After becoming the first home side to ever beat Germany in a WCQ game, the onus was on Slovakia to back that result up against Group A’s lowest-ranked side, Luxembourg.
However, despite dominating possession in the early stages, the Falcons were unable to fashion any clear-cut chances before the break, failing to register a single shot on target.
The visitors’ lack of cutting edge gave Luxembourg hope, and they almost snatched an opener when Martin Dubravka’s dreadful touch gave Edvin Muratovic the chance to shoot from inside the box, but the Slovakia goalkeeper redeemed himself with a vital double save.
The Red Lions built on that chance and came close to breaking the deadlock on two further occasions before HT. Danel Sinani was the architect of both, first forcing Dubravka into a smart save at his near post before he curled a cross-shot against the post from the right flank.
Despite their encouraging display, the contest was goalless at the break, which perhaps wasn’t a surprise given that five of Luxembourg’s last seven home matches have produced under 2.5 goals.
The hosts continued to build momentum after the restart, and once more, the woodwork stood in their way as Sinani directed Aiman Dardari’s cross against the post.
Slovakia’s goal had long since been living a charmed life, but yet another reprieve came their way when Dubravka was finally beaten by a header from Tomas de Sousa, as the goal was ruled out for an offside in the build-up. Francesco Calzona’s men finally started to gain a foothold after that latest scare, but once more they struggled to break through the Luxembourg rearguard.
Attacking invention was in short supply in the closing stages as both sides chased victory, with Dúbravka only called into action to deny a fierce strike from Olivier Thill. Ultimately, Luxembourg’s wastefulness would come back to bite them as Slovakia applied a sucker punch in the 90th minute to steal victory.
Lubomir Tupta’s powerful strike could only be parried by home goalkeeper Anthony Moris into the path of Tomas Rigo, who had the simple task of tapping home to secure a sixth victory in eight H2Hs for Slovakia. Luxembourg are left heartbroken, as a ninth failure to score in their last 14 games leaves them bottom of the group and without a point.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Danel Sinani (Luxembourg)