STA, 11 December 2020 - The Ski Flying World Championships at Slovenia's Planica will start on Friday with the first two rounds of the individual event. Four Slovenian jumpers will be in the competition. One of main favourites is Markus Eisenbichler of Germany, who topped Thursday's qualifiers.

Slovenia will be represented by Bor Pavlovčič, Timi Zajc, Anže Lanišek and Domen Prevc and another 36 jumpers will take part in the individual event, which will conclude on Saturday with two more rounds.

Eisenbichler, the winner of the last World Cup event on the Brothers Gorišek hill at Planica in 2019, has put his name among the favourites as he won the qualifiers with what was not actually the longest jump.

The longest flight was taken by Michael Hayböck of Austria, who landed at 242.5 metres for second place in the qualifiers. Halvor Egner Granerud of Norway, the winner of the last three World Cup events, was third.

Missing out was Slovenia's Peter Prevc, one of the heroes of Planica and former world champion and record holder, who failed to show a good form in internal Slovenian qualifiers during the official training.

Also out of the individual event is the current world record holder Stefan Kraft of Austria (253.5 metres in Vikersund in 2017), who has aggravated a back injury.

The Ski Flying World Championships, which is held without spectators due to the Covid-19 protocol and for the first time in Planica under floodlights in the afternoon hours, will wrap up on Sunday with the team event.

STA, 8 December 2020 - The world's top ski jumpers will converge on Slovenia's Planica this week for the Ski Flying World Championships, which has been moved up from March due to the Covid-19 epidemic. The event will be held for the first time without spectators, under floodlights, and under strict anti-epidemic rules.

Last season ended prematurely for ski jumpers and the Ski Flying World Championships was postponed to December. After almost nine months, Slovenia is thus finally hosting the main ski flying event in the world.

Slovenian jumpers will be defending their team silver medal from Germany's Oberstdorf in 2018, although without spectators, who traditionally pack the stadium below the large hill of the Planica Nordic Centre and create a roaring atmosphere.

Planica under floodlights for the first time, without spectators and under strict ant-epidemic measures

This time, the valley under the Ponce mountains in the north-western corner of Slovenia will be fully closed for spectators, and access to the valley by car will be prohibited. Fans of ski flying will have to watch the ski flyers at home.

This is not the only unusual thing, as it will also be the first time in the history of the Gorišek Brothers' ski flying hill that a competition will be held under artificial lights. The organisers needed a lot of them, equalling to lighting of two football stadiums in Ljubljana, head of competition Jelko Gros has told the STA.

Immediately after the competition was cancelled in March due to the coronavirus outbreak, the organisers saved around 9,000 cubic metres of snow from the area, which has been preserved to be used for the competition in December.

The organisation is much more difficult than usual, as precautionary measures need to be taken for possible positive Covid-19 tests. For this reason, the event will be organised with the smallest possible number of staff.

Gros will be heading a competition at Planica for the last time, and his current assistant Aljoša Dolhar will take over from him for the World Cup season finale next March.

"Due to coronavirus, we have managed the event in a way that enables it to continue even if some of were to test positive or had to be quarantined due to contact with an infected person," Gros described the problems related to Covid-19.

All participants will need to be tested, and the area will be divided into two zones. As many as 80 staff will organise the competition in the green (safe) zone or the snowflake, as the quarantine bubble is called in the winter sport circles.

The remaining staff will be in the grey zone, where they will be tested with rapid tests performed by the Jesenice general hospital. Persons from the two zones are not expected to be in contact, except in special circumstances.

Slovenian "eagles" have eight medals from world championships, but none from Planica

Slovenian ski jumpers have so far won eight medals at the Ski Flying World Championships, but none of them comes from Planica, which will this year host the event for the seventh time after 1972, 1979, 1985, 1994, 2004 and 2010.

The first medal (silver) was won by Primož Ulaga in Oberstdorf in 1988, who was followed by Urban Franc in Kulm in 1996 (bronze), and Robert Kranjec in Vikersund in 2012 (gold). It was there that Kranjec and his compatriots Jernej Damjan, Jurij Tepeš and Jure Šinkovec won the team bronze.

