The Slovak national team posing before its match against Slovenia in Nations League. (source: TASR)
Slovakia’s national football team stands a strong chance of finishing second in Group A of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, according to the SITA newswire. The tournament will be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.
According to the analytical website Football Meets Data, which assessed the chances of all European national teams to advance to next year’s tournament, Slovakia’s footballers have a 49 percent chance of finishing second in their group, behind Germany, which has an 84 percent chance of winning it. For comparison, Slovakia has only an 11 percent chance of topping the group.
The winners of all 12 qualifying groups will automatically advance to the World Cup.
If Slovakia were to finish second, it would progress to the play-offs alongside the other 11 runners-up, competing for one of the remaining four spots allocated to European teams.
Analysts say that Northern Ireland is the main contender for second place, with a 26 percent chance of securing it.
The fourth team in Group A is Luxembourg, whose chances are estimated at just 1 percent to win the group and 13 percent to finish second.
