Slovenia national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Slovenia women's national football team.
Slovenia
Association Nogometna zveza Slovenije (NZS)
Confederation UEFA (Europe)
Head coach Srečko Katanec
Captain Boštjan Cesar
Most caps Boštjan Cesar (82)[1]
Top scorer Zlatko Zahovič (35)[1]
Home stadium Arena Petrol (Celje)
Ljudski vrt (Maribor)
Stožice (Ljubljana)
FIFA code SVN
FIFA ranking 47 Increase 1 (9 April 2015)
Highest FIFA ranking 15 (October - November 2010)
Lowest FIFA ranking 134 (December 1993)
Elo ranking 53 (31 March 2015)
Highest Elo ranking 28 (November 2001)
Lowest Elo ranking 87 (November 1993)
First colours
Second colours
First international
Unofficial
 Slovenia 0–5 France 
(Ljubljana, Kingdom of Yugoslavia; 23 June 1921)
Official
 Estonia 1–1 Slovenia 
(Tallinn, Estonia; 3 June 1992)
Biggest win
 Oman 0–7 Slovenia 
(Muscat, Oman; 8 February 1999)
Biggest defeat
 France 5–0 Slovenia 
(Saint-Denis, France; 12 October 2002)
World Cup
Appearances 2 (First in 2002)
Best result Group stage, 2002 and 2010
European Championship
Appearances 1 (First in 2000)
Best result Group stage, 2000

The Slovenia national football team is the national football team of Slovenia and is controlled by the Football Association of Slovenia. The team played its first match in 1992 after the split of Yugoslavia in 1991.

Slovenia was a surprise qualifier for UEFA Euro 2000, when they beat Ukraine in a playoff. The team then drew with Yugoslavia and Norway, and lost to Spain 2–1. Slovenia achieved another major success two years later, qualifying for the 2002 World Cup, this time defeating Romania in a playoff. The team did not lose a match in its whole qualifying campaign, recording six wins and six draws, but not scoring any points in the group stage of the finals.

Despite failing to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, it was the only team to beat eventual winner Italy with a 1–0 victory on home turf. In 1995 Slovenia played Italy to a 1–1 draw in the qualifying campaign for UEFA Euro 1996. In November 2009, Slovenia defeated Russia in a playoff to clinch a berth in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[2]

History

Origins

Before Slovenian independence in 1991, the Slovenian national team existed only as a regional team not officially recognized by FIFA. It had a similar status as the Catalonia national football team or Kosovo national football team. The team had mostly played exhibition matches against teams from other republics of SFR Yugoslavia and was represented by Slovenian players under the traditional colours of white, blue and red.

The first football clubs were formed at the beginning of the 20th century during the period when most of the territory of present-day Slovenia was still within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At the end of the World War I, Slovenia, along with Croatia, joined the Kingdom of Serbia forming the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which would be renamed into Yugoslavia in 1929. On April 24, 1920, the Ljubljana Football Subassociation was formed as the Slovenian branch of the Yugoslav Football Association and organised the first football leagues. The winner of the Ljubljana Subassociation League had access to the Yugoslav Championship. On June 23, 1921 the Slovenian capital Ljubljana hosted a match between the French national team and selection of players from Slovenian clubs. The Chef de Mission of the guests was the acting FIFA President, Jules Rimet, who later initiated the first World Cup tournament. France won 5–0 and, although the match was not official by international standards, it was, at least in Slovenia, widely accepted as the first appearance of a Slovenian national team.[3]

Independence (1991–1998)

In 1991, Slovenia was the first of the republics, alongside Croatia, to gain independence from Yugoslavia. With the recognition of the new country by the international community the team was recognized also by FIFA and UEFA. The new Slovenian national football team played its first FIFA-recognized game on 3 June 1992 in Tallinn against Estonia. The match ended in a 1–1 draw, with Igor Benedejčič scoring the first goal for the new team. The first coach of the team was Bojan Prašnikar.

It was not until its third game on 7 April 1993 that the team achieved its first international victory by defeating Estonia 2–0 at the ŽŠD Stadium in Ljubljana, with goals scored by Samir Zulič and Sašo Udovič.

From 1994–1997 the team coach was Zdenko Verdenik, who was the first to lead the team through qualifications for a major tournament. In a group with Italy, Croatia, Ukraine, Lithuania and Estonia the team had mild success, winning three games and taking eleven points on ten matches for the Euro 1996 qualifications.

Verdenik also coached the team through qualifications for France 1998. In a tough group with Croatia, Denmark, Greece and Bosnia and Herzegovina the team finished last with only one point on eight matches and a goal differential of −15.

Afterwards, Verdenik was sacked and Bojan Prašnikar was named as the Slovenian coach for the second time. At the time he was also the head coach of the Slovenian top club Maribor and was given an ultimatum from the NZS that he could only coach one team. He decided in favor of Maribor, which later turned out to be a good decision, as he led the club to the UEFA Champions League group stages only two seasons later. NZS appointed Srečko Katanec as the head coach.

Srečko Katanec and Zlatko Zahovič period ('Golden' generation)

Srečko Katanec immediately started to implement his tactics of defensive play with hard work ethic to the players of the national team and the results was seen quickly as the team started to play better.

Euro 2000 qualifications campaign

The first qualifications for the new coach were for UEFA Euro 2000. Slovenia was drawn into a group with Norway, Greece, Latvia, Albania and Georgia. With excellent performances under the guidance of the new coach and with terrific performances from Zlatko Zahovič, who scored eight out of twelve goals, the team secured 2nd position two rounds before the end of qualifications.

