HU
We talked to our Slovenian U21 striker about his qualification for the European Championship and Sunday's match against FTC.
Congratulations on your goal against Austria in the U21 national team and also for qualifying for the European Championship. Was there much celebration after the game last Friday?
Thank you very much on behalf of the team! It was a historic moment for us, because we have never fought for the U21 qualification for the European Championship on the pitch before. In 2021, our U21 team was at the European Championship, but we were co-hosts with Hungary and we were the hosts of the tournament, but now we have managed to win the right to play at the European Championship next year. After the 1-1 draw against Austria, we were still quietly celebrating because, although by all accounts we had secured qualification with a draw, for some reason the UEFA website still said on Monday that Slovenia had not yet qualified for the tournament. In the end, we didn't need to do the maths, because on Tuesday night the French lost 2-1 at home to the Austrians, and we qualified for the tournament as group leaders.
Obviously, such a success, especially since it was your goal that secured Slovenia's place in the European Championship, will give you a lot of confidence, which you might need as we play FTC on Sunday. It's true that it's always important for a striker to score and my goal against Austria was important, but credit must go to the whole team because we did it together. And it was really good for my confidence to finally score again. What kind of match are you expecting at the Groupama Arena early on Sunday evening? There's no need to introduce FTC to anyone, it's no coincidence that they've won the championship and played on the international stage in recent years. I've only played against FTC once before, when we lost at home in the spring, but I know that a year ago Vidi managed to win away from home against the Green and Whites. Obviously, it is very difficult to get a good result against them and our team has changed since last year, but we will not go to Üllői út with our hands up. We will prepare hard all week and do our best to get the best possible result. Personally, I would like to help the team to do that by playing well, scoring or assisting a goal. 
Author: David Rechnitzer
