Group C Preview

The Group C Contenders

Note: I am condencing and changing the format into single side-by-side previews for all countries now rather than individual team previews.

England	13th World Cup Appearance	25 Win17 Draws 13 Loses	1 Time World Champions (1966) 1 Time Fourth Place (1990) & 1996 European Championship Semifinalist and 1968 Third Place
United States	9th World Cup appearance	6 Wins 3 Draws 11 Losses	2002 World Cup Quarter Finalists 4 Times North American Champions (1991, 2002, 2005, 2007) 4 Times Runners-Up (1989, 1993, 1998, 2009)
Algeria	3rd World Cup appearance	2 Wins 1 Draw and 3 Losses	1990 African Champions and 1980 Runners Up and 2 Times 3rd Place (1984, 1988) 2010 and 1982 4th Place
Slovenia	2nd World Cup Appearance	0 Wins 0 Draws 3 Losses	1 World Cup and 1 European Championship Participation

Overview: The US Wins in Land Area and Population with Algeria Second, Slovenia fights for first with Algeria in Cuisine, but do any of these teams actually have a chance of unseating England in football?

Land Area (sq km): Eng: 130 395 USA: 9,826,675 Alg: 2,381,741 Sln: 20, 273

Populations: Eng: 51,446,000 million USA: 309,449,000 Million Alg: 34,895,000 Sln: 2,054,199

Team Bus Slogans:

Slovenia

Z enajstimi pogumnimi srci do konca 

(With eleven brave hearts to the end)

USA

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Victory!

Algeria

نجمة وهلال من أجل هدف واحد: النصر

(Star and crescent with one goal: Victory!)

England

Playing with Pride and Glory

Team Positive Nicknames: Eng: The Three Lions USA: The Yanks, The Stars & Stripes Alg: Les Fennecs (The Desert Foxes) Sln: The Mountaineers

Team Negative Nicknames: Eng: The Hooligans USA: The Yanks, The Rejected Baseball Players Alg: The Algerian Diving Team Sln: Slovakia

Most Famous Clubs: 

Eng: Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea 

USA: Los Angelex Galaxy, Chicago Fire, D.C. United, Columbus Crew 

Alg: Entente Sportive de Sétif, JS Kabylie, MC Alger, USM Alger, MC Oran 

Sln: NK Maribor, ND Gorica, Interblock Ljubljana, Olimpija Ljubljana

Famous Players of the Past:

Eng: Bobby Charlton, Alan Shearer, Gary Lineker, George Best, Peter Shilton, Jimmy Greaves, Paul Gascoigne, David Platt, Kevin Keegan and many more...

USA: Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Alexi Lalas, Cobi Jones, Tom Dooley, Claudio Reyna, Eric Wynalda

Algeria: Abdelhafid Tasfaout, Lakhdar Belloumi, Zinedine Zidane, Djamel Menad

Slovenia: Zlatko Zahovič, Aleš Čeh, Milenko Ačimovič, Nastja Čeh, Srečko Katanec, Branko Oblak, Danilo Popivoda

The 4 National Anthems Singing Competition: Slovenia by far takes the prize with a bloody scramble of rockets, soldiers,queens and blood for second place.

England: Still God Save the Queen although soon to be changed to Jerusalem.. commonly sung by very soaked England fans with a distinct smell of fermented wheat in the air, therefore it has been kept rather simple to avoid „embarassment” 

God save our gracious Queen,

Long live our noble Queen,

God save the Queen:

Send her victorious,

Happy and glorious,

Long to reign over us:

God save the Queen.

O Lord, our God, arise,

Scatter her enemies,

And make them fall.

Confound their politics,

Frustrate their knavish tricks,

On Thee our hopes we fix,

God save us all.

Thy choicest gifts in store,

On her be pleased to pour;

Long may she reign:

May she defend our laws,

And ever give us cause

To sing with heart and voice

God save the Queen

USA: Something about rockets and bombs but nothing about A-rabs.

O! say can you see by the dawn's early light,

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,

Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?