Two years later in Harrachov, Peter Prevc won bronze, and the most successful Slovenian ski jumper ever also won the world champion title in Kulm in 2016. At the latest championship in Oberstdorf, Slovenians continued the medal streak by returning home with the team silver in the line-up Peter and Domen Prevc, Anže Semenič and Jernej Damjan.

Slovenians ski flyers are determined to finish on the podium in Planica, with head coach Gorazd Bertoncelj having already selected the competitors from the ranks of the home nation - Anže Lanišek, Bor Pavlovčič, Žiga Jelar, Peter Prevc, Timi Zajc and Domen Prevc.

Slovenians are not really in an excellent shape, but large ski flying hills have always served as a "wake up" for them, which is something they are counting on this year.

Many unknowns about competition as coronavirus affects ski jumping

Ski jumpers have not been spared the coronavirus pandemic in the new season, and Ski Jumping World Cup director Sandro Pertile will miss the event as he has tested positive. It is not known yet what the competition will actually be like.

Having the most problems is the Austrian team, where the nine positive jumpers include Stefan Kraft, the world record holder (253.5 metres in Vikersund in 2017) and the World Cup winner from last season.

Four of them have since returned negative tests, including Kraft. The decision on who will represent Austria is expected to be taken by Wednesday.

On the other hand, the Norwegian team is coming to Slovenia in an excellent shape, after winning the team gold and the individual gold medal (Daniel-André Tande) at the last world championship in 2018. This time, the role of favourite will be played by Halvor Egner Granerud, who has won the last three World Cup events.

Having entered the season on a roll are the Germans with Markus Eisenbichler, the winner of the last event held at the Gorišek Brothers hill. Poland's Kamil Stoch, Dawid Kubacki and Piotr Žyla, who missed the last World Cup event in Russia and are training for the world championship at home, are also known for their aptitude for long flights.

Slovenia has been drawn in a tough Group H against neighbours Croatia in the European World Cup qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The draw to determine the qualifying groups was conducted on Monday, December 7, pitting 55 European teams into ten qualifying groups, with 13 of those making up the 32 spots at the next edition of the World Cup in two years’ time.

Seeded in Pot 4, Slovenia was drawn against 2018 host nation Russia, Slovakia, Cyprus, Malta and 2018 losing finalists and neighbours Croatia.

Slovenia has not beaten Croatia in their eight encounters played since 1995, drawing three and losing the five, their last defeat coming in a 3-2 friendly loss in 2008.

“Certainly the charm of all this is Croatia,” said Slovenia head coach Matjaž Kek following the draw. “I already have quite a few calls from journalists from Croatia. Very challenging and also a competitive group. Slovenia is not the favourite, but it will do everything to prepare well and use all the opportunities it has in the playing staff.”

Slovakia and Malta were previously drawn against Slovenia in the qualifying Group F for the 2018 World Cup, with Slovenia finishing fourth in a group topped by England as they missed out on the global showpiece in Russia.

With favourable records against Slovakia, Cyprus and Malta and an evenly-match record against the Russians (two wins, two losses and a draw in five previous matches), Slovenia will be encouraged by their current form, having gone unbeaten in all eight internationals played this year as they earned promotion to League B in the UEFA Nations League.

Currently ranked 62^nd in the World, Slovenia will be attempting to qualify for a World Cup for just the third time in their history, having only previously appeared at the prestigious tournaments in 2002 and 2010, where they exited in the group stages on both occasions.

Qualifiers will be played between March and November 2021, with all ten group winners securing qualification, with the ten group runners up, alongside the two best group winners from the UEFA Nations League who failed to secure a qualification spot in their group, taking part in a three-way play-off.

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will take place between November 21 and December 18, the very first time the tournament will not take place in the European summer months.

