 Boženík withSlovakia atUEFA Euro 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1999-11-18)18 November 1999 (age 26) | ||
| Place of birth | Terchová, Slovakia | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Stoke City | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| FK Terchová | |||
| 2009–2016 | Žilina | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2019 | Žilina B | 25 | (8) |
| 2017–2020 | Žilina | 48 | (16) |
| 2020–2023 | Feyenoord | 22 | (3) |
| 2021–2022 | →Fortuna Düsseldorf (loan) | 20 | (2) |
| 2022–2023 | →Boavista (loan) | 23 | (4) |
| 2023–2025 | Boavista | 64 | (13) |
| 2025– | Stoke City | 10 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015 | Slovakia U16 | 1 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Slovakia U18 | 10 | (4) |
| 2017–2018 | Slovakia U19 | 8 | (3) |
| 2018 | Slovakia U20 | 4 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Slovakia U21 | 3 | (1) |
| 2019– | Slovakia | 55 | (7) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21:51, 4 November 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:12, 14 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Róbert Boženík (born 18 November 1999) is a Slovak professionalfootballer who plays as astriker forChampionship clubStoke City and theSlovakia national team.
Boženík made his professional Fortuna Liga debut forŽilina againstNitra on 28 July 2018, scoring the winning goal in the 54th minute, after an assist byJakub Holúbek.[2] He was namedFortuna Liga's player of the month for October 2018.[3] Boženík was also praised for his successful spell and crowned one of the league's greatest talents after the autumn part of the2018–19 season by experts in the media.[4] On 1 December 2018, MŠK had announced a contract extension until June 2022.[5]
In the final round of the main part of the Fortuna Liga season, Boženík replaced Filip Balaj in the 76th minute and scoring the decisive goal, ending in a 2–1 victory for MSK Žilina againstŽP Šport Podbrezová.[6] At theSlovnaft Cup againstFC Spartak Trnava, Boženík was also one of the players who missed a penalty in theshoot-out.[7] However, in the league, it took him2+1⁄2 months to score again, scoring two againstRužomberok in final match of the season, in a 4–2 victory.[8] Overall, Boženík completed the season with 15 goals in 39 competitive games for Žilina.[1]
Based on past season's performances, Boženík was expected to rank among Fortuna Liga's leading top scorers in the new season as well.[9] On 21 September 2019, Boženík scored against competition's newcomerFK Pohronie, securing the 2–1 victory alongsideFilip Kaša.[10]
At theSlovnaft Cup, Boženík came on as a tactical substitute to avoid an upset elimination in a match againstOdeva Lipany, earning a 1–0 victory for Žilina after a goal byPatrik Myslovič.[11] During a yellow card suspension, he played single2. Liga fixture againstKomárno (1–1) for MŠK reserve squad on 27 October 2019, secured the point for MŠK with a late equaliser.[12]
On 27 January 2020, Boženík signed a4+1⁄2-year contract with Dutch clubFeyenoord for a fee of €4.6 million.[13] As his preferred number 9 jersey was taken byDanishforwardNicolai Jørgensen, Boženík had opted for number 19.[14] He made hisEredivisie debut on 1 February 2020 in a 3–1 home victory againstEmmen.[15] Boženík scored his first goal for the club on 16 February 2020, putting Feyenoord up 3–4 in the 88th minute in the away game againstPEC Zwolle to secure the three points.[16]
On 13 July 2022, Boženík moved to Boavista on loan with a possible buy option.[17] He signed for the club permanently on 11 July 2023 with a three-year contract.[18]
Boženík opened the2023–24 season with two goals against defending championsBenfica in the opening round of the season, in a 3–2 victory.[19] By the sixth matchday, Boženík recorded five goals in five games. This start to the season was commented on as "surprising" by Carter Phillips of Long Ball Futebol elevating his performances over those of the preferred striker from the previous seasonYusupha Njie, attributing the initial success to creative wing players supporting Boženík. The club, which was expected to battle for relegation lost form in later rounds of the season and completed the campaign ranked fifteenth of eighteen.[20]Sevilla's reported interested in Boženík during winter transfer window had failed to materialise.[21][22] In his second season with Boavista, Boženík was declared Player of the Year 2023/24 by the club, scoring eleven goals of which nine were in league fixtures, and he extended his contract with the club until June 2026.[23][24]
