Jaroslav Kentosh prepares to lead his Slovak U-21 side into battle as tournament hosts face five-time champions "Spain" in the opening match of Euro 2025 on June 11 in Bratislava.
"Hosting this tournament gives us a unique opportunity to show our progress against Europe's elite," Kentosh likely told his squad during final preparations at Tegelné pole stadium.
The 51-year-old coach, who has been at the helm since January 2020, faces a difficult challenge against Santi Denia's "La Rojita" – one of the tournament's main favorites alongside Germany. For Slovakia, this marks just their third appearance at the U-21 European Championship, and their second as hosts.
Their previous hosting duties in 2000 saw the "Sokolyata" finish fourth overall after losing the third-place match to Spain. More recently, Slovakia qualified for the 2016 tournament but narrowly missed the semifinals despite collecting six points in the group stage.
Interestingly, Slovakia defeated Spain 2-0 in a March 2024 friendly, but recent form suggests the hosts may struggle. Kentosh's men haven't recorded a victory since October 2024, when they beat Wales 4-2. Their five most recent matches against fellow Euro participants yielded three defeats and two draws.
Santi Denia, who led Spain to Olympic gold in Paris last year, brings impressive pedigree to the tournament. After guiding the U-19s to European glory in 2019, he took over the U-21s and led them to the final of the previous European Championship, where they suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to England.
Spain cruised through qualification, winning nine of ten matches with an impressive 27:4 goal difference. However, they've hit a rough patch in 2025, drawing with the Czech Republic (2-2), losing to Germany (1-3), and most recently suffering an unexpected 1-0 defeat to Ukraine.
To make matters worse, "La Rojita" will be without talented winger Jeremai, who was forced to withdraw from the squad due to injury. Aston Villa's Andres Garcia has been called up as his replacement.
The match kicks off at 19:00 local time, with the Bratislava crowd hoping their side can repeat last year's friendly success rather than the historical trend – Spain has won seven of eight previous official meetings between these nations at this age level.
Can the hosts capitalize on home advantage and spring an opening day surprise? The odds favor Spain, but tournament openers have a habit of producing unexpected results.
