The Slovenian European Championship Squad June 2024
←Last Slovenian Squad that faced England (971)
Player	Birthdate	Age	Pos	Club	App	G
all born in Slovene area of Yugoslavia or in Slovenia (25 June 1991), except where stated
3.Balkovec, Jure	9 September 1994	29	LB	Alanyaspor Kb, Turkey	33	0
12.Belec, Vid	6 June 1990	34	G	APO Ellinon Lefkosias, Cyprus	21	ᵍᵃ
6.Bijol, Jaka	5 February 1999	25	CD	Udinese Calcio, Italy	51	1
4.Blažić, Miha	8 May 1993	31	CD	KKS Lech Poznań, Poland	32	0
23.Brekalo, David	3 December 1998	25	CD	Orlando City SC, United States	15	1
19.Celar, Žan	14 March 1999	25	F	FC Lugano, Switzerland	9	0
21.Drkušić, Vanja	30 October 1999	24	CD	FC Sochi, Russia	9	0
10.Elšnik, Timi Max	29 April 1998	26	CM	Nk Olimpija Ljubljana	17	1
22.Gnezda Čerin, Adam	16 July 1999	24	M	Panathinaïkós AÓ, Greece	33	4
15.Horvat, Tomi	24 March 1999	25	DM	Sk Sturm Graz, Austria	7	0
26.Iličić, Josip	29 January 1988 in Prijedor, Yugoslavia	36	F	NK Maribor	81	17
13.Janža, Erik	21 June 1993	30	LB	Górnik Zabrze SA, Poland	12	3
2.Karničnik, Žan	18 September 1994	29	D	Nk Celje	30	2
14.Kurtić, Jasmin	10 January 1989	35	RM	FC Südtirol, Italy	92	2
8.Lovrić, Sandi	28 March 1998	26	M	Udinese Calcio, Italy	35	4
				also has several youth appearances for Austria
1.Oblak, Jan	7 January 1993	31	G	Club Atlético de Madrid, Spain	67	ᵍᵃ
17.Mlakar, Jan	23 October 1998	25	F	Pisa SC, Italy	19	3
11.Šeško, Benjamin	31 May 2003	21	F	RB Leipzig, Germany	31	11
9.Šporar, Andraž	27 February 1994	30	F	Panathinaïkós AÓ, Greece	55	12
5.Stanković, Jon Gorenc	14 January 1996	28	DM	Sk Sturm Graz, Austria	26	1
20.Stojanović, Petar	7 October 1995	28	RB	Empoli FC, Italy	55	2
16.Vekić, Igor	6 May 1998	26	G	Vejle Bk, Norway	1	ᵍᵃ
7.Verbič, Benjamin	27 November 1993	30	LM	Panathinaïkós AÓ, Greece	60	6
18.Vipotnik, Žan	18 March 2002	22	F	FC Girondins de Bordeaux, France	10	2
25.Zeljković, Adrian	19 August 2002	21	DM	FC Spartak Trnava	1	0
24.Žugelj, Nino	23 May 2000	24	M	Fk Bodø/Glimt, Norway	1	0

Squad details correct up to and including Slovenia's match against Serbia on Serbia on 20 June 2024.
Tallies from Nzs.si

Diary

Tuesday, 21 May 2024 - Matjaž Kek has named his provisional thirty-man squad for the European Championship Finals and the friendly matches against Armenia on 4 June and Bulgaria on 8 June.
The list also includes the return of Josip Iličić. The last time the 36-year-old Maribor forward played for the national team was in November 2021, when Slovenia defeated Cyprus. A month eafter he had scored the last of his sixteen goals against Russia.
The first players will gather at Brdo on Wednesday, but since most of them still have club obligations and have not yet played the last games of the season, the Slovenian national team will officially gather next Wednesday, 29 May.

Wednesday, 29 May 2024 - The Slovenian Senior squad began preparations for Euro 2024 at the National Football Centre Brdo, and was marked by a high attendance, as it was also attended by Dr. Robert Golob, Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, who wished the national team happiness. During his visit, the Prime Minister emphasised the importance of connecting the economy, tourism and sport and announced the Invest&Connect business investment congress in Munich, organised by the Public Agency SPIRIT Slovenia, the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport and the Football Association of Slovenia with the support of the Slovenian Tourist Board, the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Germany, the Consulate General of the Republic of Slovenia in Munich and the Slovenian-German Chamber of Commerce.

Thursday, 30 May 2024 - The squad held two training sessions today. The first of which was to work on their physical fitness.

Friday, 31 May 2024 - The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, held a reception for the members of the men's football team at the protocol facility Brdo Castle in Brdo pri Kranju. She announced that she herself would clench her fists for Slovenia. The President of Slovenia will watch one match at the venue in Germany, while the rest will be watched at home in front of the TV. After the official part of the reception, Matjaž Kek, addressed those present, who first thanked the President of the Republic and her cabinet on behalf of the players, the professional headquarters and everyone at the football association. "It is a great honour and satisfaction for us to have provoked this reception with our result," the Slovenian selector was incredibly willing.

Sunday, 2 June 2024 - The Slovenian football team continues its hard work at the National Football Centre. After Thursday and Friday's dual program, the boys also practiced intensively on Saturday and today, when they took time before training to socialise with the young fans. As striker Andraž Šporar points out, he has been full for a whole week. "We train extremely well, the trainings are demanding, but of high quality. We are all eager to succeed and motivated, so we look forward to starting the euro. I am sure we will look good. There are two matches waiting for us in front of home spectators that we want to play well. The result will be very important to us in these two matches, because we want to go to the Euro with a good starting point. It will also be just as important to stay healthy." Timi Max Elšnik, who was among the first to start preparing for the Euro, is also awaiting both preparatory tests. "I came before Šporar myself, only then is hell. This needs to be taken into consideration and, as a professional athlete, you get used to enjoying suffering, because you realize that it will be easier when it really goes." Elšnik adds that the central fitness part of the preparations.

