Slovakia took a 1-0 lead in their Friday evening friendly against Montenegro in Košice when Róbert Bozeník converted a right-footed finish from a Matús Bero assist, giving the hosts the edge early in a game both teams are using to prepare for upcoming Nations League campaigns.
Bozeník’s strike — and the assist from Bero — supplied the clear match moment the teams had been chasing after lineups were announced before kickoff. The scorer was later shown a yellow card for a bad foul, a reminder that the friendly is also serving as a window to test players under pressure.
Both nations arrive in Košice with recent wins behind them. Slovakia had beaten Malta 2-1 on Monday thanks to Roland Galcik’s stoppage-time strike on his senior debut, while Montenegro had edged Bulgaria 1-0 in Plovdiv earlier in the week. The results underline why coaches value these fixtures: they let squads build momentum and examine combinations in competitive settings without the stakes of qualifiers.
For Slovakia the friendly is part of preparations for a Nations League group that will include Moldova, Kazakhstan and the Faroe Islands. Montenegro, meanwhile, continue their build-up ahead of a group with Armenia, Latvia and Cyprus. The match in Košice is therefore both a tune-up and a practical test of how each side will cope with personnel gaps and tactical tweaks.
The match carries an extra narrative thread that will not be erased by a single friendly goal: Montenegro have not beaten Slovakia since gaining independence in 2006. That history matters here because, despite Monday’s win in Bulgaria, Montenegro remain without a victory over Slovakia in 20 years — a run that adds a competitive edge to what would otherwise be a routine international.
Availability has shaped both sides' selections. Slovakia are missing captain Milan Skriniar and playmaker Stanislav Lobotka through injury, and Leo Sauer and David Duris were sidelined from the squad; goalkeepers Martin Dúbravka and Dominik Greif also did not feature. Montenegro lost Nikola Krstović and defender Stefan Savić to fitness withdrawals from their initial 28-man list. Those absences force coaches to press new combinations into service and give fringe players meaningful minutes.
Practical details for viewers and followers: the match is being played in Košice on Friday evening and was updated as it progressed once Bozeník’s goal put Slovakia ahead. Lineups were set ahead of kickoff, and both teams will use the remainder of the 90 minutes to evaluate personnel and shape their tactical plans ahead of competitive fixtures.
What to watch next: can Montenegro respond and break their long winless run against Slovakia, or will the hosts use the opening goal as a platform to tighten control and test alternatives in midfield and attack? The answer will come over the remainder of the friendly, and it matters because both coaching staffs will take the result and the performance notes straight into Nations League planning.
The friendly’s outcome is only part of the picture; the sharper question is whether Montenegro can translate Monday’s victory in Plovdiv into the kind of performance that finally gets them a first-ever win over Slovakia. Friday’s second half in Košice should tell whether that historical gap is about to be closed or whether Slovakia’s early strike will be enough to preserve the unbeaten run.
