Slovenia have qualified for a major tournament four times, twice for the FIFA World Cup and twice for the UEFA European Championship. They failed to progress from the group stage of these tournaments in their first three appearances, before finally doing so atUEFA Euro 2024, when Slovenia qualified for the knockout stages by drawing all three group stage matches and being one of the best third-place teams. At the2010 FIFA World Cup, Slovenia achieved their first (and so far only) victory in a major tournament, defeatingAlgeria 1–0. Other noteworthy results include a 1–0 win overItaly in 2004, which was Italy's only defeat in the entire2006 World Cup campaign (qualifiers and the final tournament).
Boštjan Cesar holds the record for most appearances for Slovenia, having played 101 times between 2003 and 2018.Zlatko Zahovič scored 35 goals for Slovenia and is the record holder for most goals scored.
Before Slovenia's independence in 1991, the national football team of Slovenia existed only as a regional team, not officially recognised byFIFA. On 23 June 1921, the Slovenian capital ofLjubljana hosted a match betweenFrance and a selection of players from Slovenian clubs. One of the guests at the match was acting FIFA presidentJules Rimet,[2] who later initiated the first FIFA World Cup tournament. The French team won the match 5–0 and, although the match was not official by international standards, it was, at least in Slovenia, generally accepted as the first appearance of the Slovenia national team.[2][3] In the following decades, Slovenia played several unofficialfriendly matches, including in 1956 againstChina, in 1968 againstAustria, in 1990 againstBosnia and Herzegovina and in 1991 againstCroatia.[3]
Independence, first victory and first qualifiers (1992–1998)
In 1992, one year after Slovenia's independence fromYugoslavia, theFootball Association of Slovenia was admitted to FIFA.[4] In the same year, on 3 June, Slovenia played its first FIFA-recognised game, a friendly match againstEstonia inTallinn.[5] The match ended in a 1–1 draw, with the first official goal for the team being scored byIgor Benedejčič. The first coach wasBojan Prašnikar.[6] On 7 April 1993, the two teams played another friendly, and this time Slovenia achieved its first international victory by winning the match 2–0.[7]
In 1994, managed byZdenko Verdenik, Slovenia debuted in official competitions as the team competed in theUEFA Euro 1996 qualifiers. Slovenia played in Group 4 and finished in fifth place out of six teams, with eleven points.[8] In the opening match of the qualifiers, Slovenia drew 1–1 at home against1994 World Cup finalistsItaly.[9] In1998 World Cup qualification, Slovenia was drawn withDenmark, Croatia,Greece and Bosnia and Herzegovina, finishing in last place after registering just one point in eight matches.[10]
In July 1998,Srečko Katanec was appointed as the new manager of the team.[11] Under his guidance, Slovenia finished theUEFA Euro 2000 qualifiers in second place, only behindNorway.[12]Zlatko Zahovič scored eight of Slovenia's twelve goals in the qualifiers.[13] In theadditional play-offs, Slovenia facedUkraine. The first leg was played in Ljubljana, which Slovenia won 2–1 after trailing 1–0. Zahovič scored Slovenia's first goal, andMilenko Ačimovič scored a goal from the halfway line late in the match to make the score 2–1.[14] The second match was played in snowy conditions inKyiv.Serhii Rebrov scored from thepenalty spot in the 68th minute to give Ukraine a lead, while Slovenia equalised eight minutes later with a goal byMiran Pavlin.[15] The 1–1 draw meant that Slovenia won 3–2 on aggregate and qualified for its first major tournament.[15]
At Euro 2000, Slovenia were drawn into Group C, together withSpain,FR Yugoslavia and Norway. In the first game, Slovenia played against Yugoslavia and took a 3–0 lead after one hour of play, with Zahovič scoring twice and Pavlin once. However, Yugoslavia made a comeback as they scored three goals in just six minutes for a 3–3 draw, despite playing with only ten players afterSiniša Mihajlović was sent off.[16] The second game against Spain was played inAmsterdam. Spain took a 1–0 lead with a goal byRaúl, but Slovenia equalised after one hour of play as Zahovič scored his third goal of the tournament. Just a minute later, Spain were leading again asJoseba Etxeberria scored the winning goal.[17] In the last match of the group stage, Slovenia played against Norway and still had a chance to progress to the quarterfinals. The match finished in a goalless draw and Slovenia won its second point of the tournament, but were eliminated.[18]
