“We want to win, the maths is still not definite, so we’re still not excluded from the competition for second place. As long as there is a chance, we need to do our best. The players are ready and the atmosphere is good. We need to do our part and then wait for the result in Slovakia,” emphasized Srečko Katanec. The Slovenian team only has theoretical possibilities to win second place in its group and thus advancing to additional qualification round. For that, it has to win against Scotland and hope for a miracle, i.e. Slovakia failing to defeat Malta on its home ground.
Scottish fans flock to Ljubljana
“The Scots are renowned for their aggressive play, perhaps more often at home than abroad. But they’ll definitely be motivated by their numerous fans,” noted Katanec, who cannot rely on the punished Valter Birsa and Rene Krhin as well as the ill Damjan Bohar. More than 3,000 fans have arrived to support their national team in Stožice, while about the same number will cheer for them on the streets of Ljubljana. Great celebrations are expected if the team manages to qualify, since the last time Scotland played at the world championship was in 1998.
Katanec has announced that Sunday’s match would be his last as the head coach of the Slovenian team. Expect if the team manages to qualify, that is. “In this case, I’ll need to postpone some personal issues that I need to take care of. It’s a well-known fact that I speak ‘Katanese’, if I may say so jokingly, and my statement after the match against England did imply I was saying goodbye. But if we qualify, I’ll stay for as long as we’re playing,” explained Katanec.
As usually, Katanec couldn’t resist prodding the journalists. “I see now what the news about my leaving the Slovenian team has caused. Those who’ve been undermining me for the past year are absent from today’s press conference. I finally have some peace now,” argued the head coach.
Cesar’s 100th match on national team
The captain of the Slovenian football team, Boštjan Cesar, will play his jubilee 100th match in the national jersey. He is aware of the difficult position the team is in but will not give up hopes: “After the match against England, we quickly discussed the situation. It wasn’t easy to get a goal in the last minute. We were quite naturally disappointed but still satisfied with how we had been on a par with England. On Sunday we’re playing our last match, which will be a difficult one but we want to finish it with a positive result. We want to win, that’s our coach’s last game in these qualifications. We’re hoping for the best. We’re in a difficult position but determined to win for us, for him and for the entire Slovenia,” concluded Cesar.
