So I recently returned from a trip to Slovakia to watch the U21 European Championships, and today is the start of a series of player scouting reports for promising players that caught my eye in the match. I was generally focusing on players that the majority of football clubs/supporters might not know, if you are not a follower of that national team. So this means that even though Jarell Quansah had a good game for England, his 58 senior appearances for Liverpool already make him a pretty well-known quantity and not worth my time to scout compared to a more unknown player. For each report, I’ll be assessing the player’s level in relation to the others on the pitch, identifying their strengths/weaknesses, and making an educated guess on what their ceiling for potential might be.

When watching Slovakia take on Spain, I was impressed by Dominik Javorcek’s match, albeit a losing effort. Javorcek, 22 years old, is a product of the Zilina youth system, and spent the past season on loan in the Bundesliga with Holstein Kiel.

Javorcek is primarily a wide-left, defensive player, able to comfortably play anywhere from Left-back to left midfield. In a back 5, he would be a competent wide centre back on the left. If needed, he could play as a LW, although this will not be his best position. Javorcek is tall for a full-back, at 183cm, and has a strong build.

Technically, there is still work to be done if Javorcek wants to become a top level fullback/wingback. He does not possess a lot of tricks and is a very functional dribbler (when the moment calls for it, he does not go out of his way to try and dribble his man). He is very comfortable playing short passes in buildup, and has a very good sense of positioning both on and off the ball. His crossing is already at a decent level, but some more consistency in his delivery is needed. Javorcek has strong defensive sense and is physically capable of keeping up with speedy forwards. While not an elite aerial player, Javorcek will win headers over opposition wingers relatively easily.

The tactical and mental sides of his game were what impressed me the most about Javorcek in the match against Spain. His best attribute is his off the ball runs. Javorcek showed a great sense for when to make a run forward, and consistently curved his runs to stay onside. Javorcek was able to recognize when he needed to make a run inside to support his winger, and did so very competently. He made more positive forward runs than his teammates were able to take advantage of by finding him with the ball, which is a good sign if Javorcek were to play at a higher level. Mentally, he appeared to have a professional mindset already despite his young age. His determination and effort levels did not drop off during the match, despite having to cover a lot of ground up the left flank.

While his season at Holstein Kiel did not appear spectacular just based on statistics, football is a lot more than statistics, especially for defenders. Kiel was one of the weakest teams in the Bundesliga, which also will affect how an individual player on that team appears to be performing. In the match against Spain, Javorcek was able to catch Marc Pubill off guard with his runs on several occasions, who had a very strong season in LaLiga 2 this year. As Pubill is a player more of you will be likely to know, it can be a useful comparison. Defensively, Javorcek is on Pubill’s level if not slightly better. In terms of making runs and positioning in possession, Javorcek outperformed Pubill. Only in technical ability was Pubill clearly superior to Javorcek in this match, which is understandable given that Spain regularly prioritizes technical development in young players.

Given that the Bundesliga is a significantly better league than La Liga 2, and Javorcek was playing for a relegation candidate in the Bundesliga vs Pubill playing for one of the better teams in La Liga 2, the difference in their season statistics/ratings appears to be mostly down to this. As of right now, I believe Javorcek is at the level of a very good 2nd division player in the Top 5 nations in Europe (2. Bundesliga/Championship/Serie B/ etc.), or pushing for a starting spot in the Dutch/Belgian top divisions. Considering that the main area he needs to improve in is technique, while his game sense and mentality are already at a very high level, joining a club with a strong coaching staff could see Javorcek get significantly better, very quickly. He already is the type of person you want on your team, and is very close to being at a technical level to contribute in Europe’s biggest leagues. At only 22 years old and a defender, Javorcek has plenty of time to reach his full potential. I strongly believe that he will be a starter for the Slovak senior national team soon, possibly as soon as the 2026 World Cup (given Slovakia’s relatively thin depth at LB).

Dominik Javorcek, absolutely one to watch.