At dawn on Wednesday (26), both matches in Group C of the UEFA Europa League ended 0-0 for the first time in the history of the European Championships, and Slovenia took the opportunity to become the first country to reach the knockout stage of an international competition (World Cup and UEFA Europa League), a feat that is undoubtedly a miracle for a small country with a population of only two million people.
Although Slovenia's opponents are not yet known, the team has already raised the cup early to celebrate. This is the first time they have stepped through the doors of an international knockout tournament since independence from the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Prior to that, Slovenia stopped at the group stage despite appearing at the 2002 and 2010 World Cups and the final week of Euro 2000. This year, they finally made the breakthrough and stepped into the knockout stages, an achievement that was significant and allowed 62-year-old leader Kike to breathe a sigh of relief.
In fact, Slovenia has a lot of talent, goalkeeper Obili plays for the La Liga giants Atletico Madrid, and goal scorer Bantjevinsko is regarded as "the new Xalante", coveted by many top clubs such as Arsenal. It is not by chance that Slovenia can become the surprise division of this year's Euro Cup.
