Slovakia expects different Germany than it beat in friendly
LILLE, France (AP) - Slovakia did it before, and now they have a chance to do it again.
Getting ready for its first European Championship as an independent nation, Slovakia beat world champion Germany 3-1 in a warm-up match in Augsburg on May 29.
On Sunday, they will meet again with a spot in the Euro 2016 quarterfinals on the line.
"They'll be more focused," Slovakia coach Jan Kozak said. "It's hard to expect them that with such an experience with us, they would be less concentrated on the match, which is something that sometimes happens to big teams when they play a team like us."
In France, the Slovaks recovered from their opening loss to Wales in Group B by beating Russia 2-1 and holding England to a 0-0 draw, securing the point they needed to advance in that last match.
Germany, which won the World Cup in 2014 and is one of the favorites at Euro 2016, won its group with two wins and a draw.
"They are the world champions and won their group without conceding a goal, that says it all," Kozak said. "It's a typical tournament team. They have their group under control. They know how to play big tournaments. They are aware that Euro 2016 begins for them only with the game against us."
Germany's defense, led by Jerome Boateng and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, has been impossible to break through in France, but Slovakia knows that the German attack struggles at times to transform scoring opportunities into goals.
Slovakia's well organized defense, anchored by Liverpool central defender Martin Skrtel, will be looking to exploit that German weakness.
In Augsburg, Germany rested Neuer, Mesut Ozil, Thomas Mueller, Lukas Podolski and Toni Kroos but still managed to take a 1-0 lead when Mario Gomez converted from the penalty spot.
Marek Hamsik equalized before Michal Duris and Juraj Kucka gave Slovakia the surprise victory in a match briefly suspended by rain and played on a water-logged field.
On Sunday, Germany will be back to full strength on a newly laid field Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille.
"It's an experienced team, which is formed first of all by the players from the Bundesliga, one of the top leagues in the world," Kozak said. "And they have others from Real Madrid, Arsenal and Juventus. So, we know who we face - a top class opponent."