Boženík joinedEFL Championship sideStoke City in July 2025, signing a three-year contract.[25]
On 7 June 2019, Boženík debuted for theSlovak senior squad in a friendly match againstJordan.[26] He scored his first international goal in afriendly match againstHungary on 9 September 2019.[27] In the third friendly match againstParaguay on 13 October 2019, Boženík came on as a substitute toAdam Nemec.[28]
Boženík was described as a "complete forward with a good mix of technique and physical ability", by footballpodcaster Carter Phillips, highlighting that while he can prove himself as a striker, he is also valuable in setting-up play. Phillips compared Boženík toPetar Musa.[29] Meanwhile, Pedro Cadima ofO Jogo spoke highly of Boženík's mobility, self-sacrifice and dedication to fulfilling defensive roles, as he has to "contribute to the equilibrium of the team", while noticing that the role of an alternate striker in his first seasons with Boavista may have caused issues with his confidence.[30]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Žilina B | 2015–16 | Slovak 2. liga | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17 | Slovak 2. liga | 11 | 1 | — | — | — | 11 | 1 | ||||
| 2017–18 | Slovak 2. liga | 11 | 6 | — | — | — | 11 | 6 | ||||
| 2019–20 | Slovak 2. liga | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 25 | 8 | — | — | — | 25 | 8 | |||||
| Žilina | 2017–18 | Slovak 1. liga | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2018–19 | Slovak 1. liga | 32 | 13 | 7 | 2 | — | — | 39 | 15 | |||
| 2019–20 | Slovak 1. liga | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 3 | |||
| Total | 48 | 16 | 10 | 3 | — | 0 | 0 | 58 | 19 | |||
| Feyenoord | 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | |
| 2020–21 | Eredivisie | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22 | Eredivisie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5[c] | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 22 | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | 5 | 0 | 28 | 4 | |||
| Fortuna Düsseldorf (loan) | 2021–22 | 2. Bundesliga | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 21 | 2 | |
| Boavista (loan) | 2022–23 | Primeira Liga | 23 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 27 | 4 | |
| Boavista | 2023–24 | Primeira Liga | 31 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 34 | 10 | |
| 2024–25 | Primeira Liga | 33 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 33 | 5 | ||
| Boavista total | 87 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 95 | 19 | |||
| Stoke City | 2025–26 | Championship | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |
| Career total | 212 | 46 | 16 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 239 | 52 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slovakia | 2019 | 8 | 4 |
| 2020 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 11 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 55 | 7 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 September 2019 | Groupama Arena,Budapest,Hungary | 4 |  Hungary | 2–1 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
| 2 | 13 October 2019 | Tehelné pole,Bratislava,Slovakia | 6 |  Paraguay | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 16 November 2019 | Stadion Rujevica,Rijeka,Croatia | 7 |  Croatia | 1–0 | 1–3 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
| 4 | 19 November 2019 | Štadión Antona Malatinského,Trnava,Slovakia | 8 |  Azerbaijan | 1–0 | 2–0 | |
| 5 | 1 September 2021 | Stožice Stadium,Ljubljana,Slovenia | 17 |  Slovenia | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 19 November 2023 | Bilino Polje,Zenica,Bosnia and Herzegovina | 37 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1–1 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualification |
| 7 | 9 June 2024 | Štadión Antona Malatinského,Trnava,Slovakia | 40 |  Wales | 2–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
Individual
Slovakia squads | |||||||
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