June 18, 2010 7:30:00 PM ISTEllis Park, Johannesburg
Referee: Koman Coulibaly (Mali)
The opening group of fixtures saw an unlikely leader in Slovenia as they narrowly defeated Algeria 1-0 while the USA held England to a 1-1 draw thanks to probably the dumbest goalkeeping error in world cup history. The Algeria vs Slovenia match was mostly devoid of any creative football as both sides worked industriously to cancel each other out, only to have Algeria implode close to the end of the match. A straightforward group in which England and USA were expected to qualify relatively comfortably could take a most unexpected turn should Slovenia manage to get something out of this game.
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FORM GUIDE
Slovenia (WWWWL)
Nov 14th, Russia 1-2, Loss
Nov 18th, Russia 1-0, Win
March 3rd, Qatar 4-1, Win
June 4th, New Zealand 3-1, Win
June 13th, Algeria 1-0, Win
USA (DWWLL)
March 3rd, Holland 1-2, Loss
May 26th, Czech Republic 2-4, Loss
May 29th, Turkey 2-1, Win
June 5th, Australia 3-1, Win
June 12th, England 1-1, Draw
Clint Dempsey scored for USA against England
Probable Line-Up: {4-4-2} Howard, Cherundolo, Onyewu, DeMerit, Bocanegra, Donovan, Bradley, Clark, Dempsey, Altidore, Findlay
The Americans put up a decent show against England in their opening match but were perhaps lucky to come away with a draw. A goalkeeping error of epic proportions by Robert Green was just the slice of luck they needed to match the more adventurous English side. Slovenia are arguably a more defensive unit, though certainly less individually talented than England, the U.S will require a bit of guile and creativity and so much will depend on the experienced old head of Clint Dempsey to carve open a tight Slovenian defense. Not quite a do or die match yet for the Americans, however a loss would be devastating and a positive result is required to successfully negotiate out of the group.
Slovenia
In their previous match against Algeria the Slovenians were extremely lucky to grab all three points and if anything it was the Africans who deserved the victory. Slovenia are an industrious and well drilled unit though they are lacking in almost any kind of creativity and rely more on not losing games than going out to win them. Robert Koren was impressive in his previous few matches and Slovenia seem to rely almost solely on him to support the attack. Another win will see them most certainly qualify for the next round where they should be an easy target for the top teams.
Prediction: The USA will be hugely disappointed if they don’t manage to get something out of this game. Expect another low scoring stodgy encounter with the Americans just grabbing all three points.
Predicted Scoreline: USA 1-0 Slovenia
