On Tuesday the Slovenian football team will play qualifications for the World Championship. England, the visiting team is the undisputed favourite to win; they haven't lost in 13 consecutive qualifying matches, and have taken all the available points after the two rounds played this year, winning against Slovakia and Malta.
The press conference at Brdo near Kranj was attended by the selector Srečko Katanec and the captain of the Slovenian national team Boštjan Cesar. They answered questions posed by domestic and foreign journalists. Over 12,000 tickets have already been sold for the match, and 1,700 English fans will support their team in Stožice.
Spontaneity brought a positive result
"After a victory the ambience is always good. I think the players are well rested. We trained as much as it is necessary to train after such a match. We watched the matches England played against Slovakia, and against Malta, but just some 10 or 15 minutes, as the matches are always different, and a number of players who appeared in those matches won't be playing against us. The players saw the English players. But every match is a separate story, and you can't expect the new one to be a copy of the past one. We are as we are – at the moment we play well. I am confident that the boys will do their best, but we must wait and see whether that will result in a victory, or in a tie," the selector said at the beginning of the press conference, and continued: "I did warn the boys against too much euphoria. And it is never good to be too relaxed. They simply have to play spontaneously, and as they are used to playing; it's the only way to gain a positive result."
No team depends on an individual
Katanec believes that Slovakia and England should not be compared. "The quality of the English team is much better, in every aspect. You know the significance of Wayne Rooney ... and he is surrounded by players who function very well. They are fast young boys, in extremely good physical shape. But to avoid too much praise for the English team – when one, two or three standard players are missing from a team, new energy is introduced into the team, and some mechanisms are altered, and nothing remains the same. But it will most certainly be a very difficult match, difficult in all aspects. They are well positioned in the field, they are fast, they are strong. We will have to adapt. Our aim must be – to score. I think we are OK. This will be the second match in three days; we'll see what it means," he explained. His comment on the absent Raheem Sterling: "No team depends on an individual player. The team itself places an individual player in a good position, where he has the opportunity to show his quality. Sterling's absence is not a handicap for England, as they have other players who can replace Sterling – and not only Sterling..."
He wouldn't be surprised should Rooney sit through the match
England is not pleased with Rooney; rumour has it that he might start the match with Slovenia in Stožice from the bench. "I wouldn't be surprised. He is a team leader, a player who played a great number of matches for the national team. It is not easy to remove such a player from the national team. Wayne’s age should be considered as well; he is not on the level the press demands from him. I wouldn't be surprised should he not start the match. But in truth we don't trouble ourselves with who will and who won't play. We all have 20 players at our disposal, and we all play our cards as we choose," Katanec explained. He hopes his team will have a better start at the Tuesday match, as opposed to the last home match against England, in which the opponent created a 100% opportunity for a goal already in the first minute of the match.
Cesar: We have no intention to just defend our goal
The captain of the Slovenian national tam Cesar promised that our team will not limit itself on defense of our goal, as Malta did on Wembley – only in the 81st minute they sent the ball towards the opponent's goal for the first time! "We know that we are playing against one of the top national teams of the world football, with top players," he said. "We will start the match in fighting spirit. Of course there will be times we will have to defend our goal, as we know that the English team has fast and good players. We must play at the top level, and most certainly we will not spend our time on the field just defending our goal." The Slovenian team pays no special attention to Rooney, who is subjected to criticism at home. "He is definitely an important member of the team, its engine, and he has already proven his importance. But tomorrow we will concentrate on our performance. They have very good players, and we will have to be well prepared, and focused," he concluded.
Mitja Lisjak; Translated G. K.