And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;

O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Algeria: Blood, lightning, more blood, soldiers on mountains, blood and destruction, all is destroyed except Algeria

We swear by the lightning that destroys,

By the streams of generous blood being shed,

By the bright flags that wave,

Flying proudly on the high mountains,

That we have risen up, and whether we live or die,

We are resolved that Algeria shall live -

So be our witness -be our witness - be our witness!

We are soldiers in revolt for truth

And we have fought for our independence.

When we spoke, none listened to us,

So we have taken the noise of gunpowder as our rhythm

And the sound of machine guns as our melody,

We are resolved that Algeria shall live -

So be our witness -be our witness -be our witness!

Slovenia: A drinking song, about a poet and his national idea, really wins the anthems league... also says that God should bless all nations, a rare sign of universalism.

The vintage, friends, is over, And here sweet wine makes, once again, Sad eyes and hearts recover, Puts fire into every vein. Drowns dull care, Everywhere, And summons hope out of despair.

To whom with acclamation, And song shall we our first toast give? God save our land and nation, And all Slovenes where'er they live, Who own the same, Blood and name, And who one glorious Mother claim.

God's blessing on all nations, Who long and work for that bright day, When o'er earth's habitations No war, no strife shall hold its sway; Who long to see That all men free, No more shall foes, but neighbours be.

The competition of the cuisines: Algerian and Slovenian are fighting for first place, with the Algeria winning on penalties due to spice usage. England and America dropping out due to liver disease.

Algeria: Heavily influenced by Berber, a wonderfully diverse staple of North African fare focusing on Lamb, Beans and Marvellous Sauces benefiting from an exotic bouquet of spices and very healthy, good cooking methods. 

Slovenia: Surprisingly good wines and decent beers accompany a mix of absolutely everything depending completely on which mountain valley you happen to be in.

England: Saved from last place by fish & chips, English cooking is really not as bad as its reputation. Stews, pies, puddings and all types of other heavies make it possible to be pleasant. It might however just be the reason why England hasn't won anything in ages.

U.S.A.: The burger in all its manifestations leaves little else ot say.

The Tactics:

England: Capello furnishes his teams with defensive strength, and allows them to advance in an evolution of the classical Italian build-up approach. England attack, like a climber climbs mountains , in stages, and even though it can all look fast and spontaneous its a very organized 4-4-2 or possibly 4-5-1 that Capello will deploy.

U.S.A.: The Americans are getting better and better every year, and while I used to love to make fun of the team, they are not to be underrated anymore. Firstly the U.S. has a lot of very fast and very fit players, without brilliant technical abilities (apart from Landon Donovan), as the US press tries to portray, but with great acceleration and teamwork. The work-rate, arrogance and determination of the yanks combined with much less rebellious tactics than the 3-6-1 that Bruce Arena invented and was criticized far, the current manager Bob Bradley. He focuses extensivelly on set pieces and plays a 4-4-2 against smaller opponents and often a very defensive 4-5-1 against bigger teams like England. Sometimes he deploys a wilder position in an adapted 4-3-3 with a lot of free roaming attacking players but is not likely to use that in the World Cup because he knows his players are a bit outclassed by the opposition.

Algeria: Algeria have attacking talent but they don’t use it preferring to rely on an exceptional defense and theatrics. Sadly, honestly, having watched Algeria much over the years I find their diving and referee playing as horrible as Brazil’s or Portugals. To be honest however, the 4-5-1 that has been used by Algeria can be highly effective on the break, and they have a lot of good long-range scorers and physically capable defenders. Playing the referee, and time wasting champions when in the lead, this tactic sadly usually manages to give them the necessary advantage.

Slovenia: A very classic, very straightforward flat 4-4-2 is what Slovenia play to great success. Without the individual talent of bigger opponents they have beaten, Slovenia plays out the wing based attack like a Denmark or a Czech Republic of 1996 to perfection. They have a lot of players who don’t think too much when pushing the ball over the goal line with any body part. Their defence is very solid and well supported by the rest of the team, something the Russians found out the hard way.

