Preview: Slovenia – United States

(GSM) – Slovenia and the United States both achieved success in their opening games and look to add more points to their accounts when facing each other in Friday’s encounter.

The Slovenians beat Algeria 1-0 in their opening game last Sunday with a 79th-minute goal from Robert Koren, and a win over the United States would leave them practically qualified for a spot in the round of sixteen.

Two players – Alexander Radosavljevic and Andrej Komac – were booked in the game against Algeria and another yellow card would cost them the last group match.

The USA drew 1-1 with England, mostly thanks to the infamous Robert Green error on a distance shot from Clint Dempsey. Having drawn with the toughest opponent in this group, things would look bright for Bob Bradley team if a victory is added against the Slovenians.

Jay DeMerit, Steven Cherundolo and Robbie Findley all conceded yellow cards in their team’s opening game and will have to be careful on Friday if they want to avoid suspension.

These two teams have no direct history with each other and as such have little idea what to expect. The USA are slight favorites to take the victory but no other possible outcome should be ruled out.

The referee for this match is Koman Coulibaly from Mali, who earlier this year led five games at the Africa Cup of Nations including the final between Ghana and eventual winners Egypt.

For this game, the World Cup circus returns to Johannesburg’s Ellis Park Stadium, which hosts its third encounter at this tournament. The match is scheduled to kick off at 16:00 local time.