Kenley Ward
Dailysports's expert
On Wednesday, June 18, in the third round of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2025 group stage, Slovenia U-21 will face Czech Republic U-21. Here’s my pick for the winner of this clash.
Key facts and head-to-head history
- Slovenia U-21 have never won a match at the European Under-21 Championships in their history.
- Czech Republic U-21 are on a three-game losing streak.
- Czech Republic U-21 won the European Championship once – back in 2002.
- This will be the sixth meeting between these teams. The Czechs lead the series 2-1 in wins.
Match preview
Slovenia U-21 arrived at the tournament in Slovakia as one of the underdogs. This is only the second time in their history that the Slovenians have reached the final stage of the European Championship, and their squad depth is noticeably weaker than their rivals’.
Nevertheless, Slovenia U-21 still have a slim chance of making it to the playoffs. They picked up a point in their opening two games, unexpectedly holding England to a 0-0 draw in the second round. Before that, Slovenia U-21 lost 0-3 to Germany but squandered several clear-cut chances to score.
To reach the playoffs, Slovenia need not only to secure all three points, but also hope for a heavy defeat for England at the hands of Germany.
As for Czech Republic U-21, their campaign is already over, with no chance of advancing further in the tournament. Pre-tournament predictions had them challenging England or Germany for second place, but those hopes have faded.
In the opening round, Czech Republic U-21 were soundly beaten by England, 1-3. They then fell 2-4 to Germany, trailing 0-4 at one point as their defense committed a series of costly mistakes.
Probable line-ups
- Slovenia U-21: Turk – Golic, Evsenak, Kuzmic – Brest, Ostrc, Zeljkovic, Ilenic – Begic, Cipot, Seslar
- Czech Republic U-21: Hornicek – Spacil, Haloupek, Prebsl – Suchomel, Karabec, Vydra, Kricfalusi, Hadas – Sejk, Fila
Slovenia U-21 vs Czech Republic U-21 prediction
Czech Republic have been a major disappointment in this tournament and now have nothing left to play for. I’m backing Slovenia to take all three points in this match.
