With the England and US playing to a 1-1 draw, Algeria and Slovenia will be battling for a win and the full 3 points that would mean to the winner. A win here and an upset for either of these teams over the favored US or England teams could propel one of these underdogs out of the group.
Algeria is not known for their offense, but should play a solid defensive game. Their goalkeeper isn’t well-known outside of the country; he’ll have to be solid (particularly in the later games against US and England).
It would be easy to underestimate Slovenia, a new and small nation making only its second appearance in a World Cup, but they had to beat Russia, a top 10 team, to get to the Cup finals. They’re a defensive team, too, but will need to get goals in this game from their two forwards, Milivoje Novakovic and Zlatko Dedic, to have a hope of getting out of the group.
My prediction: Slovenia.
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