For the2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Slovenia were drawn into a group withRussia, FR Yugoslavia,Switzerland,Faroe Islands andLuxembourg.[19] In its first five qualifying games, Slovenia won only one match (away at Luxembourg). Underdogs Faroe Islands held them to a 2–2 draw, after the Slovenes were leading 2–0 with less than five minutes remaining.[20] In the next five matches, Slovenia won four, including a last minute victory over Russia.[19] The team finished in second place without a single defeat and advanced to the play-off stage, where they facedRomania.[19] Slovenia came from a goal down to win the first game 2–1 with the goals from Ačimovič in the first half andMilan Osterc in the second half.[19] In the second leg inBucharest, Slovenia took the lead with a goal scored byMladen Rudonja.[19] The final result was 1–1, and Slovenia qualified for its second consecutive major tournament and first ever World Cup.[21][22]
At the World Cup, Slovenia played in Group B with Spain,Paraguay andSouth Africa. In the first game, Slovenia faced Spain in a Euro 2000 rematch. Spain took the lead in the first half with a goal from Raúl.Juan Carlos Valerón scored Spain's second goal with fifteen minutes remaining. A few minutes later,Sebastjan Cimirotič scored the first World Cup goal for Slovenia to cut the lead in half, beforeFernando Hierro scored in the 87th minute for a 3–1 Spanish victory.[23] The match is notable due to the conflict between manager Katanec and star player Zahovič, after which Katanec announced his retirement after the tournament, while Zahovič was expelled from the team and sent home.[24] Slovenia lost the two remaining matches against South Africa (1–0) and Paraguay (3–1) and finished last in the group with three defeats.[25][26]
After the resignation of Katanec, Prašnikar took over the team on a four-year contract.[27] The team underwent major changes, with several key players retiring from the national team.[28]
In theEuro 2004 qualifying campaign, Slovenia played against France,Israel,Cyprus andMalta. The team finished in second place with four wins out of eight games, however, they lost both matches against France without scoring any goals.[29] In the play-offs, Slovenia played against its biggest rivals, Croatia. The first leg was played inZagreb, where Croatia took the lead asDado Pršo scored a goal in the fifth minute, while Slovenia equalised in the 22nd minute with a goal byErmin Šiljak, for the final score of 1–1.[29][30] In the second leg, Pršo scored the only goal of the game 15 minutes into the second half.[29] Croatia qualified for Euro 2004 by winning 2–1 on aggregate, despite Šiljak scoring a total of nine goals in the whole campaign and becoming the top goalscorer of the whole Euro qualification tournament.[31]
In May 2004, Prašnikar was replaced byBranko Oblak.[32] Under Oblak's management, Slovenia played in the2006 World Cup qualifiers. Grouped with Italy, Norway,Scotland,Belarus andMoldova, the team started with victories over Moldova and Italy and a draw against Scotland, but still finished in fourth place after securing only five points in the remaining seven matches.[33] With the victory over Italy, Slovenia became the only team to beat theeventual world champions, as Italy did not lose another game during the entire campaign (qualifiers and the final tournament).[34]
Grouped with theNetherlands, Romania,Bulgaria, Belarus,Albania and Luxembourg inEuro 2008 qualifying, the team started out with defeats to Bulgaria and Belarus, thus significantly reducing their chances to qualify, and as a result, in November 2006, Oblak was dismissed by the Football Association of Slovenia.[35] During his two-year stint as the manager, Oblak used over forty different players.[36]
In January 2007,Matjaž Kek was appointed as the new manager of the national team.[37] He led Slovenia in the remainder of the Euro 2008 qualifiers, where Slovenia finished in sixth place, only above Luxembourg.[38]
Slovenian players celebratingNejc Pečnik's goal against Russia in the 2010 World Cup play-offs.