Full 2022 FIFA World Cup European qualifying draw:

Group A: Portugal, Serbia, Republic of Ireland, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan

Group B: Spain, Sweden, Greece, Georgia, Kosovo

Group C: Italy, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Bulgaria, Lithuania

Group D: France, Ukraine, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan

Group E: Belgium, Wales, Czech Republic, Belarus, Estonia

Group F: Denmark, Austria, Scotland, Israel, Faroe Islands, Moldova

Group G: Netherlands, Turkey, Norway, Montenegro, Latvia, Gibraltar

Group H: Croatia, Slovakia, Russia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta

Group I: England, Poland, Hungary, Albania, Andorra, San Marino

Group J: Germany, Romania, Iceland, North Macedonia, Armenia, Liechtenstein

Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak reached a historic milestone for club side Atletico Madrid over the weekend after starting his 200^th league match for the Spanish side.

The ever-reliable shot-stopper put on yet another impressive display, including a fine save to deny Uroš Račić in the first half, as a late own goal gave Atletico a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Valencia to continue their impressive start to the season.

Los Rojiblancos, as Atletico are affectionately known, are the only unbeaten side in La Liga this season, registering seven wins and two draws from their nine La Liga games played so far as they sit in second place on the table, one point behind leaders Real Sociedad who have however played two matches more.

Instrumental to their current hot streak has been star gloveman Oblak, who has kept seven clean sheets and conceded just two goals across all nine games played.

Following his landmark achievement, Oblak took to social media to celebrate and thank his supporters.

“Three more points and 200 games in La Liga,” he wrote. “Thanks for the support!”

➕3️⃣?? pic.twitter.com/g1sNjEnCK6

— Jan Oblak (@oblakjan) November 8, 2020

The 27-year-old, who was La Liga’s most expensive goalkeeper when he arrived at Atletico from Portuguese side Benfica in 2014, is now into his seventh season in the Spanish capital, where he has established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

In 200 league appearances for Atletico, Oblak has conceded just 123 goals and kept 112 clean sheets, ranking him highest among goalkeepers across Europe’s top five leagues over the same period. Since March 2015, he has kept 36 more clean sheets than any other keeper – second on that list, coincidentally, is compatriot Samir Handanovic of Italy’s Inter Milan who has kept 76 clean sheets in the 204 matches he has played in the same timeframe.

The Škofja Loka-born star has thus kept a clean sheet in 56% of the league games he has played – German superstar Manuel Neuer is a distant second in those rankings with a clean sheet rate of 49%. The former Olimpija Ljubljana goal-minder also tops the charts in terms of minutes per goal conceded – he lets in a goal, on average, every 145 minutes, with Liverpool’s Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson second on that list, conceding a goal every 124 minutes.

Oblak, who often wears the captain’s armband for Slovenia, has taken his incredible form into the national team as well, having kept five clean sheets in all five UEFA Nations League encounters in which he played as Slovenia topped their group, earning promotion to League B for the 2022/23 edition.

Oblak will next be in La Liga action on Saturday evening when Atletico host 17^th-placed Real Valladolid.

STA, 30 November 2020 - The Slovenian men's basketball team has qualified for the 2022 Eurobasket with wins against Ukraine and Austria in a mini "bubble" tournament held in Ljubljana's Stožice Arena as part of the qualifying Group F. Slovenia will thus be defending their gold medal from the previous European championship in 2017.

Playing without its NBA and EuroLeague players, Slovenia defeated Ukraine (84:73) on Saturday and Austria (77:64) on Sunday to secure a berth at the European championship, to be hosted by Germany, Italy, Georgia and the Czech Republic.

There are two games to go for Slovenia in Group F, which also features Hungary, but the national team has three wins in four matches in the qualifiers to sit firmly atop of the group. The last two matches are scheduled to be played in February 2021.

Slovenia all but secured a berth at the EuroBasket before Monday's match between Ukraine and Austria, and only needed Ukraine to win to make it. Ukraine did the favour by beating the Austrians 70:67 in the last match of the Ljubljana bubble.

The tournament was supposed to also feature Hungary, but their matches have been postponed due to several positive Covid-19 tests by Hungarian players.

