Two nations who will not be heading to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar lock horns in a friendly fixture on Thursday, as Montenegro welcome Slovakia to the Podgorica City Stadium.
Both countries have recently slipped down the FIFA World Rankings, with Slovakia currently sitting in 55th while Montenegro are further back in 69th.
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There was plenty of optimism at the beginning of Montenegro's 2022 World Cup qualification campaign after they collected seven points from a possible 12 available in their first four fixtures.
However, one win in their final eight games meant that the Brave Falcons had to settle for fourth place in Group G, finishing nine points behind Turkey in the playoff position, and their wait to advance to their first-ever World Cup goes on.
Since then, Miodrag Radulovic's men managed to avoid relegation to League C of the Nations League by the finest of margins, finishing above basement nation Romania on goal difference. Indeed, Montenegro's 2-0 victories both home and away against Romania in June turned out to be crucial in maintaining their League B status.
Montenegro ended their Nations League campaign with back-to-back defeats without scoring against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Finland in September, and they will be seeking to avoid losing three successive internationals for the first time since 2016-17 when they face Slovakia on Thursday.
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Like Montenegro, Slovakia also fell short of a place in the top two of their World Cup qualifying group, finishing eight points behind second-placed Russia, who were later suspended due to the war in Ukraine.
The Falcons only lost two of their 10 matches in Group H, but five draws – including two frustrating stalemates against minnows Cyprus and Malta – ultimately prevented them from finishing any higher than third place.
Slovakia then endured an underwhelming Nations League campaign in League C, which saw manager Stefan Tarkovic sacked midway through and his assistant Samuel Slovak taking the reins on an interim basis before Francesco Calzona was announced as their permanent head coach at the end of August.
Calzona did not make the best of starts in the dugout, losing 2-1 at home to Azerbaijan in his first game in charge before drawing 1-1 against Belarus in their final Nations League fixture in September.
Slovakia, who have won three of their last four away internationals, secured a 2-0 home win in their only previous meeting against Montenegro in May 2014, and they will be looking to come out on top once again before their final friendly of the year against Chile on Sunday.
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Montenegro midfielder Nikola Vukcevic will be hoping to make his 50th international appearance on Thursday and he could be joined in centre-midfield by Marko Jankovic.
Atletico Madrid's Stefan Savic missed the entire Nations League campaign due to injury, but he has been included in Radulovic's squad this time around and is expected to start at centre-back alongside either Igor Vujacic or Zarko Tomasevic.
Vladimir Jovovic and in-form Celtic man Sead Haksabanovic could be handed starts on the flanks, while Stefan Jovetic is expected to get the nod up front.
As for Slovakia, all-time record goalscorer and appearance maker Marek Hamsik is retiring from international football later this month, and the 35-year-old playmaker is expected to start as captain in his penultimate fixture on Thursday before bowing out against Chile three days later.
Manchester United loanee Martin Dubravka could replace Marek Rodak between the sticks, while Inter Milan centre-back Milan Skriniar is expected to start at the heart of the defence alongside Lubomir Satka.
As many as six uncapped players have been called up to the senior squad including Zilina trio Tomas Nemcik, Matus Rusnak and Adrian Kapralik, and they will all be hoping to get their first run-outs for their country on Thursday.
Montenegro possible starting lineup:
Mijatovic; Vesovic, Savic, Vujacic, Radunovic; Jovovic, Jankovic, Vukcevic, Haksabanovic; Mugosa, Jovetic
Slovakia possible starting lineup:
Dubravka; Pekarik, Skriniar, Satka, Hancko; Kucka, Lobotka, Hamsik; Duda, Bozenik, Duris
We say: Montenegro 1-2 Slovakia
Slovakia are still waiting for a manager bounce under Calzona and that could come against an out-of-sorts Montenegro outfit.
Both sides will fancy their chances of coming out on top on Thursday, but we can see the visitors snatching a narrow victory in Podgorica.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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