For the2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Slovenia were drawn into a group with theCzech Republic,Poland,Northern Ireland,Slovakia andSan Marino.[39] In its opening match, Slovenia held Poland to a 1–1 draw inWrocław, before winning two consecutive home games against Slovakia and Northern Ireland.[40] Slovenia then won only one point in two games against the Czech Republic and lost away to Northern Ireland, and thus fell to fifth place in the group.[41] However, the team greatly improved its form and won the last four games without conceding a single goal.[40] As runners-up, Slovenia qualified for the play-offs, where they were drawn against Russia.[42] The first leg was played inMoscow. The match ended in a 2–1 win for the home side,[43] and in the second leg, held inMaribor, Slovenia defeated Russia 1–0 with a goal byZlatko Dedić. Slovenia advanced to the finals due to theaway goals rule.[44] The top scorer of the national team during the qualifying campaign wasMilivoje Novaković with five goals.[45]
At theWorld Cup, Slovenia played inGroup C alongsideEngland,Algeria and theUnited States. In the opening game against Algeria, Slovenia achieved its first ever World Cup win afterRobert Koren scored the only goal in the match.[46] In their second game against the United States, Slovenia were leading 2–0 at half-time with goals fromValter Birsa andZlatan Ljubijankić, however,Landon Donovan andMichael Bradley scored in the second half for the United States.[47] In their last match of the group stage, Slovenia lost to England 1–0 with a goal byJermain Defoe. As the United States defeated Algeria with a late goal, Slovenia dropped to third place and were eliminated from the tournament.[48]
Slovenia vs. United States at the 2010 World Cup
After the 2010 World Cup, Slovenia achieved their highest ever position in theFIFA World Rankings, as the team was ranked 15th in October 2010.[49] However, Slovenia started theUEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers with an unexpected home defeat against Northern Ireland.[50] Two defeats against Italy and a home defeat against Estonia meant that Slovenia finished only in fourth place in the group, behind Italy, Estonia andSerbia.[51]
Katanec's second spell and management changes (2011–2018)
In October 2011, the Football Association of Slovenia appointedSlaviša Stojanović as the new manager.[52] He led the team in only nine matches, including the first four matches of the2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, where Slovenia recorded one victory and three defeats.[53] He was sacked by the end of 2012 and was replaced by Katanec, who had previously led the team between 1998 and 2002.[54][55] Under his leadership, Slovenia lost at home toIceland, before winning four consecutive games to finish third in the group, two points behind Iceland.[53]
In thequalifiers forUEFA Euro 2016, Slovenia came close to directly qualifying for the tournament for the first time. The team lost a decisive game away to Switzerland.[56] Slovenia led 2–0 with less than 15 minutes remaining, but the Swiss then scored three times to win 3–2.[57] As the third-placed team, Slovenia advanced to the play-offs, where they were eliminated by Ukraine 3–1 on aggregate.[56] Thequalifiers for the2018 World Cup were similar, as Slovenia narrowly lost two decisive away matches against Slovakia and England.[58] After the defeat atWembley Stadium, whereHarry Kane scored the only goal of the match in the 94th minute, Katanec announced his resignation as the manager.[59] In December 2017,Tomaž Kavčič became the new manager.[60]
In 2018, Slovenia competed in the inaugural edition of theUEFA Nations League. In accordance with the FIFA World Rankings, the team competed in the third-tierLeague C along with Bulgaria, Cyprus and Norway.[61] After the poor run of results, in which Slovenia obtained only one point in the first four matches, Kavčič was sacked. He became the manager with the shortest tenure in Slovenian history, leading the team in only seven games.[62] As Slovenia finished last in the group, they were relegated to the bottom tier League D, but UEFA changed the system for the next edition and the team remained in League C.[63]
Kek's second spell, Nations League promotion, and Euro 2024 (2019–present)
