On Tuesday, Slovakia played its third and final World Cup Qualifying match during the current international window, topping Russia 2-1. For Real Salt Lake midfielder Albert Rusnák, Slovakia’s win sets his country well on the course to qualifying for next year’s World Cup in Qatar.
Rusnák featured in the two previous WC qualifying contests against Cyprus and Malta, but was not available for selection against Russia on Tuesday. Against Malta on March 27, Rysnák entered as a second-half substitute and played 18 minutes to help the Slovakians earn the 2-2 draw.
Slovakia currently sits third in Group H of UEFA World Cup qualifying with five points, just one point behind co-leaders Russia and Croatia after three matches.
Prior to the European Championships this summer, Rusnák and Slovakia will face Austria in a friendly match on June 6 before beginning its UEFA European Championship quest against Poland on June 14. Slovakia will then play Spain and Sweden to contest for one of two berths into the Round of 16 out of Group E.
Rusnák is expected to re-join RSL in Tucson, Arizona for preseason in the coming days. While in Tucson, RSL is set to face the Colorado Rapids on April 3 (6:00 p.m. MT; KSL TV app), Phoenix Rising FC on April 7 before closing the trip with a match against the LA Galaxy on April 10 (5:00 p.m. MT; KSL TV app).
