Sebastian Kosa (2003) is a 191 cm right footed Slovakian center-back that plays for Spartak Trnava (Slovakian Nike Liga – 1st Tier) and the U21 national team. He made the switch from FC Nitra’s youth squad to Spartak in the summer of 2020 and began his senior career from there. Since, he has racked up 113 appearances and counting at club level between the Fortuna/Nike Liga, cup matches, and the Conference League, providing seven goals along the way. Kosa is patiently waiting for his senior international debut after representing Slovakia since age 14 and debuting with the U21s at 17.
Kosa is tall for his position with a lanky build. Despite his natural long strides, his pace is lumbering when moving north and south. On the contrary, his pace and agility from sideline-to-sideline is an asset. Another important athletic element is his physicality. Kosa does not shy away from contact in duels and has admirable body control for his size. This allows him to impose himself defensively. That physique in duels does not stop on the ground, as Kosa is a reliable aerial winner, often winning headers on crosses into his box or on direct balls from the goalkeeper to attackers near the midline, allowing him to break up the buildup.
More on his defensive tools—Kosa is most adept when putting in stand tackles. Whether it is engaging on a 1v1 duel or sweeping over to cover on the wing using his east-west pace, Kosa’s timing to poke possession away combined with anticipation of dribbling make him a tricky defender to pick apart. This anticipation comes in handy when intercepting crosses, too, especially going into the box. In those situations, Kosa is quick to clear danger long or out of play, taking few risks. On ball, Kosa is refined defensively. Off ball is where there is room for improvement. Although his head is on a swivel constantly and has vocal command of the back line, his lack of pace gets in the way of his marking. There are inopportune times where a marker out paces him in transition or just gets in behind him on a quick burst when defending approaching his own third. Kosa must take steps play more within himself to erase that from his play, otherwise at the next level it could overshadow his defensive technique and instincts when covering.
Building from the back, the Slovakian youth international is comfortable taking either center-back position in a back four. Although right footed, playing on the left seems no problem to him either defensively or in the buildup, as his managers place him there often. Comfortable on ball—though sometimes overconfident, leading to some notable mistakes in the U20 World Cup—Kosa makes good use of his dominant foot with minimal pressure progressive carrying from his own third to the base of midfield before either attempting short line breaking passes or spreading possession laterally. These passes come easy to him unless facing heavy pressure and Kosa will at times attempt chipped passes to break lines, too, gaining more success and accuracy as he tries more.
With developing leadership, a respectable defensive skillset (elite for his domestic league’s standard), and a 360-minute group stage in May’s World Cup, Kosa will garner much attention from the top five leagues soon. There are some flaws to iron out, but a stepping-stone club with a solid youth development track record, such as SL Benfica, could help form a threatening versatile center-back with more than decent distribution ready to terrorize Europe in a few years.
Target Scouting 