Kek was appointed as the manager for the second time in November 2018.[64] Slovenia failed to make a breakthrough during theUEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers, losing both games against Austria and obtaining only one point againstNorth Macedonia.[65] Despite the unexpected 2–0 home victory against Poland, Slovenia finished fourth in the group.[65] However, in the2020–21 UEFA Nations League C, Slovenia remained undefeated in all six games against Greece, Moldova andKosovo. Under the leadership ofteam captainJan Oblak, Slovenia held Greece to a 0–0 draw in both matches and also obtained all twelve available points against Moldova and Kosovo, thus securing first place in the group and promotion to League B for the2022–23 edition.[66] In the2022 World Cup qualifiers, Slovenia once again failed to qualify for the main event; they started the campaign with a 1–0 home victory against Croatia with a goal bySandi Lovrić, which was Slovenia's first victory over their neighbours after failing to beat them in the previous eight official matches.[67] After two narrow defeats against Russia and a surprising defeat to Cyprus, Slovenia finished fourth in the group with four wins in ten matches, behind Croatia, Russia and Slovakia.[68]
In 2022, Slovenia made their maiden appearance inLeague B of the Nations League, and avoided relegation after finishing third in a group with Serbia, Norway andSweden.[69]Benjamin Šeško scored three of Slovenia's six goals in the competition,[70] including a goal in the decisive 1–1 away draw to Sweden that secured a crucial point on the last matchday.[71]
In theUEFA Euro 2024qualifiers, Slovenia finally ended its major tournament drought and qualified for the Euro finals for the first time in 24 years.[72] Šeško was once again one of the key players, scoring five goals in nine appearances,[73] including a goal in the decisive home game againstKazakhstan on the final matchday, which Slovenia won 2–1 in front of 16,432 spectators, a record home attendance for the Slovenia national team.[74][75] The team finished the qualifiers in second place, behind only Denmark, with a record tally of 22 points from 10 games. In addition, it was also the first time that Slovenia directly qualified for a major tournament without having to play an additional play-off.[76][77]
At the Euro finals in Germany, Slovenia advanced from the group stage for the first time at a major tournament after drawing all three matches intheir group against Denmark, Serbia and England,[78] before being eliminated in the round of 16 onpenalties byPortugal, finishing the tournament undefeated after regular time.[79]
The Slovenia national team does not have an official nickname and was the only team at the 2010 World Cup and the 2024 European Championship without one.[80][81][82] During the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Slovenian journalists and theFootball Association of Slovenia tried to choose a nickname for the team, but the process failed to gain the support of fans.[83] In 2010, the Slovenian web portalSiol organized a fan vote and the nickname "Kekci", a reference to the Slovenian fictional child characterKekec and the then national team managerMatjaž Kek, finished in first place.[82] However, the nickname was never officially adopted by the Football Association of Slovenia.[80] "Kekci" is still occasionally used by the Slovenian media when referring to the national team.[84][85]
During the 2010 World Cup, some foreign media articles used the nickname "Zmajčeki" (English:Little Dragons) when referring to the Slovenian national team,[86][87] however, this was the old nickname of Slovenian clubOlimpija Ljubljana when they competed in theYugoslav football system.[80] Because Olimpija had a long tradition in the formerYugoslav First League, football fans and the media in the countries of the former Yugoslavia still use this nickname today when referring to the Slovenian team.[88][89]
In 2002, Slovenia received an official mascot for its appearance at the 2002 World Cup. The mascot, called Trigi, is based on a round shape representing the Earth or a ball, with a stylized depiction ofTriglav, the highest Slovenian mountain, on its head in a green, white and blue colour combination.[90][91]
Until 1993,[92] Slovenia played its matches in white, blue and red, which are the traditional colours of the country.[93][94] In 1993, the board of the Football Association of Slovenia decided to change the main colours to green and white, inspired by NK Olimpija from the capital city ofLjubljana.[95][96]
In December 2009, the board voted to change the kit's colours to white for home matches and blue for away matches.[97] The new colours came into effect in April 2012, when a new all-white home kit with a blue and green trim was unveiled.[98] The new away kit, introduced a couple of months earlier, was all-blue with a white and green trim.[96] In 2016, the all-green version returned as an away kit, while the light blue kit became the new home kit.[99] In 2022, the new Slovenian kits were selected through an online fan vote for the first time.[100] The home colours were again changed to all-white and the away colours to all-blue.[100]
For their World Cup appearances in 2002 and 2010, the Slovenian kit featured a stylized depiction of Triglav.[95] Since 2010, the depiction has been used on each new kit set.[100][101]
Slovenia's first kit was white, blue and red, inspired by the Slovenian flag.
