Germany will square off against Slovakia in a round of 16 encounter of Euro 2016 at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille on Sunday. The two sides have met 10 times prior to this clash; Germany have emerged victorious seven times and Slovakia have got the better of the former three times.
Slovakia have never made it to the knockout stages of any major tournament before this apart from the World Cup 2010. And this is the second time they have done it and the Slovaks will not want to let go off this golden opportunity to progress further in Euro 2016. But in order to do so, they have a mountainous task ahead of them as they will play the World Champions Germany in the Lille on Sunday.
Germany have not been at their very best when it comes to attacking in Euro 2016. The German forwards have been criticised by their coach Joachim Low during Euro 2016 as well. On the other hand, they have been excellent in defence. They are yet to concede a goal in Euro 2016. Germany also have averaged 71.9% possession over their first three games.
Low is not taking their opponent lightly. He is expecting a strong fight from Slovakia on Sunday.
"Slovakia are a different opponent to Northern Ireland. I think they're a lot stronger. We were beaten by them at the end of May so we're aware they have great quality and are good defensively. We won't have as much space as we did against Northern Ireland and that's why I'm considering one or two changes. I think we'll cope better than England did in the group stage,"Low was quoted as saying by UEFA.
"In terms of taking chances I wasn't satisfied against Northern Ireland and nor were the players. We're all aware that we can't waste these opportunities against upcoming opponents as we simply won't have as many anymore."
Meanwhile, Slovakia coach Jan Kozak has agreed that they are going to face the greatest challenge of Euro 2016 when they will take the field against Germany in Lille on Sunday. Kozak is confident about his boys and is hopeful that they are going to step up to the occasion.
"Germany is a great challenge for us. However, I don't think the pressure Germany put us under will be as intense as England did in our last game. If we want to be successful again, we need to play as a team. Yes, they are a strong side, but every opponent has weaknesses. We will try to exploit those," Kozak said.
"They are world champions and a top-quality team. But we have prepared thoroughly and have already been involved in difficult matches during qualifying. We won against Spain, a victory which helped us get here."
Where to Watch Live
Germany vs Slovakia -- the round of 16 Euro 2016 match -- is set to begin at 6 p.m. local time (9.30 a.m. IST, 5 p.m. BST, 12 p.m. ET). All the live streaming and TV information is right below.
India: TV: Sony Six/HD, Sony ESPN/HD. Live Streaming: ESPN.in and Sonyliv.
UK: TV: ITV1. Live Streaming: ITV Hub.
Germany: TV: ZDF and ORF.
Slovakia: STV2 Dvojka. Live Streaming: RTVS.
Croatia: TV: HRT 2.
Portugal: TV: Sport TV1.
France: TV: Bein Sports. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
Singapore: TV: Eleven Singapore and Singtel. Live Streaming: Singtel Go.
Middle East and North Africa: TV: Bein Sports Max. Live Streaming: Bein SportsConnect.
South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa: TV: SuperSport 3. Live Streaming: SuperSport
USA: TV: ESPN 2 and ESPN 3. Live Streaming: Watch ESPN.
Canada: TV: TSN and RDS. Live Streaming: TSN TV.
New Zealand: TV: Sky Sport. Live Streaming: Sky Go NZ.
Australia: TV: Bein Sports. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
China and Hong Kong: TV: CCTV and LeTV.
Thailand: TV: Channel 3.
Malaysia: TV: Astro.
Latin America: TV: DirecTV.
