National team

Benes named in Slovakia’s final EUROs squad

The 26-year-old has been listed in his national team’s final squad ahead of this summer’s European Championships. Benes spoke in an interview after finding out the good news.

HSV midfielder Laszlo Benes has made it into Slovakia’s final squad for EURO 2024, which will be hosted in Germany this summer. After bagging 13 goals and providing eleven assists, the 26-year-old was the player with the fifth most goal contributions in the second division during the 23/24 campaign, and is now set to attend his second ever European Championships this year. Slovakia will be based in Mainz for the EUROs, and will use the Bruchwegstadion to complete their preparations before the tournament commences and while it is ongoing.

“It will certainly be very special”

Slovakia are set to take on Belgium, Romania and Ukraine in the group stage, which will begin in the coming weeks. Playing in a European Championships hosted in Germany will definitely be special for Benes, who has made 21 appearances for his country and scored one goal so far. “It’s a big deal to have been selected. It’s that bit more special for me, as I’ve been playing in Germany for the last eight years now. I can speak the language and know a lot about the culture and cities,” explained the midfielder in an interview. His first European Championships were, however, slightly out of the ordinary, after the tournament was delayed for a year and held with many restrictions in place due to the Coronavirus pandemic. “My first EUROs were impacted by corona, but even then, you were still able to experience the special atmosphere and sense the significance of the tournament. However, I do think that it will be even cooler this time round,” he explained. “The fans are back and the EUROs are being held in a football-crazy country like Germany. Football comes first here - so many people love the game. It will certainly be very special.”

“Football comes first here - so many people love the game.”

“Laci” and his teammates have big ambitions for the 17th European Championships, which will commence on June 14th when Germany take on Scotland in Munich. “We’ve made considerable progress over the past few years and have now qualified for the EUROs for the third time in a row. That’s a huge achievement. We have a great team made up of strong individual players and have every chance of being successful in the tournament,” shared Benes, impressed by the quality on display from the Slovakia side.

They are, however, fully aware of the challenge that lies ahead of them in Group E. “Belgium are definitely the favourites to win the group. Romania have progressed a lot over the past few years and deservedly earned their qualification for this year’s tournament. Ukraine play a great standard of football and have some players in top clubs around Europe, so we can expect to face some strong opponents,” he confessed. Benes is, however, hoping to be involved in the quarter-final fixture scheduled to take place at his stomping ground of the Volksparkstadion. “There’s definitely a chance that we’ll get there. It’s possible, and would be really special for me to represent my national team here at the Volksparkstadion,” revealed the midfielder, who has many fond memories of watching Slovakia as a child.