Big leaps for eastern European trio after major coups

   

The qualifying matches for UEFA EURO 2016 in France caused a considerable reshuffling of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking in October. Teams from eastern Europe in particular performed well last month to take big jumps up the global standings. Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia were all absent from the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ but nevertheless managed to get the better of some illustrious opponents recently. 

For instance, in Maribor Slovenia recorded a 1-0 home victory over Switzerland, who reached the Round of 16 at the World Cup, and also beat Lithuania 2-0 away. As a result coach Srecko Katanec’s side leapt 17 places to 36th. Katanec’s tactical expertise and his team’s flexibility were evident in both games: against Switzerland he lined his charges up in a 4-4-2 formation with a midfield diamond, and switched to a 4-2-3-1 a few days later against Lithuania, fielding former Cologne forward Milivoje Novakovic as the lone striker. The victories mean the Little Dragons moved to within touching distance of their all-time highest ranking of 15th, achieved in October 2010.

Huge upsets

Slovakia reached their best placing of 16th a month before that in September 2010, but slipped as far down as 65th in October 2013. However, good results last month allowed Jan Kozak’s charges to jump 16 places to 24th in the ranking. Slovakia’s 2-1 victory over dethroned world champions Spain was the primary reason they banked so many points.

“I’m absolutely beside myself,” Kozak said after the final whistle. “We performed fantastically well in front of a sold-out stadium. I’m sure we’ve given our fans plenty to cheer about. It’s a very special victory for us; after all, Spain hadn’t lost a qualifying match for eight years. Today my players outdid themselves.”

Slovakia followed up that display with a 3-1 win away to Belarus in Borisov to go top of the Group C standings with nine points from three games. If they continue to play as well in their next assignments, Slovakia could edge even closer to their highest-ever ranking.

Poland managed to pull off an ever greater coup by defeating the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking leaders Germany 2-0 in Warsaw thanks to a disciplined defensive display coupled with swift counter-attacks. The victory over their neighbours and reigning world champions was a historic one, as Poland had never managed to beat Germany in 18 previous attempts. A few days later, Poland played in Warsaw again and drew 2-2 with Scotland.

Next major tournaments in sight

“We’ve beaten Germany for the first time ever and are over the moon,” said a visibly proud Lukasz Piszczek, who plays in Germany’s Bundesliga. “In the stadium you could see how much that means to the people in the country. We’ve made history. We waited for our chances on the break and it paid off, even if we had a little bit of luck. That we were able to make the most of our opportunities made all the difference.”

The defender’s sense of euphoria was shared by the Polish media, with Fakt.pl writing: “You have just witnessed history in the making. A huge victory for Poland. Germany, world champions and unbeaten in European Championship qualification since 2007, were brought to their knees. A historic triumph for our Polish players. You are incredible!”

The win meant that the team captained by Robert Lewandowski, who also plays in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, climbed 26 places to 44th. Just over a year ago Poland slumped to their worst-ever ranking of 78th, but have steadily improved in recent months and have picked up consistently good results.

After missing out on Brazil 2014, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia are now all determined to qualify for EURO 2016. “I hope we get to the European Championship in France - that’s our main objective,” Slovenian defender Miso Brecko told the Kolner Stadt-Anzeigernewspaper a few days ago. The three teams have shown that football is moving forward in eastern Europe, a trend that makes the prospect of the 2018 World Cup in Russia all the more intriguing.