Monday, 3 June 2024 - Ahead of tomorrow night's friendly match with Armenia, Matjaž Kek has confirmed that he will be resting certain players and that others are unavailable. He revealed that they would shuffle the otherwise "standard" lineup a bit to protect some players. It is already clear that Žan Celar will not play in the match due to ankle problems, and Miha Blažić, Benjamin Šeško, Benjamin Verbič and Petar Stojanović will probably miss the match or are also questionable.

Tuesday, 4 June 2024 - Slovenia 2 Armenia 1 - Jan Mlakar scored for Slovenia in the 11th minute, Varazdat Harojan equalized in the 56th minute, and in the 63rd the winner was scored by the returning Josip Iličić. Selector Kek decided to change his first lineup against the Armenians, also because he revealed before the match that this time he would not count on some of his players due to caution and injuries.

Thursday, 6 June 2024 - Today, Matjaž Kek's squad at Brdo pri Kranju was joined by Žan Celar, who had stayed in Switzerland due to his club obligations.
Kek then revealed the names of the 26 he is taking to Germany with him to represent Slovenia.

Saturday, 8 June 2024 - Slovenia 1 Bulgaria 1 - Slovenia drew with Bulgaria in the last warm-up match before the start of the European Championship in Germany. Bulgaria quickly took the lead in Stožice with a penalty by Kiril Despodov, after a foul on Kirill Despodov by Jaka Bijol in the penalty area, and only ten minutes later Andraž Šporar scored. They faced the Bulgaria for the fifth time and are yet to beat them, having drawn twice and lost the other three. A more cautious game is partly understandable, as the most important thing was to keep the team free of any new complications with injuries.

Monday, 10 June 2024 - Following a rest day on Sunday, the Slovenian squad have a day's training at the National Football Centre Brdo before they leave for Germany tomorrow.

Tuesday, 11 June 2024 - The team spend the morning training at the National Football Centre before they leave in the late afternoon at 5.22pm from Jože Pučnik Airport, Ljubljana, flying on board a Sundair Airbus A320-214 (SDR88KW), arriving at Düsseldorf International Airport at 6.38pm, where they were greeted by a friendly reception from the hosts of the 2024 European Championship upon landing. The Slovenians then took a bus to Wuppertal, which will be the permanent base of the national team as part of Euro 2024. Our boys have their first test on Sunday at 18:00 in Stuttgart, when they will face the Danes. Wuppertal, Germany.

Wednesday, 12 June 2024 - The Slovenian team have their first training session at Stadion am Zoo, home to Wuppertaler SV in Wuppertal, and watched by several thousand local spectators. Of the 26 players, Benjamin Verbič was the only player left out, as he continues with a personal rehabilitation programme.

Thursday, 14 June 2024 - Encouraging news for Slovenia ahead of their first match: all of the players who had injury issues – Miha Blažič, Petar Stojanović and Benjamin Verbič – are back in full training.

Sunday, 16 June 2024 - Slovenia 1 Denmark 1 - Christian Eriksen marked his return to the European Championship with a special goal - but Slovenia responded to grab a draw with Denmark in Stuttgart. Eriksen netted his side's opening goal of this tournament 17 minutes in, firing into the bottom left corner after a smart flick-on from Jonas Wind. He was a standout performer as Denmark controlled possession in the first half and created more chances to extend their lead. However, Slovenia, who also faced Denmark in qualifying, were backed by vociferous fans in Stuttgart and levelled when Erik Janza's powerful effort flew past goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel with 13 minutes left. Slovenia's pressure had been growing in the second half and star man Benjamin Sesko sent a warning sign minutes earlier when he smashed an effort against the post. Matjaž Kek's side, who had struggled to contain Eriksen in the first half, could even have snatched a late victory when Andraz Sporar drilled a shot into the side-netting and also volleyed wide.

Monday-Wednesday, 17-19 June 2024 - The Slovenian squad hold their training sessions at Wuppertal before leaving for Munich on Wednesday afternoon.

Thursday, 20 June 2024 - Slovenia 1 Serbia 1 - Luka Jovićc scored a 95th-minute equaliser as Serbia grabbed a last-gasp draw against Slovenia. Full-back Zan Karničnik slotted home a low cross from close range with 20 minutes remaining to put the Slovenians on the verge of a first Finals win since 2010, which would have pushed Serbia to the brink of elimination. But former Real Madrid striker Jović rescued his country with a near-post flicked header from a corner to spark Serbian joy in Munich. The official number of Slovenian fans at the game was 20,170, which is a new Slovenian attendance record.
At the invitation of the FA of Slovenia and the President of UEFA Aleksander Čeferin, the match will also be attended by the President of the Republic of Slovenia Nataša Pirc Musar, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob, his partner Tina Gaber, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon and Minister of Economy, Tourism and Sport Matjaž Han.

Friday, 21 June 2024 - The Slovenian team return to Wuppertal for recovery training.

Saturday, 22 June 2024 - The full squad return to full training in preparation with the match with England on Tuesday evening.

Tuesday, Dan državnosti, 25 June 2024 - It is a Slovenian Ban Holiday today, celebrating their independence as a nation in 1991.