In the first half of the 1990s, green first appeared on Slovenia's kits.
All-white home kit in 2012, with a prominent depiction ofTriglav.
Slovenia's home matches have been held at ten venues in eight cities.[107] Since 2010, most matches have been played in Ljubljana at theStožice Stadium, with a seating capacity of 16,038.[108][109] The final training sessions and physical preparation of the team before domestic matches are held at the National Football Centre Brdo inPredoslje.[110][111]
Stožice Stadium, the main stadium of the Slovenia national team
The first home stadium of Slovenia was theBežigrad Stadium, located in theBežigrad District in Ljubljana. It was the main stadium of the national team until 2004, whenUEFA banned it due to insufficient infrastructure.[112] In the same year, the newly builtArena Petrol inCelje became the new main venue of the team for the next three years.[113][114] For the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Slovenia moved to the recently renovatedLjudski vrt stadium inMaribor, where the team remained undefeated in their six home matches during the qualifying campaign (five wins and a draw), consequently qualifying for the main tournament.[115] Stožice were built in 2010, and since then the venue has hosted most of the national team's home matches.[116] The venue also holds the record for the highest home attendance of the Slovenia national team, as 16,432 spectators gathered for the final match of theUEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers againstKazakhstan on 20 November 2023, which saw Slovenia qualify for the Euros.[74][117] The attendance record was later equaled in March 2024, when Slovenia defeatedPortugal in a friendly match, ending their eleven-game winning streak.[118][119]
Slovenia's main football rivals are its neighboursCroatia. The matchup between the two sides is known as the Neighbourhood derby (Slovene:Sosedski derbi,Croatian:Susjedski derbi).[28][120] As of March 2022, they have faced each other twelve times (eleven official matches and one unofficial match).[121][122] One of the most notable matches between Slovenia and Croatia took place in 2003, where the two teams met in the qualifying playoffs forUEFA Euro 2004. After a 1–1 draw in the first match inZagreb, Slovenia then lost 1–0 at home and failed to qualify for its third consecutive major tournament.[28] In March 2021, Slovenia finally managed to win a game against Croatia after failing to do so in the previous nine matches, as they won 1–0 at home during the2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[123]
Tomaž Kavčič is the manager with the shortest tenure, as he managed only seven games in 2018 before being sacked.[125] He was replaced byIgor Benedejčič, who became the first manager to be appointed as acaretaker.[126]
As of 18 November 2025, 239 players have made at least one appearance for the Slovenia national team.[136] With 101 caps,Boštjan Cesar has the most appearances for Slovenia;[137] he also had the longest career as a Slovenian international footballer with 15 years, 1 month and 15 days.[138] GoalkeeperJan Oblak started the most matches as theteam captain (58),[139] whileZlatko Zahovič is the highest-scoring player with 35 goals.[140]Sašo Udovič scored the most goals in a single match, scoring five againstIceland in 1996.[141]
^"Glasbenik krojil usodo nogometašem" (in Slovenian).Slovenian Press Agency. 20 December 1996. Retrieved5 September 2020.Slovenske reprezentance bodo tako opremo Pume vsaj za štiri leta zamenjali z drugim nemškim proizvajalcem športne opreme.
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