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Slovakia prepares to face England in Euro qualifier

Slovakia coach Ladislav Jurkemik says that his team have nothing to lose when they take on England in their Euro 2004 qualifier at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium today.

Slovakia's chances of qualifying for next year's finals were dealt a severe blow on Saturday when they lost 1-0 at home to Turkey in their Group Seven match and Jurkemik says that the pressure is now off.

"There is nothing for us to lose, we can only win," Jurkemik told reporters on Monday:

"We have survived since Saturday and now all the players are very much looking forward to the game because for us playing against England is always a feast.

"When we played in Bratislava we were equal to the England team, but did not have any luck when we were 1-0 up," he said about England's 2-1 win last October.

"I hope that we will be equal to England again and we want to show that we can play football."

Slovakian striker Szilard Nemeth, who plays for Middlesbrough in the English premier league, was surrounded by dozens of local youngsters when the Slovakian squad arrived for training in the village of Nunthorpe, on the outskirts of the Teesside town.
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