Slovenians miffed
Before the ÖFB match: “It was a real slap in the face”
Slovenia's national soccer team suffered a huge blow with a 4:1 home defeat against Norway in the Nations League. Coach Matjaz Kek's team, who will host the ÖFB team in the group final in Vienna on Sunday (18:00), lost the chance to win Pool B3. Kek spoke late on Thursday evening of a deserved victory for the Norwegians and a "slap in the face for us all".
The 63-year-old Slovenian criticized his team's performance, which failed to get to grips with the strong 19-year-old double goal scorer Antonio Nusa in particular. "Not only technically and tactically, but also mentally, we weren't at our best today. It was as if we lacked the decisive spark to give everything," said Kek. Benjamin Sesko and Co. were thus defeated by Norway for the second time in five weeks, following a 3-0 defeat in Oslo.
Victory against Austria is a must
Three points behind the Scandinavians and Austria, the Slovenians are under pressure to win on Sunday to at least finish second and keep their chances of promotion to League A alive. Norway is out of reach due to the direct duels. "We have to keep our heads up. We have another tough game ahead of us in Austria and we need to put in a much better performance if we want to get a positive result," appealed 25-year-old defender Jaka Bijol, who plays in Serie A for Udinese.
A win of any kind in Vienna would mean second place after the first duel with Red-White-Red ended 1-1. Second place means participation in the play-off for promotion to the elite Nations League Group A. Norway, who play Kazakhstan at home on Sunday, will also be hoping for a slip-up from the Austrians in order to finish first.
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