The Strengths:

England: World Class, phenomenal individuals talents, speed in attack, height with Peter Crouch, strong defenders – everything really except for goalkeepers. The midfielders can all score, and often do.

US: Very fast and fit players with an underdog complex driving them to a „do whatever it takes to win” attitude. The U.S. has some very good players in the like of Landon Donovan or the Goalkeeping team which continues the great US tradition between the posts.

Algeria: A very good defense qualified them for the World Cup and keeps working for them. They are experts of playing the referee and getting calls their way. Surprising technical skills and shooting power from some players can prove dangerous.

Slovenia: Clockwork. Slovenia works as a team like few others, with everyone knowing where every one else is at a given moment even with eyes closed. Novakovic is a great finisher, and a couple of other players play with a lot of heart scoring important goals. The defense is rock-solid and the goalkeeper Handanovic is fantastic.

The Weaknesses: 

England: Goalkeeping is a relative week spot but not in relation to the group. David James is not that great, and Robert Green has his own problems whichever keeper Capello chooses. Injuries have hit England hard in defence but they should be able to cope. The pressure of must-win could rattle England.

US: The US honestly still lacks World Class talent, especially in defence. Bradley is good at making a tight defence out of mediocre players, but during a World Cup that just might not be enough. 

Algeria: Algeria defend, and are unacustomed going forward to attack. They also have a tendancy to lose their heads and aquire cards, as for example 3 reds in a January African Nations Cup game. Otherwise they simply lack the offensive quality to go very far in this World Cup.

Slovenia: Slovenia lack enough World Class players, and will finally lose to the right big opponent. Their system, once analyzed is very predictable, they kept on winning because opponents underestimated them and didn’t prepare defensivelly, this can soon end.

The Expectations, the surprise potential, and the Shocker

The standard scenario is nearly unavoidable, England will sweep this group on the way to one of their best World Cups ever. In the Standard scenario the U.S. would come second with Algeria and Slovenia picking up the last two spots. There is surprise potential in that any of the three teams have and outside, marginal chance of beating England, and the U.S. could finnish top of the group if England drop points. The Shocker here is nearly impossible, and that would mean England failing to qualify from this group, this is an easy group for England, and that is just not supposed to happen. Another possibility of a shock can come from Slovenia continuing their brilliant run of form and making it out of this Group.

Finally Obi Wan Asterix’s Predictions your reward for having read this far:

There is not much margin for shock here, and the standard will happen that England will advance with the U.S. advancing. I don’t see Algeria succeeding, and I give Slovenia a slightly better chance.

The Managers:

England: Fabio Capello is one of the best Managers in football. He has won league titles with four different teams and the Champions League with Milan, is one of the best handlers of overpaid superstars, and is a consumate tactician making him a brilliant choice for England. He is sometimes disliked by others for his harsh, dry attitude and lack of empathy with players, but his sense of imposing discipline usually pays off. He has also been rather controversial, praising Francisco Franco on occassion and aquiring a 17 million pound art collection. 

USA: Bob Bradley navigated through heavy criticism in the US to create a highly competitive and capable American team out of the disasterous era of Bruce Arena. Nepotistic in having his son Michael ever present in the US team, Bradley is a manager who trains together with his players and has the yanks playing a really American style of „soccer” instead of an imported tactical model. Bradley has very high ambitions for his team, and tends to act as if the US had the status of a Brazil or Germany.

Algeria: Rabah Saadane makes an impression of being a nice old man, but his Algeria are a diving, fouling group of players. He plays the much hated tactic of drawing other teams to attack Algeria before hitting them on the counter attack. Saadane nevertheless is one of the cleverest coaches in Africa, and his success at club level and with now his fifth spell in charge of the Algerian National team is not for a lack of reason. Opponents beware, this little old yoda might be a sith, but he really knows how to get points and pick his team up and remotivate them after a beating.

Slovenia: Matjaž Kek was himself a good defender, and knows how to construct a team on a solid defense. He is very down to earth, gets along great with his players, and is a master of making them believe and achieve what they set out to do. This is not said off-hand as Slovenia have had stunningly surprising success since he took over in 2007, for example winning 8 of their last nine games, and managing a brilliant 2-1 lost to England at Wembley last September in a friendly. Matjaz is really the right man in the right place.