Second place in the group meant that the team was to play additional qualifications with an opponent that was to be decided by UEFA in a draw. Slovenia got somewhat lucky with a draw as they were picked to play with Ukraine. The first leg against Ukraine was played in Ljubljana Slovenia won 2–1 after trailing at the half. Zlatko Zahovič scored the first goal, bringing his total in the qualifications campaign to nine. Milenko Ačimovič added a spectacular second, late in the game from more than 40 meters. The second leg was played in snowy conditions in Kiev. Sergei Rebrov scored in the 68th minute, equalised by Miran Pavlin ten minutes later. The 1–1 draw meant that Slovenia won 3–2 on aggregate and qualified on its first major tournament.

Euro 2000

For its first major tournament, Slovenia was drawn into group C together with Spain, Yugoslavia and Norway. Despite being an outsider Slovenia showed the international community that it can play top level football and was by many one of the most pleasant surprises of the tournament. Almost 30,000 fans from Slovenia gathered to see their national team play in three matches on Euro 2000. At the end Zlatko Zahovič was considered one of the best players on the tournament.

In the first game of the group Slovenia stunned Yugoslavia and took a 3–0 lead after one hour of play, with Zlatko Zahovič scoring twice and Miran Pavlin once. After the red card of Siniša Mihajlović it looked like the team would have won its first game, but then Yugoslavia made a dream comeback as they scored three goals in only six minutes. The final result was 3–3.

The second game was played in Amsterdam against Spain. Spain took the 1–0 lead quickly as Raúl scored. Slovenia equalised after one hour of play as Zlatko Zahovič scored his third goal of the tournament. Spain then took the lead again after only sixty seconds as Joseba Etxeberria scored a goal winner. 13,000 Slovenian fans gathered to see the match in Amsterdam Arena, which is still a record for the most Slovenian spectators on a football game outside Slovenia.

In the last round of the group stage Slovenia played against Norway and still had theoretical chances to progress to the quarterfinals. At the end the game was a goalless draw and the team won its second point of the tournament.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Spain 320165+16
 Yugoslavia 31117704
 Norway 31111104
 Slovenia 302145−12

World Cup 2002 qualifications campaign

For the World Cup 2002 Slovenia was drawn into a group together with Russia, Yugoslavia, Switzerland, Faroe Islands and Luxembourg. Zlatko Zahovič was once more the man behind the success of the team as he scored four goals and made numerous assists to lead his team to second place, which meant that the team had again qualified to the playoffs.

In the playoffs Slovenia played a high flying Romania, with other possible opponents such as Germany, Czech Republic and Turkey.

The games with Romania was similar to the ones against Ukraine in the playoffs two years earlier. The first leg was again played in Slovenia and again the away team scored a goal in the first half to take the lead. However, this time Slovenia managed to equalise with the goal from Milenko Ačimovič in the first half. In the second half Milan Osterc scored a spectacular goal and Slovenia won the game 2–1. In the second leg in Bucharest the first half finished with 0–0 and at the beginning of the second Slovenia took the lead with a goal from Mladen Rudonja, which was the first and only goal from the striker in 65 caps for the national team. Romanians equalised with a goal scored by Cosmin Contra with 25 minutes remaining. The final result was 1–1 and Slovenia was qualified to its second consecutive major tournament and first ever World Cup.

Through the whole qualifications campaign Slovenia played a total of 12 games and was undefeated with a total of 6 wins and 6 draws.

World Cup 2002

Slovenia played in the group B with Spain, Paraguay and South Africa. All matches in this group were played in South Korea.

On the first game Slovenia played against Spain for the second time in a row on a major tournament. Under heavy rain Spain took the lead late in the first half with the goal from Raúl. Valerón added a second 15 minutes before full-time for a 2–0 lead. Then seven minutes later Sebastjan Cimirotič managed to score the first World Cup goal for Slovenia to reduce the score to 2–1, giving Slovenia some hope. That hope was soon shattered when Fernando Hierro scored a penalty goal in 87 minute for the final score of 3–1. This match is infamous in Slovenia due to the conflict between coach Srečko Katanec and player Zlatko Zahovič in the dressing room after the game, which resulted in Zlatko Zahovič being sent home and Srečko Katanec's resignation after the tournament. After this conflict the team was not the same and they capitulated on its two remaining matches against South Africa (1–0) and Paraguay (3–1). Milenko Ačimovič scored the second goal for Slovenia on the tournament.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Spain 330094+59
 Paraguay 31116604
 South Africa 31115504
 Slovenia 300327−50

Bojan Prašnikar period

After the resignation of Srečko Katanec, Bojan Prašnikar was named as head coach for the third time.

Euro 2004 qualifications campaign

Slovenia played a solid qualifications campaign for the Euro 2004. Grouped with France, Israel, Cyprus and Malta, the team finished second and managed to qualify for its third consecutive playoffs.

This time Slovenia had to play its neighboring country as the draw set a duel against Croatia. The first leg was played in Zagreb and Croatia managed to get in the lead as Dado Pršo scored a goal in the 5th minute. Slovenia however fought back as Ermin Šiljak equalised only 15 minutes later. The match finished 1–1. In the second leg played in Ljubljana the first half finished with no goals. Then 15 minutes into the second Dado Pršo scored again and Croatia took the lead. Later Slovenia, despite the fact that Croatia played the last minutes with 10 players due to a red card, did not produce any quality chances and the match finished 1–0 in favour of Croatia. That meant that Croatia qualified on Euro 2004 with the score 2–1 on aggregate. Bojan Prašnikar was later criticised by the media and the fans for his defensive tactics as Slovenia only managed to take one shot on target during the two playoff games. Prašnikar was later replaced by Branko Oblak.

