Almost six years without a loss in friendly matches: The last one occurred a long time ago, when Boštjan Cesar bid farewell
Photo: Matic Klanšek Velej / Sportida
It’s true that since the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) introduced battles under the umbrella of the Nations League, there have been considerably fewer friendly matches than before. Nevertheless, Slovenia can still boast a really nice achievement: they haven’t lost a friendly match in almost six years! They extended this streak even in Malta, although it didn’t end exactly as we hoped – 2:2.
Anyway, Slovenia last lost on March 27, 2019, when they faced Belarus in the Stožice Stadium in front of 4327 spectators. It was the farewell of the legendary Boštjan Cesar, who made his 102nd appearance for Slovenia, but left the field after a few minutes and gave his place to Luka Krajnc. Belarus spoiled Cesar’s farewell, and the match ended 2:0 for the visitors. Slovenia’s lineup included Belec, Cesar, Krhin, Iličić, Kurtić, Berić, Birsa, Jokić, Kampl, Milec, Mitrović, and later Krajnc, Zajc, Bezjak, Črnigoj, Šporar.
After the loss to Belarus and until the match with Malta, where once again Boštjan Cesar was in the spotlight, Slovenia then defeated Montenegro twice in friendly matches, and once each San Marino, Gibraltar, Romania, and the United States of America. It also drew with Azerbaijan, North Macedonia, Croatia, and Qatar. It has been 2186 days since its last defeat, and interestingly, it broke a streak of three consecutive wins in friendly matches in Malta.
However, amidst all this, the key question naturally arises: will the undefeated streak still be intact after the upcoming match with Portugal, who will undoubtedly be a much tougher opponent than Malta? Well, if Slovenia manages to come out unscathed, it will celebrate 6 years without a loss in friendly matches the next day.
This text was automatically translated using AI.
Author: editorial Football Planet
National Team
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