The Slovakia goalkeeper ready to challenge the Red Devils at the Euro: “Kevin De Bruyne is a genius, but we must not be afraid of Belgium”
The Devils’ first opponent at Euro 2024 intends to rely on its collective to take control in their duel on Monday.
Published on 06/13/2024 at 4:48 p.m.
Martin Dubravka, starting goalkeeper of the Slovak national team, prefaced the match against Belgium next Monday (6 p.m.) in Frankfurt, during a press point Thursday noon at the base camp of the Slovak selection, in Mainz.
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The Newcastle goalkeeper was full of praise for Kevin de Bruyne. ” He’s a genius. You never know what he’s going to do on the field. For me, he is certainly one of the best players in the world. He sees football differently. He can make passes that no one else sees. Few footballers have the same skills as him,” said the 35-year-old goalkeeper, who crossed paths with De Bruyne several times in the Premier League, whose comments were relayed by the Slovak federation.
However, the native of Zilina, Czech Republic, does not want to overstate his respect for the Red Devils. “We must not be afraid of the Belgians. It’s a different type of competition. I have already played against many Belgian stars in the past. Our advantage over them will certainly be the collective. However, only the progress of the match will determine if we are in good shape,” added the man with 43 caps for Slovakia.
The goalkeeper, who passed through Manchester United during the 2022-2023 season, also has a plan to counter Romelu Lukaku. “We have to ignore the fact that it’s Lukaku. I’m not going to prepare to face him in particular. I will prepare for each Belgian player in the same way. They have a team full of stars, who have incredible individual qualities. »
After their meeting against the Red Devils on Monday, Slovakia will face Ukraine on June 21 in Düsseldorf (3:00 p.m.) before finishing their group stage against Romania on June 26 (6:00 p.m.) in Frankfurt.
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