the joy after defeating Belgium lasted for a few hours, the team was well aware that three points alone would not be enough to advance. Therefore, the team is now fully focused on the upcoming match against Ukraine and there is no reason to celebrate the previous victory.
