Captain Jan Oblak emphasizes that for now, Portugal must be forgotten: He sees Malta as an opportunity to boost confidence
Photo: YouTube (NZS) - posnetek zaslona
Slovenian national team is heading to Malta, where they will play their first official match in 2024 on Thursday. The national team camp was shaken by the sad news of the death of the father of coach Matjaž Kek before departure. Consequently, he will stay home, and Slovenia will be led by Boštjan Cesar in Malta. Meanwhile, on the field, the main focus will be on Jan Oblak, who tells his teammates to forget about Portugal for now and remain entirely focused on Malta.
“There are two important matches ahead of us as part of the preparations for the European Championship. We’ve all been waiting for this. Even against Malta, the match is important, the result matters. With a good result, you can raise yourself and further boost your confidence. I believe we will show good football and be satisfied with the result in the end,” said Jan Oblak at a press conference at Brdo pri Kranju.
Jan Oblak: “Status Changes Quickly”
The Atletico star, who has been in good form lately and was chosen as the best player of the week in the elite Champions League, continued regarding the match against the “little one” of European football: “Status changes quickly in football. We qualified for the European Championship, we dreamed about it, we succeeded, but that’s in the past. We have new goals ahead of us; we must do everything to maintain our status and prepare well for the European Championship. We don’t just want to participate there but to be successful. The first two matches are crucial for confidence, and we respect every opponent. Malta is progressing, they are motivated, it won’t be an easy match. In the last qualifiers, all teams had problems against them. We can expect a tough game against Malta; they attack, play interesting football. It depends on us how much space we allow them.”
Slovenia and Malta will play their ninth encounter, and interestingly, our national team has never lost. They have won seven times, with only one match ending in a draw. Slovenia has scored 15 goals while conceding only one.
This text was automatically translated using AI.
Author: editorial Football Planet
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