Ermin Šiljak scored a total of eight goals in the whole campaign, thus becoming the best goalscorer of the whole UEFA zone qualifications.[4]

Branko Oblak period (decline)

When Branko Oblak took charge of the Slovenian national team there were almost no more players from the era of Srečko Katanec as most of them retired from football or in the case of Zlatko Zahovič were scratched by the coach himself. Therefore the new coach had a difficult job finding new players that could compete on the same level as the ones that played for the team in the past decade. This is the main reason why Branko Oblak in his two years as the coach of the national team tried out over 40 different players.

He led the team through the qualifications for World Cup 2006 in Germany. In a group with Italy, Norway, Scotland, Belarus and Moldova the team achieved a victory over Moldova and Italy and a draw against Scotland, thus winning seven points in the first three games. Later however the team won only five points on the remaining matches and finished in fourth place.

Branko Oblak also coached the team at the beginning of the qualifications for Euro 2008. In a group with Netherlands, Romania, Bulgaria, Belarus, Albania and Luxembourg the team quickly lost its qualification hopes with two heavy defeats by Bulgaria (3–0) and Belarus (4–2) and a 2–0 win over Luxembourg after a poor performance. Oblak had lost the support from the media and fans some time ago and he was sacked and replaced by Matjaž Kek.

Matjaž Kek period

After Matjaž Kek took charge the national team was in similar situation as in 1998 when Srečko Katanec took charge. On the bottom, having lost the faith from both the media and the fans. With the qualification hopes for Euro 2008 virtually lost Kek decided to build his team slowly. At the beginning the results were not much better than at the time when Branko Oblak left and Kek was under a lot of pressure because of that. After the campaign for the Euro 2008 was finished it was even speculated that he will be replaced by a well known Italian coach of Slovenian origin Edoardo Reja.[5] In the end that did not happen and Kek was given a chance to prove himself in a qualifications for World Cup 2010.

World Cup 2010 qualifications campaign

Slovenia was drawn into a group with Czech Republic, Poland, Northern Ireland, Slovakia and San Marino.[6] Slovenia held Poland to a 1–1 draw in Wrocław[7] and then won its first two home games against Slovakia (2–1)[8] and Northern Ireland (2–0),.[9] Slovenia then won only one point[10] in the two games with the Czech Republic and lost away against Northern Ireland,[11] when they got back on track with the home 5–0 victory over San Marino.[12] After that the team really started to play well as they beat Poland at home (3–0)[13] and defeated Slovakia in Bratislava (2–0) who were at the time the main contenders for the first place.[14] In the last round Slovenia needed a win over San Marino (3–0) and a draw/loss of Slovakia in Poland to clinch the first position. Slovakia however won the away game in Poland with 1–0[15] and therefore Slovenia finished on second position and was headed to the playoffs[16] for the fourth time in history.

Slovenia did not have much luck when the draw appointed Russia as their opponent for the playoffs.[17] Russia had high hopes as it did well at the Euro 2008 and with Guus Hiddink leading them everything seemed at reach for Russia. Other possible opponents were France, Portugal and Greece.

The first leg was played in Moscow and Russia played well as they had the lead 2–0 up until 88 minute when a substitute Nejc Pečnik scored a goal that gave hope for Slovenia.[18] In the second leg that was played in Maribor Slovenia was dominant through the first half but only managed to score once as Zlatko Dedič scored at the end of the first half. That goal however turned out to be a decisive one as the score remained 1–0 to the end of the match. The final score of the playoffs against Russia was 2–2 aggregate and Slovenia qualified due to the away goals rule.[19] Slovenia was the only unseeded team that managed to qualify from the playoffs.

The main scorer for the national team was Milivoje Novaković with 5 goals. Slovenia did particularly well on home games that were played in Maribor as the team managed to achieve five victories and a draw with a total goal difference 13–1.

World Cup 2010

Match vs. USA at the 2010 WC

Slovenia were drawn into Group C alongside England, Algeria and the USA. Slovenia won their opening game against Algeria in Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane 1–0, Robert Koren scoring Slovenia's goal.[20] In their second game against the United States, Slovenia were leading 2–0 at half time with Valter Birsa and Zlatan Ljubijankič scoring for Slovenia, however Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley scored for the USA for the score to finish 2–2. In their last match in the preliminary round, Slovenia lost to England 0–1 by a goal from Jermain Defoe. Because the United States beat Algeria with the only goal scored in the 92nd minute of the match, the Slovenian team was eliminated.

Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 United States 3 1 2 0 4 3 +15
 England 3 1 2 0 2 1 +15
 Slovenia 3 1 1 1 3 3 04
 Algeria 3 0 1 2 0 2 −21

2014 FIFA World Cup qualifications campaign

Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Switzerland 10 7 3 0 17 6 +1124
 Iceland 10 5 2 3 17 15 +217
 Slovenia 10 5 0 5 14 11 +315
 Norway 10 3 3 4 10 13 −312
 Albania 10 3 2 5 9 11 −211
 Cyprus 10 1 2 7 4 15 −115
  Albania Cyprus Iceland Norway Slovenia Switzerland
Albania  — 3–1 1–2 1–1 1–0 1–2
Cyprus  0–0 — 1–0 1–3 0–2 0–0
Iceland  2–1 2–0 — 2–0 2–4 0–2
Norway  0–1 2–0 1–1 — 2–1 0–2
Slovenia  1–0 2–1 1–2 3–0 — 0–2
Switzerland   2–0 1–0 4–4 1–1 1–0 —

