Patrik Le Giang: Slovakia still has a chance to continue

Patrik Le Giang celebrates in the Ho Chi Minh City Club shirt in V-League 2023-2024 - Photo: NK

The Slovakian team caused a big surprise when they beat Belgium 1-0 in their opening match of Group E of Euro 2024 on June 17. Notably, commenting before the match, Vietnamese-American goalkeeper Patrik Le Giang also predicted that the Slovakian team could cause a surprise.

The victory of his hometown team made Patrik Le Giang excited to watch Slovakia's second match against Ukraine, even though he just sat at home and watched the match alone in Ho Chi Minh City.

Ivan Schranz's goal to put Slovakia ahead of Ukraine 1-0 in the 17th minute made Patrik Le Giang even more excited. Because Ivan Schranz was his teammate in the Slovakian youth teams before.

"Ivan Schranz is a great player. He was also a good teammate when we played together for the U17 to U21 teams. Therefore, I am very happy that he scored 2 goals in 2 matches at Euro 2024," he shared.

Evaluating the first half of the match, Patrik Le Giang said that the Slovakian team played very well, with concentration and good team spirit. And he hopes that Slovakia will maintain the victory in the remaining 45 minutes of the second half.

Ivan Schranz celebrates scoring for Slovakia - Photo: UEFA

However, Patrik Le Giang's wish did not come true. Because in the second half, Ukraine regained control of the game, attacked better and scored 2 goals in a row to win 2-1.

"I can't be happy when Slovakia lost the lead right from the first half. From controlling the ball 57% in the first half, Slovakia only controlled the ball 47% after the break. But it must be admitted that Ukraine played better in the second half," Patrik Le Giang commented.

However, Patrik Le Giang is still optimistic about his hometown team's progress. The goalkeeper, who is currently playing for Ho Chi Minh City Club, shared: "Slovakia still has the last match of the group stage against Romania on June 26. We still have a chance to advance to the next round."

Patrik Le Giang said that 3/4 of the current Slovakian team are his former teammates in the youth teams. So he is not surprised by the Slovakian team's performance in the first 2 matches at Euro 2024.

"They are all top players. Since playing for the youth teams, they have been high-quality players. I am happy to be a part of that," said Patrik Le Giang.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/patrik-le-giang-slovakia-van-co-co-hoi-di-tiep-20240621234805035.htm