Modelled after the National Basketball Association's (NBA) isolation zone in Orlando, Florida, Ljubljana hosted the mini tournament in Stožice Arena in cooperation with the nearby Austria Trend Hotel.

It was to be one of the eight bubbles in Europe organised under the auspices of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) to continue the qualifiers for the next EuroBasket, scheduled to take place on 1-18 September 2022.

In the Ljubljana bubble, Slovenia were led by new head coach Aleksander Sekulić, who recently took over from Radovan Trifunović, who parted ways with the KZS at the end of March.

Sekulić was satisfied with his team's play in the bubble. "We showed maximum effort and we were fully dedicated to the goal. We were lucky that the lads know each other well and that they know how to function as a true team."

The team was captained by Edo Murić, the player who has earned the most caps in the national team among all players who took part in the tournament, who said that the two wins had come as a huge relief.

"It was crazy back in February. This time we showed true energy, although it is not easy to play two games in two days, especially against physically strong opponents. We are the best team in our group and we need to prove this next February."

Following a hard-fought draw against Greece on Wednesday night, the Slovenian men’s football team preserved their unbeaten run in this season’s UEFA Nations League to secure progression into League B of the next edition.

Slovenia produced a poor performance in the inaugural edition of the tournament two years ago, going winless with three draws and three losses in their six group games as they ended bottom of Group C3 behind Norway, Bulgaria and Cyprus.

Due a change in format of the tournament, Slovenia remained in League C in this year’s competition, lining up alongside Greece, Moldova and Kosovo this time around, with the winner of the group securing promotion to League B for the 2022/23 Nations League.

Still smarting over their failed European Championship qualification bid, Slovenia kicked off their Nations League campaign with a goalless draw at home to Greece in September, followed by a narrow 1-0 victory over Moldova three days later.

A 1-0 win over Kosovo and comfortable 4-0 victory over Moldova in October meant the Slovenians led the group heading into the final two fixtures, yet were just two points ahead of equally unbeaten Greece.

After warming up with an uninspiring goalless draw with Azerbaijan in a friendly played at Stožice Stadium last week, Slovenia found themselves a goal down to Kosovo in their penultimate Nations League encounter played on Sunday in Ljubljana, having started the game without influential captain and star goalkeeper Jan Oblak due to injury.

The home side rallied though, drawing level four minutes after conceding as Jasmin Kurtić tapped home his first international goal in over eight years. The game looked to be heading for a draw as the scoreline remained 1-1 at the 90 minute mark, yet draw unfolded in injury time after Kosovo’s Fidan Aliti handled the ball in the box, with Josip Iličić keeping his cool to convert from the spot to hand Slovenia a vital three points.

Greece’s victory over Moldova meant it was all to play for in Athens – a draw or victory for Slovenia guaranteed promotion, but a loss to the hosts meant the Greeks would leapfrog their opponents and win the group.

Oblak was back for the visitors, and he proved instrumental as Slovenia withstood a barrage of attacks from the home side, who had 16 attempts on goal the entire match opposed to Slovenia’s six, enjoying 61% ball possession as the searched for a way through. It was not to be, however, as the Slovenian defence stood firm, shutting out the Greeks as the game ended 0-0, with Slovenia ending as group winners and thus earning promotion to League B in the 2022/23 Nations League competition.

"It's a big reward for the guys who did a good job, they managed to make a team,” said Slovenia’s head coach Matjaž Kek, back in his second spell after leading the national team in their second World Cup campaign in South African 2010. “As a selector, I'm glad we laid the foundation, we introduced some new faces, so congratulations to the team and everyone in the relationship who are in these crazy sometimes we did a great job in organizing all this.

"We reminded Slovenia that football is still here. This is a respectable result, but it is not worth flying. I am satisfied, although it is probably the most difficult month in my coaching career for me.”

Ending the competition with four wins and two draws, Slovenia are now unbeaten in eight matches since their 3-2 Euro 2020 qualifying loss to Poland last year, and sit 62^nd in the latest FIFA rankings.