After four unsuccessful tries Slovenia finally tasted victory at the Bonifika Stadium in its fifth match played there. Even more important is the fact that the team ended its five-friendly match losing streak. And all that thanks to the Celje-connection of Benjamin Verbič-Roman Bezjak, which provided the winning goal against Macedonia in the 58th minute. With that Slovenia also ended its dry scoring spell in international friendlies which lasted 548 minutes.
Was Slovenia creative enough and dangerous enough in its attacks? "We had three clear cut chances in the first half. There may have not been enough shots on goal in the second half. Would you like to see more shots on goal? Me too, I agree. We have a lot of room for improvement. Well actually it's not a question of how much room we have, but we have to improve. Personally I'm not pleased with the way we pass the ball around and then send it to the back."
Against Macedonia coach Katanec tried out an attacking 4-3-3 formation hinting that Slovenia would try play that way in its upcoming autumn qualification matches for the World Cup 2018. The tactical formation included a lot of newcomers in the team, but what surprised many was that Iličić and Birsa did not get to play together, despite their career seasons in the Italian Serie A. Will that be the future practice or was this just an experiment? "Josip Iličić knew already before the match that he would only play 45 minutes and that Vatler Birsa would play the other 45 minutes. We're still a long way from September."
"If I see courageous players, who dare to play one on one and make passes... I'll put even five up front. But on the other hand they also have to be able to defend, depending on their positions. If Jojo (Josip Iličić) and Valter are in good physical condition to play for 90 minutes twice in three days, I'll be more happy than anyone else. We'll have to divide the minutes, and we really have no problems when it comes to that," is how Katanec tried to convince the press and public that he would demand and advocate an attacking style of football - something the fans of Slovenia's national football team also want to see.
