Nemeth the banana skin prepared by McClaren

As far as divorce settlements go, this was a rather lop-sided one. When the country of Czechoslovakia was broken up, following the collapse of communism in late 1992, the two states that formed the nation were handed back their autonomy. To the chagrin of one half of the population, they were also handed back their respective footballers.

While the Czech Republic inherited a whole generation of world-class talents, Slovakia had to make do with a far more modest crew. With players such as Patrick Berger, Pavel Nedved, Karel Poborsky, Jan Koller and Vladimir Smicer, the Czechs reached the final of the European Championship in England in 1996 and have been in the Fifa top 10 for the last eight years. Slovakia's greatest achievement is a 6-0 demolition of Malta six years ago.

The feeling, though, is that the balance is beginning to be redressed. Having started their Euro 2004 qualifying campaign with a 3-0 thumping at the hands of Turkey, no one is suggesting that Slovakia will soon be an international force, or that they are likely to derail England in Bratislava next Saturday, but they are at least embracing new coaching ideas, as well as widening their scouting network. The former Celtic favourite Lubomir Moravcik no longer plays for the national team, but acts as an adviser to the manager, Ladislav Jurkemik.

"We are making every effort to modernise and become more competitive," said Fran-tisek Laurinec, the chairman of the Slovakian Football Association. "We want success. We want to be genuine rivals to the Czechs." As Slovakia lost 4-1 to their nearest rivals in a friendly in August, this is a long-term plan. "It will take time, but we do possess an increasing pool of recognised talents," Laurinec said.

Slovakia have yet to unearth stars of the calibre of Anton Ondrus, who led Czechoslovakia to success in Euro 76, but their players are indeed starting to gain recognition in foreign leagues, with the Premiership leading the way in terms of recruitment.

Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion bought their central defenders Stanislav Varga and Igor Balis in the summer of 2000, while Vladimir Labant joined West Ham United in January. But the rising star of Slovakian football is Middlesbrough's in-form striker, Szilard Nemeth.

He took a while to adjust to the demands of the English game, but the man who models himself on the great Marco van Basten has now found his feet and has been one of the keys to the Teesside club's excellent start to the season. "I feel good in England at the moment," said Nemeth. "It's like I'm at home now." Though local tastes have not yet totally rubbed off – he lists his favourite drink as white wine mixed with Sprite.

Three goals in four Premier-ship appearances, including two against local rivals Sunderland, have made the Boro faithful, not to mention Sven Goran Eriksson, sit up and take note of the 25-year-old. Thankfully, the England manager has the perfect spy in the Middlesbrough camp. Steve McClaren has been heavily influential in the transformation of the Slovakian striker.

"He's grown in confidence after a good pre-season with the squad, and I have no doubt that he will be a thorn in our [England's] side," the Middlesbrough manager said, before adding a jokey after-thought: "To be honest, though, as long as he's scoring for Boro I'm not too bothered."

As for the player himself, he is looking forward to coming face to face with his club manager. "I know that England will be favourites," said Nemeth, who has scored 11 goals in 32 internationals, "but we do well at home." He is right. Slovakia have lost only two of their last seven home matches, and only one of those was in a competitive fixture.

"We are a little country," Nemeth added, "but we play really well against good teams in our home games." Right again. Slovakia have held both Croatia and Sweden to draws in the last 18 months, and lost to Turkey only narrowly, 1-0, this time last year.

Logic suggests that England should run out comfortable winners, but these games have a nasty habit of throwing up the odd surprise. "A lot of people in England have been having a bit of fun, saying we will be beaten," Nemeth warned, "but I say no. I think we can win." England have been warned.