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Burnley goalkeeper Martin Dubravka has spoken about Slovakia’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers and what it would mean to the nation to make it to the 2026 tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Burnley’s summer signing between the sticks, Martin Dubravka, has discussed playing for his country in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers and how it would mean “everything” to the people of Slovakia to make it to the tournament next summer.
His nation face Northern Ireland in a home fixture on Friday and then they go away to top-of-the-table Germany on Monday evening. Slovakia sit second in the table behind Germany, but both sides have nine points, which gives Dubrakva and Slovakia the chance to go top of the qualifying group during these upcoming fixtures.
The experienced goalkeeper explained how he is feeling ahead of some crucial qualifying matches. “I'm looking forward to it,” Dubravka said. “It's going to be important for my country to get a chance to qualify. We're still in the game and it's going to be interesting. Hopefully, we'll get a good end for us.”
Dubravka has never played at a World Cup before and this might be one of his last chances to represent the country he has over 50 caps for on the biggest stage in the sport.
Martin Dubravka has never represented his country at a World Cup.placeholder image
Martin Dubravka has never represented his country at a World Cup. | Kelvin Lister-Stuttard
When asked what it would mean to him to play in next summer’s tournament, he said: “Everything. It's the biggest achievement, so hopefully we can qualify. It would be a first time for me, so I want to play there. “I was in the squad. Unfortunately, they didn't take me with them to South Africa, so unfortunately I missed that.
“I was 26 at that time, probably, something like that. I was with the team the whole qualification football change at that time. The coaches preferred other players. “At the time, I was 26, so unfortunately for me, I wasn't part of it. Hopefully, at this time, it will work for me.”
He also mentioned how it would mean “absolutely everything” to the people of Slovakia if his team were able to get over the line in these qualifiers.
“You can tell. The last time when we qualified for the Euros, you can see the whole atmosphere. The whole country was just positivity. “Hopefully, we can give something to them to celebrate.”
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The 36-year-old goalkeeper has been one of the standout performers for newly promoted Burnley this season, making some crucial saves on their way to sitting outside the relegation zone heading into the third international break of the season.
When asked if playing in the Clarets’ system has taken any getting used to, he said, “Playing behind different systems, that's nothing new for me.
“I've been playing this kind of system for a few years, so it's not really a big change for me. Maybe sometimes for the players, it's more difficult because they need to adjust and adapt. For me, nothing really changed in that respect.”
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