15:36
Paulo Sousa speaks
“First of all, we know we represent the whole of Poland,” he said. “We want to come back to our base with smiles. Monday will be one of the most important days of my coaching career. I thank God that football gave so much to me and to my family. I am really glad that I can participate in Euro 2020.
“All the players we brought with us are fit and ready. We have a good team and hope to come back to Poland with three points after the first game. I don’t have any big doubts about the first XI, maybe one or two players.”
15:33
Stefan Tarkovic speaks
“I am so glad all my players are healthy,” said Slovakia’s coach. “The whole team are ready and motivated to be successful. The game will be a challenge for us. Paper assumptions are not important for me. I will be happy if we leave the field with our heads up and if we show our fans we came here to fight for our country.”
15:30
Today’s match officials
Ovidiu Hategan leads a largely Romanian team of match officials. With no VAR in the Romanian league, Italy’s Marco Di Bello will be in the TV bunker keeping his eyes peeled.
- Referee: Ovidiu Hategan (Romania)
- Referee’s assistants: Radu Ghinguleac and Sebastian Gheorghe (Romania)
- Fourth official: Istvan Kovacs (Romania)
- VAR: Marco Di Bello (Italy)
15:30
Early team news
Poland have had to leave several key personnel at home, with manager Paulo Sousa forced to plan without the services of injured defenders Krystian Bielik and Arkadiusz Reca, as well as strikers Krzysztof Piatek and Arkadiusz Milik. The latter pair’s absence may prompt their manager to play Lewandowski up front on his own, rather than with a partner.
Slovakia winger Ivan Schranz is his manager’s believed to be his manager Stefan Tarkovic’s only injury concern. The 27-year-old from Slavia Prague has been struggling with a thigh injury.
15:23
Euro 2020 Group E: Poland v Slovakia
Completed eight years late and at a mere 548% over budget, the Saint Petersburg Stadium in Russia will be at half it’s 61,000 capacity as it hosts this afternoon’s Group E opener between Poland and Slovakia.
Both nations come into the tournment on decidedly uninspiring runs of form but in Robert Lewandowski, the Poles boast the world’s most lethal striker. In Milan Skriniar and Marek Hamsik, Slovakia boast a couple of international household names of their own but will start as outsiders in this match. Kick-off is at 5pm (BST) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
