Marek Hamsik will be the Slovakia captain at Euro 2020, which begins in Rome on June 11.
This could well be the attacking midfielder’s final international tournament, unless his country can qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
Hamsik will turn 34 soon after the end of Euro 2020 and is coming towards the end of a fantastic career.
He has already stepped away from top-level club football, having left Napoli - for whom he became the leading goalscorer of all time, before being overtaken by former team-mate Dries Mertens - in 2019.
After two years with Chinese outfit Dalian Professional, Hamsik returned to Europe with Swedish side IFK Goteborg earlier this year.
The Allsvenskan season is already under way but will pause for a month during Euro 2020, with Hamsik now fully focused on his national team.
The Slovakia skipper has racked up 126 caps for the senior side since making his debut in 2007.
He is already the most-capped player in the national team’s history and has scored more goals (26) than anyone else too.
As such, his team-mates will look to Hamsik for leadership and guidance during Euro 2020.
Slovakia booked their place at the competition via the play-offs, having finished third in their qualifying group.
They beat Republic of Ireland on penalties in the semi-finals of the Path B section, before edging out Northern Ireland 2-1 in the final.
Hamsik and co. will face Poland in Saint Petersburg on June 14, before locking horns with Sweden in the same city four days later.
Slovakia will conclude the group phase - from which they successfully advanced at Euro 2016 - against Spain in Seville on June 23.
Hamsik was involved five years ago as Slovakia progressed to the last 16 as one of the competition’s four best third-place finishers.
The same route could take them to the knockout phase this time around too, although their target will be a top-two finish.