Key Players: (x times played for country, x goals for national team)

England:

John Terry, 29, Central Defender, Chelsea (60,6) one of the World’s Best Defenders, „the Tank” Terry has always been a source of stabiltiy for England but now his controversies around sleeping around with teammate’s girlfriends have made him lose the England captaincy. An incredible asset but he is dealing with controversy and his form has to been seen.

Jamie Carragher, 32, Central/Right Defender, Liverpool (36,0) Capello convinced him to come of international retirement just in time, as Rio Ferdinand became injured. He is tough and a top defender, will he form a good partnership with Terry? If he does than England has the best defence in the world no less.

Steven Gerrard, 30, Central Midfielder, Liverpool (81,16) one of the greats, but can be sellfish and take too many long shots from time to time. Capello seems to be getting the best out of him. In my opinion he was best as a defensive midfielder, but now he is used more and more forward where he wastes many opportunities.

Frank Lampard, 31, Central Midfielder, Chelsea (78,20) another great name of the game, he is key to England’s success coming fresh from his Chelsea title winning team. 

Wayne Rooney, 24, Forward, Manchester United (60,25) another phenomenal season with Man Utd, he is very dangerous going forward and a constant danger. His weakness is psychological, and he has previously gotten many red cards in key matches for various losses of cool. Now he seems more mature, but that remains to be seen. A candidate for top scorer of the tournament.

Joe Cole, 28, Left/Offensive Midfielder, Chelsea (54,10) attacking midfielder and left winger who has been underused by Capello, but has been one of the most effective players for England.

Jermaine Defoe, 27, Attacker/Left Winger, Tottenham (39,11) another fantastic season with Tottenham with bags of goals but he still hasn’t convinced Capello. At the moment he is the best England player to partner Rooney, but will he get enough playing time to score goals for England?

US:

Tim Howard, Goalkeeper, 31, Everton (51,0) famous for his Tourette syndrome he is unable to stop swearing. Howard continues the tradition of great American goalkeepers and adds a lot of value to a sometimes untallented American team. His command of the area and shot stopping are superb making him probably the best goalkeeper in the group except for Handanovic.

Landon Donovan, Attacking Midfielder/Forward, 28, L.A. Galaxy (123,42) arrogant, driven, and snotty this very capable player stands out from American football history as probably the best US National player of all time. His passing, playmaking and goalscoring make him a threat on and off the ball, and the US success depends largely on his flair and creativity. He likes to play the referee and wind up opponents when the US are in trouble, but don’t take you eyes off of him when he has the ball.

Carlos Bocanegra, 31, Central Defender, Rennes (79,12) his jumping ability is superb which means he scores many goals at all levels of the game from corners and headed goals. He has greatly improved his defensive game in European club football and is an asset to the team. He now captains team USA.

Oguchi Onyewu, 28, Central Defender, AC Milan (54,5) although he plays for Milan he missed most of the season due to a knee injury. In some ways he is overrated but his ability to stay focused make him the best American defender. If he starts for the US team he can form a very tight defense with Bocanegra, but not always.

Michael Bradley, 22, Central Midfielder, B.Moenchengladbach (43,7) he is the coaches son, but he deservedly plays a key role for the team, starting off the attacks and playing a key role in central midfield setting the team’s pace. His free kicks can be dangerous, and he assists many goals.

Jozy Altidore, 20, Striker, Villareal (25,9) he scores important goals for the US team, but has failed to make a massive impact at club level. His main attributes are physical and he posesses impressive speed and strength which are a mainstay of US tactics. Injury problems means he could be absent giving Bob Bradley a real problem in choosing attackers.

DeMarcus Beasley, 28, Left Winger/Attacker, Rangers (92,17) he is probably the most succesfull US player after Donovan, Beasley makes important runs and can play a variety of positions ranging from left midfield to striker. He is not really World Class but almost, making him a key team for the US.