Euro 2016 qualifications campaign

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification England Slovenia Switzerland Lithuania Estonia San Marino
1  England 5 5 0 0 15 1 +14 15 Advance to final tournament — 3–1 8 Sep 4–0 9 Oct 5–0
2  Slovenia 5 3 0 2 10 4 +6 9 14 Jun — 1–0 9 Oct 8 Sep 6–0
3   Switzerland 5 3 0 2 11 3 +8 9 Final tournament or play-offs 0–2 5 Sep — 4–0 3–0 9 Oct
4  Lithuania 5 2 0 3 3 10 −7 6 12 Oct 0–2 14 Jun — 1–0 8 Sep
5  Estonia 5 1 1 3 1 5 −4 4 0–1 1–0 12 Oct 5 Sep — 14 Jun
6  San Marino 5 0 1 4 0 17 −17 1 5 Sep 12 Oct 0–4 0–2 0–0 —
Updated to match(es) played on 27 March 2015. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

Stadium

Slovenia does not have a national stadium, and through history the national team was rotated among various stadia across the country. The team has played home matches in 8 different cities so far. The current policy of Slovenian FA is that home matches of the national teams are fairly distributed among the two biggest cities in the country, Ljubljana and Maribor while also a stadium in Celje is considered for future matches. There are four main stadiums in three different cities in the country that the team has played the majority of its matches or will play in the future.

Bežigrad Stadium (past)

Main article: Bežigrad Stadium

Bežigrad stadium is located in the capital city of Ljubljana and was the main stadium until 2004, when UEFA banned it due to insufficient infrastructure. The stadium was built in 1935 and up until now it hosted a total of 27 matches of the national team, which is the most then any other stadium in the country. It has a total capacity of 8,211 and was the main venue of the national team in the qualifications for Euro 2000 and 2002 World Cup, in which Slovenia qualified, and the qualifications for Euro 2004 when the team secured 2nd position in the group and then lost in playoffs.

Currently the stadium is closed for renovation. Plans are for the stadium to be completely renovated by 2012 when it could once again serve as a home venue for the national team. However this is unlikely as there is a brand new stadium that was recently built in Ljubljana and has a capacity of 16,038 seats.

Ljudski vrt

Main article: Ljudski vrt

Ljudski vrt is situated in Maribor, Slovenia's 2nd largest city and is known of being the home ground of the most successful club in the country NK Maribor. After the renovation of the stadium in 2008 the ground became the main venue of the national team and Slovenia played their first match there after nearly a decade. The stadium current capacity is 12,994 covered seats.[21] Ljudski vrt was the main home venue in the qualifications for World cup 2010 where Slovenia did particularly well as the team won five and draw one home matches with goal difference 13–1. The stadium was also one of two main venues for the Euro 2012 qualifications.

Arena Petrol

Main article: Arena Petrol

Arena Petrol is a stadium located in Celje, the 3rd largest city of Slovenia. It was built in 2003 onwards in separate phases and was the main venue for the national team in the qualifications for World cup 2006 and Euro 2008. The stadium is not popular among the fans as it is build in English style with four separate stands and many fans argue that is the reason for lack of atmosphere during matches. The capacity of the stadium is 13,006 seats from which only around 50% are covered. Slovenia played 17 matches on this stadium, with the last one played in 2013. Former president of Slovenian FA (Ivan Simič) announced that the stadium will be in consideration for the national team matches in the future.

Stožice Stadium

Main article: Stožice Stadium

Stadion Stožice is a brand new stadium located in the capital city of Ljubljana. The stadium has a capacity of 16,038 seats and will be one of the main venues for the national team in the future. The opening match was played in August 2010 against Australia, which was won 2–0. The stadium was one of two main venues for the Euro 2012 qualifications.

Kit

Kit provider

The current kit provider of the national team is Nike since January 1, 2007, which has a contract with the team until December 31, 2016.[22] Before that the kit providers were Puma, Adidas, Uhlsport and Kappa.

Kit provider Period
Adidas 1992 – 1994
Puma 1994 – 1997
Adidas 1997 – 2000
Uhlsport 2001 – 2003
Kappa 2003 – 2006
Nike 2007 – present

Colours controversy

Slovenia home kit until 1994 (Adidas)
Classic Kit (1994–2011)
|
1994–1995 (Puma)
World Cup 1998 Qualifiers Home Kit (Puma)
|
UEFA Euro 2000 Home (Adidas)
|
UEFA Euro 2000 Away (Adidas)
|
World Cup 2002 Home (Uhlsport)
|
World Cup 2002 Away (Uhlsport)
|
Home - Slovenia (Kappa 2005)
|
Away - Slovenia (Kappa 2005)
|}

Up until 1992 when Slovenia was not affiliated to either FIFA or UEFA the team played its matches in the traditional colours of Slovenian nation white, blue and red.[23] After independence and recognition by FIFA and UEFA the team continued to play in the same colours up until 1994,[23] when the board of Slovenian FA decided to change the colours to white and green, which are the traditional colours of the capital city of Ljubljana and also of the most successful club at the time NK Olimpija which was based in the same city.

Because of that fact and the fact that green was never the national colour of Slovenian nation many people had argued that the new combination was inappropriate and a movement was started to return the colours back to where they were from the start. Claims to return the national team colours back to white, blue and red were especially strong in the eastern and northern part of the country (Specifically in Carinthia and in Styria) and according to various surveys conducted after 1994 throughout the country some two thirds of the people did not support the white and green combination and wanted a change (in the eastern part of the country the number of people who opposed the combination was sometimes in excess of 80%).[24] This is the reason why a new board of Slovenian FA, that came to power at the start of 2009 immediately opted for a change of the colours. In December 2009 the board voted for the change of the jersey colours and from 2012 onwards[25] the main colours of the team are white for home and blue for away matches.

