Strelec suffers cruel blow as friendly ends in a draw
Slovakia suffered an injury blow in their 1-1 draw against Bulgaria in their last home game before the European Championships as David Strelec was stretchered off in the final minutes and will miss the tournament.
The 20-year-old came on in the latter stages of the game and injured his thigh muscle, causing heartbreak for the forward, who will miss the upcoming Euros.
Strelec scored nine goals and added four assists in his 25 games in the Slovakian league, helping Slovan Bratislava win their third straight title.
The squad
Veteran playmaker Marek Hamsik, Hertha Berlin defender Peter Pekarik, Parma midfielder Juraj Kucka and attacking midfielder Vladimir Weiss were all named in the squad. They all featured in Euro 2016, where Slovakia reached the knockout stages.
The match
Slovakia were held to a draw on Tuesday evening, coming from behind to draw the game 1-1.
Bulgaria started brightly and nearly went ahead after six minutes when Kiril Despodov headed against the crossbar. Three minutes later, they did go ahead.
Atanas Iliev opened the scoring in the ninth minute for Bulgaria after a defensive error. It was his first ever goal for Bulgaria in his fourth cap.
#Amistoso 🇸🇰🆚🇧🇬
⚽️ [9′] GOL DE BULGARIA
Despodov robó en la salida y metió el centro atrás para Atanas Iliev, que la empujó para el 1-0 ante #Eslovaquia. pic.twitter.com/OlVAogRT5v
— Camino Mundial (@caminomundialok) June 1, 2021
In the 27th minute, Slovakia equalised after a neat move that saw László Bénes find the corner with a left-footed shot.
#Amistoso 🇸🇰🆚🇧🇬
⚽️ [27′] GOL DE ESLOVAQUIA
László Bénes sacó un zurdazo cruzado y puso el 1-1 ante #Bulgaria. pic.twitter.com/V2ucbz1UJv
— Camino Mundial (@caminomundialok) June 1, 2021
There were many changes at half-time and during the second half and the game lost its rhythm. Slovakia dominated the ball but they were unable to breach the Bulgaria defence for a second time.
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