Benjamin Sesko spearheads Slovenia’s Euro 2024 assault as Arsenal and Chelsea watch on

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Slovenia made the most of a favourable draw in the qualifiers for Germany 2024 to reach their second European Championship, 24 years after their debut appearance at the tournament.

They lost only twice as they finished second in Group H, level on points behind Denmark and ahead of Finland, Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland and San Marino, to book a place at the finals.

Participation in Germany will mark only the fourth major international tournament for the former Yugoslav republic, who have been playing as an independent entity since 1992.

As well as Euro 2000, where they drew two games and lost the other in the group phase, Slovenia also qualified for the World Cup in 2002 and 2010 but have yet to go beyond the group stage.

Victory over Algeria in South Africa in 2010 is their only success at a major tournament and came under coach Matjaz Kek, who has been back for a second spell since 2018 and engineered the latest qualification.

This time round they will be hoping to make more of an impact in Group C where they meet qualifying rivals Denmark first in Stuttgart on 16 June, and then Serbia and Euro 2020 runners-up England.

Kek, 62, leads a team with little in the way of experience, save for captain and goalkeeper Jan Oblak, but with several exciting prospects.

The best of the lot is 20-year-old forward Benjamin Sesko, who scored five goals in the qualifying campaign and could be leaving Bundesliga club RB Leipzig for Serie A next season.

The 20-year-old – who at 6ft 4ins tall has drawn comparisons to Manchester City’s Erling Haaland – has been linked with major clubs across Europe in recent months, including Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and AC Milan.

Reports have the Gunners as front-runners to sign him.

The Slovenia manager is not surprised by the interest in the RB Leipzig forward, saying the talented youngster will be a bargain for whoever signs him.

“He is physically strong, technically gifted and mature. There aren’t many strikers like this in the world. I think he has steadily improved, becoming more concrete in his decisions. Another quality he has is pace,” the 62-year-old Kek told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Part of the comparison to Haaland is that both played for Red Bull Salzberg before dipping a toe in the Bundesliga: Haaland at Borussia Dortmund and Sesko at Leipzig.

Sesko, who played his way into the German side’s starting XI in the second half of his debut season, has scored 14 goals in 31 league matches for Leipzig, who enjoyed a decent campaign, clinching a Champions League berth.

The forward, who was eligible to play for Slovenia and Bosnia & Herzegovina – his mother was born in the latter – has scored 11 goals in 28 internationals, including five in Euro 2024 qualifying, since making his debut in 2021.

Sesko has downplayed comparisons to Haaland, while saying his boyhood hero was former Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is the same height.

“Personally, I don’t think much of comparisons,” Sesko said after signing for Leipzig. “Erling is an absolutely world-class striker. I enjoy watching his games on TV and obviously pay attention to what he does in different situations in the game but as I’ve already said, I am a completely different type of player.”

The 31-year-old Oblak is regarded as one of the best keepers in world football and in his 10 seasons at Atletico Madrid has won the Europa League and been to the Champions League final. But this is a first major tournament for him.

A return to the Euros after a lengthy absence is a source of much pride for the Slovenes and a 2-0 win over Portugal in a march friendly will have made opponents sit up and take notice.

“We are happy, delighted, and proud. It’s well-deserved for this generation of footballers; they have restored faith in Slovenian football,” added Kek.

Reuters