In February 2011 it was again confirmed, by the Football Association of Slovenia, that the jersey colours will change in 2012 and that the kit provider, Nike, has already started to design the national team jerseys in white, blue and red.[26]

In April 2012, Nike revealed the redesigned Slovenia kits. The strip is all white with a blue and green trim.[27] The new away kit is all baby blue with a green and white trim.[28]

Nickname

Slovenia does not have a nickname and was according to media the only team on World Cup 2010 without one.[29] During World Cup 2010 qualification there were attempts from the home journalists to pick the nickname for the team, but that was not well taken among the fans as most of them feel that a process to obtain a nickname should occur naturally.[30][31]

Recently, there were some articles abroad that suggested that the team is called The Dragons,[32][33] however that is not the case in Slovenia as that is the sign only of the capital city of Ljubljana and a nickname of NK Olimpija from the same city and has nothing to do with the country itself. The idea of The Dragons is not well taken among the fans and is not used either by home media or the fans nor is it used by the fans of NK Olimpija themselves. However, due to the long tradition of NK Olimpija playing in Yugoslav football league some football fans from former Yugoslav republics (Serbia)[34] use this nickname to describe the Slovenian national team. However, things change just across the border as The Dragons is one of the nicknames that is used by Bosnian media and fans to describe their own national football team.[35] The generation behind coach Srečko Katanec and star player Zlatko Zahovič is still referred to as the golden generation.[36]

Schedule and results

Recent and upcoming games

Date Location Opponent Score Competition Slovenia scorers
29 February 2012 Koper, Slovenia  Scotland 1–1 F Kirm  33'
26 May 2012 Kufstein, Austria  Greece 1–1 F Kurtić  87'
15 August 2012 Ljubljana, Slovenia  Romania 4–3 F Cesar  4', Dedić  51' (pen.), 60', Kirm  70'
7 September 2012 Ljubljana, Slovenia   Switzerland 0–2 2014 FIFA World Cup Q
11 September 2012 Oslo, Norway  Norway 1–2 2014 FIFA World Cup Q Šuler  16'
12 October 2012 Maribor, Slovenia  Cyprus 2–1 2014 FIFA World Cup Q Matavž  38', 61'
16 October 2012 Tirana, Albania  Albania 0–1 2014 FIFA World Cup Q
14 November 2012 Skopje, Macedonia  Macedonia 2–3 F Pečnik  49', 63'
6 February 2013 Ljubljana, Slovenia  Bosnia and Herzegovina 0–3 F
22 March 2013 Ljubljana, Slovenia  Iceland 1–2 2014 FIFA World Cup Q Novaković  34'
31 May 2013 Bielefeld, Germany  Turkey 2–0 F Novaković  11', Matavž  65'
7 June 2013 Reykjavik, Iceland  Iceland 4–2 2014 FIFA World Cup Q Kirm  11', Birsa  31' (pen.), Cesar  61', Krhin  85'
14 August 2013 Turku, Finland  Finland 0–2 F
6 September 2013 Ljubljana, Slovenia  Albania 1–0 2014 FIFA World Cup Q Kampl  19'
10 September 2013 Nicosia, Cyprus  Cyprus 2–0 2014 FIFA World Cup Q Novaković  12', Iličić  80'
11 October 2013 Maribor, Slovenia  Norway 3–0 2014 FIFA World Cup Q Novaković  14', 15', 49'
15 October 2013 Bern, Switzerland   Switzerland 0–1 2014 FIFA World Cup Q
19 November 2013 Celje, Slovenia  Canada 1–0 F Birsa  53'
5 March 2014 Blida, Algeria  Algeria 0–2 F
4 June 2014 Montevideo, Uruguay  Uruguay 0–2 F
7 June 2014 La Plata, Argentina  Argentina 0–2 F
8 September 2014 Tallinn, Estonia  Estonia 0–1 UEFA Euro 2016 Q
9 October 2014 Maribor, Slovenia   Switzerland 1–0 UEFA Euro 2016 Q Novaković  79' (pen.)
12 October 2014 Vilnius, Lithuania  Lithuania 2–0 UEFA Euro 2016 Q Novaković  33',  37'
15 November 2014 London, England  England 1–3 UEFA Euro 2016 Q Henderson  57' (o.g.)
18 November 2014 Ljubljana, Slovenia  Colombia 0–1 F
27 March 2015 Ljubljana, Slovenia  San Marino 6–0 UEFA Euro 2016 Q Iličić  10', Kampl  49', Struna  50', Novaković  52', Lazarević  73', Ilić  88'
30 March 2015 Doha, Qatar  Qatar 0–1 F
14 June 2015 Ljubljana, Slovenia  England UEFA Euro 2016 Q
5 September 2015 Switzerland   Switzerland UEFA Euro 2016 Q
8 September 2015 Maribor, Slovenia  Estonia UEFA Euro 2016 Q
9 October 2015 Ljubljana, Slovenia  Lithuania UEFA Euro 2016 Q
12 October 2015 Serravalle, San Marino  San Marino UEFA Euro 2016 Q

Squad

Current squad

Squad for the UEFA 2016 Euro qualifying match against San Marino and friendly match against Qatar.
Caps and goals updated as of 30 March 2015 after the match against Qatar.

# Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 GK Samir Handanović 14 July 1984 75 0 Italy Internazionale
12 GK Jan Oblak 7 February 1993 5 0 Spain Atlético Madrid
16 GK Nejc Vidmar 6 June 1990 0 0 Slovenia Domžale
5 DF Boštjan Cesar (Captain) 9 July 1982 82 6 Italy Chievo
2 DF Mišo Brečko 1 May 1984 74 0 Germany 1. FC Köln
6 DF Branko Ilić 6 February 1983 58 1 Serbia Partizan
15 DF Andraž Struna 23 April 1989 19 1 Greece PAS Giannina
4 DF Dominic Maroh 4 March 1987 7 0 Germany 1. FC Köln
3 DF Siniša Anđelković 13 February 1986 5 0 Italy Palermo
21 DF Martin Milec 20 September 1991 4 0 Belgium Standard Liège
13 DF Petar Stojanović 7 October 1995 3 0 Slovenia Maribor
25 DF Luka Krajnc 19 September 1994 1 0 Italy Cesena
10 MF Valter Birsa 7 August 1986 71 5 Italy Chievo
17 MF Andraž Kirm 6 September 1984 67 6 Cyprus Omonia
7 MF Josip Iličić 29 January 1988 28 2 Italy Fiorentina
8 MF Jasmin Kurtić 10 January 1989 24 1 Italy Fiorentina
20 MF Kevin Kampl 9 October 1990 16 2 Germany Borussia Dortmund
22 MF Aleš Mertelj 22 March 1987 15 0 Slovenia Maribor
14 MF Dejan Lazarević 15 February 1990 15 1 Italy Sassuolo
19 MF Rajko Rotman 19 March 1989 6 0 Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir
18 MF Željko Filipović 3 October 1988 4 0 Slovenia Maribor
24 MF Nik Omladič 9 September 1989 1 0 Germany Eintracht Braunschweig
9 MF Benjamin Verbič 27 November 1993 1 0 Slovenia Celje
11 FW Milivoje Novaković 18 May 1979 68 29 Japan Nagoya Grampus
23 FW Robert Berić 17 June 1991 6 0 Austria Rapid Wien
23 FW Tim Matavž 12 January 1989 29 10 Germany FC Augsburg
23 FW Roman Bezjak 21 February 1989 6 0 Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Slovenia squad in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Vid Belec 6 June 1990 1 0 Turkey Konyaspor v.  Colombia on 18 November 2014
DF Erik Janža 21 June 1993 0 0 Slovenia Maribor v.  Colombia on 18 November 2014
DF Gregor Balažic 12 February 1988 2 0 Serbia Partizan v.  Lithuania on 12 October 2014
DF Mitja Viler 9 January 1986 0 0 Slovenia Maribor v.  Lithuania on 12 October 2014
DF Miral Samardžić 17 February 1987 3 0 Croatia Rijeka v.  Lithuania on 12 October 2014
DF Bojan Jokić 17 May 1986 68 1 Spain Villarreal v.  Argentina on 7 June 2014
MF Nejc Pečnik 3 January 1986 27 4 Japan JEF United v.  Colombia on 18 November 2014
MF Dalibor Stevanović 27 September 1984 20 1 Russia Torpedo v.  Colombia on 18 November 2014
MF Goran Cvijanović 9 September 1986 3 0 Croatia Rijeka v.  Colombia on 18 November 2014
MF Damjan Bohar 18 October 1991 1 0 Slovenia Maribor v.  Colombia on 18 November 2014
FW Zlatan Ljubijankić 15 December 1983 44 6 Japan Urawa Red Diamonds v.  Colombia on 18 November 2014
FW Džengis Čavušević 26 November 1987 1 0 Switzerland St. Gallen v.  Colombia on 18 November 2014
FW Ivan Firer 19 November 1984 1 0 Slovenia Rudar Velenje v.  Argentina on 7 June 2014

Previous squads

FIFA World Cup squads
UEFA European Football Championship squads

Competition history

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Position
1930–1994 Part of  Yugoslavia
France 1998 Did not qualify 8 0 1 7 5 20 5/5
South Korea Japan 2002 Group stage 30th 3 0 0 3 2 7 12 6 6 0 20 11 2/6 Won Playoff
Germany 2006 Did not qualify 10 3 3 4 10 13 4/6
South Africa 2010 Group stage 18th 3 1 1 1 3 3 12 7 2 3 20 6 2/6 Won Playoff
Brazil 2014 Did not qualify 10 5 0 5 14 11 3/6
Russia 2018 To Be Determined
Qatar 2022
Total Group stage 2/20 6 1 1 4 5 10 52 21 12 19 69 61

European Championship record

UEFA European Championship UEFA Euro Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Position
1960–1992 Part of  Yugoslavia
England 1996 Did not qualify 10 3 2 5 13 13 5/6
Belgium Netherlands 2000 Group stage 13th 3 0 2 1 4 5 12 6 3 3 15 16 2/6 Won Playoff
Portugal 2004 Did not qualify 10 4 3 3 16 14 2/5 Lost Playoff
Austria Switzerland 2008 12 3 2 7 9 16 6/7
Poland Ukraine 2012 10 4 2 4 11 7 4/6
France 2016 To Be Determined 3 2 0 1 3 1
Europe 2020 To Be Determined
Total Group stage 1/14 3 0 2 1 4 5 55 20 12 23 64 67

Statistics

Still active players are in bold.

Most appearances

# Name NT Career Caps Goals
1 Boštjan Cesar 2003– 82 6
2 Zlatko Zahovič 1992–2004 80 35
3 Samir Handanovič 2004– 75 0
4 Aleš Čeh 1992–2002 74 1
Milenko Ačimovič 1998–2007 74 13
Mišo Brečko 2004– 74 0
7 Džoni Novak 1992–2002 71 3
7 Valter Birsa 2005– 71 5
9 Bojan Jokić 2006– 68 1
9 Milivoje Novaković 2006– 68 29
Last updated: 30 March 2015. Statistics include official FIFA-recognised matches only.

