Slovakia's phantom, Marek Mintal, is plotting to shock England
Marek Mintal is known as 'The Phantom' to fans and today he pledged to be a menace to Fabio Capello's World Cup preparations.
The Slovakia midfielder, who earned his nickname from supporters of German side Nuremberg, is one of his country's best players having scored 14 goals in 44 internationals.
His performances have put Slovakia on course for their first World Cup as they lead Group Three, which also includes Northern Ireland, by two points. They resume their campaign against Czech Republic on Wednesday and are looking to get a lift from tomorrow's friendly against England.
Mintal, who is hopeful of a shock win, said: "I always think positive, which means I always believe in our ability to hit our targets. We have some young, talented players and we're all up for it.
"The Slovakian national team have plenty of individual class, but we've often simply proved unable to beat the really good teams.
"I really want us to qualify for the World Cup. For the people of Slovakia, qualification would be like Christmas come early."
