Liam Duckstein
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Slovakia’s predicted lineups for their UEFA Nations League meeting with Kazakhstan on Tuesday 29 September 2026 are shaped as much by who is missing as by who is expected to start, with László Bénes ruled out and a gap opening in the middle of the pitch. Kazakhstan, by contrast, come into this one with no absentees logged in the data, leaving John van ‘t Schip’s group to pick from a fully available squad. The question for Slovakia is less about wholesale changes and more about who steps into that one vacated midfield slot.
Predicted Slovakia Line-up
Vladimír Weiss’s side are projected in a 4-2-3-1, the formation understood to be his preferred setup. The lineup is largely settled, with 9 of the projected XI starting their last match, which points to a core group the coach trusts even if the sample is small. Peter·Pokorny and Mario Sauer are the two names in this projected XI who did not start that most recent match, making them the least certain picks in an otherwise consistent selection. Everyone else projected here started Slovakia’s last outing, from Dominik Greif in goal through to David Strelec up front.
Slovakia predicted XI: Dominik Greif; Milan Škriniar, Adam Obert, Dávid Hancko, Ivan Schranz; Tomas Suslov, Ondrej Duda, Stanislav Lobotka, Peter·Pokorny, Mario Sauer; David Strelec
| Line | # | Player | Starts in last 1 | Last 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | 12 | Dominik Greif | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| D | 14 | Milan Škriniar | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| D | 16 | Adam Obert | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| D | 16 | Dávid Hancko | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| D | 18 | Ivan Schranz | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| M | 7 | Tomas Suslov | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| M | 8 | Ondrej Duda | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| M | 22 | Stanislav Lobotka | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| M | 6 | Peter·Pokorny | 0/1 | 0/1 |
| M | 14 | Mario Sauer | 0/1 | 0/1 |
| F | 15 | David Strelec | 1/1 | 1/1 |
Kazakhstan Predicted XI
John van ‘t Schip is expected to set Kazakhstan up in a 4-3-3, again matching his stated preferred shape. This is a settled side – 11 of the projected XI started their last match, giving this expected XI an unusually uniform look for a projection built on so little data. With every outfield player and the goalkeeper sharing the same recent start record, no individual stands out ahead of the others; the picture is one of a coach who used the same group throughout the last match and appears likely to lean on it again. That evenness is itself the story here rather than any single selection call.
Kazakhstan predicted XI: Stas Pokatilov; Nuraly Alip, Yan Vorogovskiy, Aleksandr Mrynskiy, Temirlan Erlanov; Islambek Kuat, Bauyrzhan Islamkhan, Dinmukhamed Karaman; Galymzhan Kenzhebek, Zhasulan Amir, Artur Shushenachev
| Line | # | Player | Starts in last 1 | Last 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | 1 | Stas Pokatilov | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| D | 3 | Nuraly Alip | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| D | 11 | Yan Vorogovskiy | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| D | 13 | Aleksandr Mrynskiy | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| D | 23 | Temirlan Erlanov | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| M | 5 | Islambek Kuat | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| M | 9 | Bauyrzhan Islamkhan | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| M | 18 | Dinmukhamed Karaman | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| F | 7 | Galymzhan Kenzhebek | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| F | 8 | Zhasulan Amir | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| F | 10 | Artur Shushenachev | 1/1 | 1/1 |
Injuries and Suspensions
László Bénes is out injured, and with him a midfield line already tight on cover to lose one of its regular names is thinned. Lukáš Haraslín, who logged a start in the recent line-up used for this projection, looks the most obvious like-for-like option from the bench if Weiss needs to freshen that area of the pitch.
| Player | Pos | Status | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| László Bénes | M | injured | Sprained ankle |
For Kazakhstan, no absentees are recorded in the data, meaning John van ‘t Schip has his full projected group available to choose from. None of the named substitutes carry a recent start in this dataset, so any change from the expected XI would represent a fresh selection rather than a like-for-like swap.
How These Line-ups Were Picked
Each predicted lineup here is built from that side’s most recent completed line-up – just one match for both Slovakia and Kazakhstan in this instance – with more recent matches designed to count for more than older ones where a larger sample exists. Players confirmed injured or suspended, such as László Bénes, are removed from contention before the team news projection. Because only a single match feeds each side’s numbers, both projections should be treated as tentative and are likely to shift once the official team news is confirmed.
Read Also: Slovakia vs Kazakhstan Prediction: 29.09.2026 UEFA Nations League 2026/27 Preview
FAQ
What formation are Slovakia and Kazakhstan expected to use?
Slovakia are projected in a 4-2-3-1 under Vladimír Weiss, while Kazakhstan are expected to line up in a 4-3-3 under John van ‘t Schip.
Who is predicted to start in goal for Slovakia vs Kazakhstan?
Dominik Greif is projected in goal for Slovakia, with Stas Pokatilov expected to start between the posts for Kazakhstan.
Who is unavailable for Slovakia vs Kazakhstan?
László Bénes is out injured for Slovakia, while no absentees are recorded in the data for Kazakhstan.
When do Slovakia and Kazakhstan kick off?
The UEFA Nations League fixture between Slovakia and Kazakhstan kicks off on Tuesday 29 September 2026.