Top goalscorers

# Name NT Career Caps Goals Average
1 Zlatko Zahovič 1992–2004 80 35 0.44
2 Milivoje Novaković 2006– 68 29 0.43
3 Sašo Udovič 1993-2000 42 16 0.38
4 Ermin Šiljak 1994–2005 48 14 0.29
5 Milenko Ačimovič 1998–2007 74 13 0.18
6 Tim Matavž 2009– 29 10 0.34
Primož Gliha 1992–1998 28 10 0.36
8 Zlatko Dedič 2004– 48 8 0.17
Milan Osterc 1997–2002 44 8 0.18
10 Zlatan Ljubijankič 2006– 44 6 0.14
Sebastjan Cimirotič 1998–2005 33 6 0.18
Nastja Čeh 2001–2007 46 6 0.13
Klemen Lavrič 2004–2008 25 6 0.24
Andraž Kirm 2007– 67 6 0.09
Boštjan Cesar 2003– 82 6 0.07
Last updated: 30 March 2015. Statistics include official FIFA-recognised matches only.

Managers

Name NT Career Played Won Drawn Lost Win % Drawn % Lost % Achievements
Slovenia Prašnikar, BojanBojan Prašnikar 1991–1993 4 1 2 1 25.00 50.00 25.00
Slovenia Verdenik, ZdenkoZdenko Verdenik 1994–1997 32 10 8 14 31.25 25.00 43.75
Slovenia Prašnikar, BojanBojan Prašnikar 1998 5 1 1 3 20.00 20.00 60.00
Slovenia Katanec, SrečkoSrečko Katanec 1998–2002 47 18 16 13 38.30 34.00 27.70 2000 Euro; 2002 World Cup
Slovenia Prašnikar, BojanBojan Prašnikar 2002–2004 16 6 3 7 37.50 18.75 43.75 2004 Euro Qualifying Play-offs
Slovenia Oblak, BrankoBranko Oblak 2004–2006 23 6 7 10 26.10 30.40 43.50
Slovenia Kek, MatjažMatjaž Kek 2007–2011 49 20 9 20 40.82 18.37 40.82 2010 World Cup
Slovenia Stojanovič, SlavišaSlaviša Stojanovič 2011–2012 9 2 2 5 22.22 22.22 55.56
Slovenia Katanec, SrečkoSrečko Katanec 2013– 20 9 0 11 45.00 00.00 55.00
Last updated: 30 March 2015. Statistics include official FIFA-recognised matches only.

Home venues record

Venue City Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA Win % Drawn % Lost %
Bežigrad Ljubljana 27 14 5 8 45 34 51.85 18.51 29.62
Ljudski vrt Maribor 21 14 2 5 41 18 66.66 9.53 23.81
Arena Petrol Celje 17 6 3 8 16 19 35.29 17.65 47.06
Stožice Ljubljana 13 5 1 7 18 18 38.46 7.69 53.85
Fazanerija Murska Sobota 2 1 0 1 3 4 50.00 0 50.00
Sports Park Nova Gorica 2 0 0 2 2 7 0 0 100
ŽŠD Ljubljana Ljubljana 2 1 1 0 3 1 50 50 0
Sports Park Domžale 1 1 0 0 1 0 100 0 0
Bonifika Koper 3 0 1 2 2 5 0 33.00 67.00
Stanko Mlakar Kranj 1 0 0 1 1 4 0 0 100
Last updated: 27 March 2015. Statistics include official FIFA-recognised matches only.

