When Slovenia, the third-smallest country to ever play at the World Cup, faces the US today, it will be one of those David vs Goliath moments that the tiny alpine nation seems to relish.
With a population of 2 million spread over land the size of New Jersey, Slovenia is not as widely recognized in the world as Balkan neighbors Croatia and Serbia. Annoyingly to Slovenes, the country is often confused with the slightly larger Slovakia.
However, the former Yugoslav republic on the eastern edge of the Alps is an overachiever when it comes to soccer — something it is keen to prove to the US team at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
PHOTO: AFP
“The important thing is the heart. Not how big you are as a country,” midfielder Dalibor Stevanovic said.
US fans browsing the Web for information on their next World Cup opponent — searches for “where is Slovenia?” is spiking off the charts according to Yahoo — will find that, statistically, the two countries are in different leagues.
Besides the fact that there are 150 times more Americans than Slovenes on the planet, the US has a clear edge when it comes to soccer.
The US is No. 14 on FIFA’s world rankings and is participating in its ninth World Cup, with a 1930 semifinal its best performance.
Slovenia, ranked 25th, is entering soccer’s biggest event for the second time, and without any prominent players in the squad.
However, none of that matters to Slovenia coach Matjaz Kek and his resilient squad.
Just ask Russia.
Against all odds, the Russians, led by world-class player Andrei Arshavin, missed the World Cup by losing a two-match playoff to Slovenia on away goals, an embarrassing defeat for the much larger nation.
Slovenia had reached the playoffs by finishing second in its qualifying group, ahead of both Czech Republic and Poland.
And that’s not the only time Slovenia has stunned the soccer world. It qualified for the 2000 European Championship by beating Ukraine in a playoff. Two years later, the team defeated Romania to reach the World Cup in South Korea and Japan.
That tournament, however, ended in acrimony for Slovenia. A feud between the coach and star player Zlatko Zahovic disrupted the team, and it went home in shame after losing all three group matches.
Slovenia has already done better in South Africa. On Sunday, captain Robert Koren’s second-half goal against Algeria secured its first ever World Cup win and first place in Group C.
Euphoric celebrations erupted in Slovenian cities as people flooded the streets, honking car horns, chanting and blowing vuvuzelas — the African plastic trumpets that forever will be linked to this year’s World Cup.
Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor called it “an epic victory which shows once again we’re a small nation with a big heart.”
Pahor had vowed to clean the players’ boots if they qualified for the World Cup, fulfilling his promise after the shock victory over Russia in November. Playing it safe, he made no similar promises ahead of the World Cup.
The only smaller nations to have qualified for the World Cup are Trinidad and Tobago in 2006, and Northern Ireland in 1958, 1982 and 1986.
Slovenia’s success stems primarily from a tight defense, marshaled by center back Bostjan Cesar. The team conceded only four goals in its World Cup qualifying group. The Netherlands was the only European team to allow fewer goals.
While Serbia and Croatia have made names for themselves in international soccer following the breakup of Yugoslavia — which used to be a strong soccer nation — Slovenia is better known for winter sports.
Its most prominent athletes include 1970s and 1980s slalom specialist Bojan Krizaj and cross-country skier Petra Majdic, who won a bronze medal in the Vancouver Olympics despite breaking four ribs in a fall during training before the race.
It’s also home to ski manufacturer Elan, which provided equipment for Swedish alpine skiing great Ingemar Stenmark.
But right now Slovenia is all about football. The country has been enjoying a joyride since the playoff win over Russia and the word on everyone’s lips is pravlica, which means “fairy tale” in Slovene.
Throngs of people gather to watch Slovenia’s World Cup matches on a big screen set up on the main square in the capital, Ljubljana.
Slovenian President Danilo Turk will attend the match against the US at the request of the players.
The Slovenes lead their group with England and the US having drawn 1-1. Kek’s team advance to the second round if they beat the Americans.
“After our first win against Algeria, we are very motivated for the next game,” Stevanovic said. “Everything is in our hands.”
Group C
Team | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
Slovenia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
England | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
United States | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Algeria | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th
RSS