All-time team record

Against Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD
 Albania 7 4 2 1 5 2 +3
 Algeria 2 1 0 1 1 2 –1
 Argentina 1 0 0 1 0 2 –2
 Australia 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2
 Austria 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2
 Belarus 4 1 2 1 5 6 −1
 Belgium 2 0 1 1 0 2 −2
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 0 0 4 4 10 −6
 Bulgaria 2 0 0 2 0 5 −5
 Canada 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1
 China PR 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
 Colombia 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1
 Ivory Coast 1 0 0 1 0 3 −3
 Croatia 8 0 3 5 8 15 −7
 Cyprus 8 5 2 1 15 6 +9
 Czech Republic 5 1 1 3 2 6 −4
 Denmark 4 0 0 4 1 11 −10
 England 3 0 0 3 2 6 −4
 Estonia 8 5 1 2 9 5 +4
 Faroe Islands 4 3 1 0 9 3 +6
 Finland 2 0 1 1 1 3 –2
 France 3 0 0 3 2 10 −8
 Georgia 4 1 2 1 5 4 +1
 Germany 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1
 Ghana 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2
 Greece 5 0 2 3 3 11 −8
 Honduras 1 0 0 1 1 5 −4
 Hungary 4 3 0 1 5 3 +2
 Iceland 4 3 0 1 15 7 +8
 Israel 3 1 2 0 4 2 +2
 Italy 7 2 1 4 3 5 −2
 Latvia 3 2 0 1 3 2 +1
 Lithuania 3 1 0 2 4 4 0
 Luxembourg 4 4 0 0 9 1 +8
 Macedonia 3 0 0 3 3 9 −6
 Malta 4 3 1 0 7 1 +6
 Mexico 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1
 Moldova 2 2 0 0 5 1 +4
 Montenegro 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
 Netherlands 2 0 0 2 0 3 −3
 New Zealand 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2
 Northern Ireland 4 1 1 2 2 2 0
 Norway 7 1 1 5 7 14 −7
 Oman 2 2 0 0 11 0 +11
 Paraguay 1 0 0 1 1 3 −2
 Poland 5 1 2 2 4 5 −1
 Qatar 2 1 0 1 4 2 +2
 Romania 8 2 3 3 10 13 −3
 Russia 5 2 1 2 6 7 −1
 San Marino 3 3 0 0 14 0 +14
 Saudi Arabia 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2
 Scotland 3 0 2 1 1 4 −3
 Serbia 6 1 5 0 9 8 +1
 Slovakia 4 2 2 0 5 2 +3
 South Africa 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1
 Spain 2 0 0 2 2 5 −3
 Sweden 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1
  Switzerland 8 2 1 5 6 14 −8
 Trinidad and Tobago 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2
 Tunisia 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1
 Turkey 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2
 Ukraine 4 2 2 0 6 4 +2
 United Arab Emirates 2 0 2 0 3 3 0
 Uruguay 2 0 0 2 0 4 −4
 United States 2 0 1 1 4 5 −1
 Wales 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
Last updated: 30 March 2015. Statistics include official FIFA-recognised matches only.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Vsi igralci | NZS. Nzs.si. Retrieved on 8 September 2012.
  2. ↑ "Slovenia 1–0 Russia: Major shock for Hiddink". ESPN. 18 November 2009. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
  3. ↑ Brief history - Our Roots and Comebacks at Slovenian Football Association official website, retrieved 2-10-2014
  4. ↑ Ermin Šiljak obesil kopačke na klin :: Prvi interaktivni multimedijski portal, MMC RTV Slovenija. Rtvslo.si. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
  5. ↑ Italijan s slovenskimi koreninami Edoardo Reja novi trener splitskega Hajduka | Dnevnik. Dnevnik.si (13 October 2011). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
  6. ↑
  7. ↑ Poland-Slovenia 1:1. Has Leo Lost It? – Poland. Poland.worldcupblog.org. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
  8. ↑ najboljša ekipa na spletu. Ekipa (27 August 2008). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
  9. ↑ "Slovenia 2–0 Northern Ireland". BBC News. 11 October 2008.
  10. ↑ Točka, velika kot Triglav – Planet. Siol.net (28 March 2009). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
  11. ↑ "N Ireland 1–0 Slovenia". BBC News. 1 April 2009.
  12. ↑ Slovenija premočna za San Marino – Planet. Siol.net (12 August 2009). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
  13. ↑ FIFA World Cup 2010 – Slovenia-Poland –. Uefa.com. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
  14. ↑ Slovakia 0–2 Slovenia: Slovenes Keep Hopes Alive As Slovakia Stumble. Goal.com (10 October 2009). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
  15. ↑ Poland-Slovakia 0:1. Dancing On Ice. – Poland. Poland.worldcupblog.org. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
  16. ↑ Slovenija San Marino premagala s 3:0, a bo igrala v dodatnih kvalifikacijah | Dnevnik. Dnevnik.si (13 October 2011). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
  17. ↑ Slovenija bo v dodatnih kvalifikacijah igrala z Rusijo | Dnevnik. Dnevnik.si (13 October 2011). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
  18. ↑ "Diniyar Bilyaletdinov brace gives Russia slender advantage". The Guardian (London). 14 November 2009.
  19. ↑ Slovenia 1–0 Russia (2–2 agg.) This is the first time in European playoff history that a team loses first leg comes back and qualifies for the world cup. : Slovenia Qualify For World Cup With Historic Russia Win. Goal.com (18 November 2009). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
  20. ↑ World Cup Match Preview: Algeria vs Slovenia – FIFA World Cup 2010 – ESPN Soccernet. Soccernet.espn.go.com. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
  21. ↑ NK Maribor. "Ljudski vrt: Info" (in Slovenian). NK Maribor official website. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  22. ↑ "NZS in Nike še šest let" (in Slovenian). NZS.si. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Se reprezentanca vrača h koreninam? – Planet. Siol.net (9 December 2009). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
  24. ↑ "Kiks: Ameriški mediji "podžigajo" osamosvojitev Štajerske". silo (in Slovenian) (Večer). 9 November 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  25. ↑ Nogometaši od leta 2012 v novih dresih :: Prvi interaktivni multimedijski portal, MMC RTV Slovenija. Rtvslo.si. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
  26. ↑ "Na svidenje, bela in zelena" (in Slovenian). Ekipa.org. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  27. ↑ "New Slovenia Kit 2012-2013- Nike Slovenia Home Shirt 12-13". Football Kit News. April 17, 2012. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
  28. ↑ "Slovenia Nike 2012/13 Away Kit". FOOTBALL FASHION.ORG. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
  29. ↑ Od Olsenove bande do Piratske ladje – Planet. Siol.net (22 December 2009). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
  30. ↑ Black Gringos: Zakaj bi vzdevek sploh morali imeti?. Facebook (17 January 2010). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
  31. ↑ Green Dragons: Več kot besede povedo dejanja – Planet Siol.net. 89.143.249.33 (14 January 2010). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
  32. ↑ Slovenia: Zmajceki (Dragons) | Blogs. Vanity Fair. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
  33. ↑ Ferguson pozabil na Slovenijo, za Reuters "zmajčeki" :: Prvi interaktivni multimedijski portal, MMC RTV Slovenija. Rtvslo.si. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
  34. ↑ Srbski strah pred glasnimi Slovenci: Slovenija je še brez zmage proti reprezentancam, ki so nastale po razpadu Jugoslavije | Dnevnik. Dnevnik.si (7 September 2010). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
  35. ↑ Jedanaest najskupljih "Zmajeva": Reprezentacija Bosne i Hercegovine vrijedna 94 miliona eura. 24sata.info. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
  36. ↑ Zlata generacija se poslavlja. Demokracija.si (22 September 2010). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.

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