Clint Dempsey, 27, many midfield and forward positions, Fulham (62,18) it doesn’t matter when he plays he is probably the most in-form US player having a tremendously good season with Fulham guiding them to the Europa cup final and scoring many important teams for the US. He really often gets into very dangerous scoring positions and is excellent at putting away the ball.

Algeria:

Yazid Mansouri, 32, Defensive Midfielder, Lorient (67,0) the team captain, and a clever organizer, Mansouri is a rare stable and honest player comparing to some of the antics of his teammates. He together with Yebda is the iron gate to the Algerian goal, and all attacks start with him.

Karim Matmour, 24, Attacking Midfielder, Forward, B.Moenchengladbach (22,2) a player who has not yet done great things, except scoring perhaps the goal of the tournament in January’s Africa Nations cup, his physical strength and determiniation will be key if Algeria is to find a way to the opponent’s goal.

Hassan Yebda, 26, Central Midfielder, Benfica (9,0) a standard defensive midfielder that has trouble going from defense to attack and slows down the game too much. His contribution in being an effective gatekeeper in front of the defense are very important.

Madjid Bougherra, 27, Center Back, Rangers (41,3) together with Yahia they form Africa’s best central defense. Really tough in the air, sometimes scoring important goals from set pieces and a realy leaer of the team from the back Madjid contribution in shutting down opposition teams will be key if Algeria are to advance.

Antar Yahia, 28, Bochum, Center Back (44,5) he scored the magnificient volley that knocked africa’s best team Egypt out of the World Cup. His main contribution is forming probably Africa’s tighest defense together with Bougherra. Strong on the tackle, positioning and in the air he is a genuine defensive force on which the success of Algeria rests.

Karim Ziani, 27, Left Winger, Wolfsburg (55,5) the former Marseille man’s crosses are essential to ensuring that Algeria will be able to attack this World Cup. His performances for the national team could be better, but he does ocassionally manage to pull off something with a lot of class.

Faouzi Chaouchi, 25, Goalkeeper, ES Setif (10,0) Even though he might lose his place again to traditional no.1 Gaouaoui, Chaouchi needs mention because he was instrumental in his highly controversial achievements playing while the older keeper was injured over the last twelve months with Algeria. He has an incredible two legs against Egypt during the qualification playoff, with brilliant saves and seemed unbeatable. He folded during Algeria’s destruction by humble Malawi at the African Nations only to recover his important influence on the team, although he feigned a concussion and wasted around 15 minutes of game time before being sent off. He is dishonnest and young, but a passionate and skilled if unpolished goalkeeper.

Slovenia: 

Milivoje Novakovic, 31, Striker, FC Koln (38,16) a strong, dynamic attacker who is very efficient up front for Slovenia and will need to continue his incredible 50% goalscoring record if Slovenia are to surprise.

Samir Handanovic, 25, Goalkeeper, Udinese (39,0) a highly underrated goalkeeper, Handanovic could very well make a move to a bigger club soon. He has reflexes and can make extraordinary saves, while being a comanding presence in the penalty box.

Robert Koren, 29, Midfielder, West Bromich Albion (41,0) a real leader in the Slovenian midfield, and the team’s captain, Koren is a clever passer and playmaker of the tradtional mould. He is useless at scoring goals, but fantastic at keeping the Slovenian clock ticking.

Valter Birsa, 23, Right Winger, Auxerre (34,2) a dangerous quick, hardworking midfielder who provided most of the important assists with his exceptional crosses for Slovenia in qualification. He doesn’t have phenomal speed or dribbling ability, but his ability to help his team is phenomenal.

Zlatko Dedic, 26, Striker, Bochum (24,3) three goals only, not much ability but the three most important goals that Slovenia needed for qualification „golden” Dedic as his name is translated has really become Slovenia’s golden boy and lucky charm.

Unknows Set to Shine:

Aaron Lennon, 23, Right Winger, Tottenham (17,0) a fantastic, mercurial winger who had a monumental season with Tottenham looking like one of the most dangerous right wingers in the game. Will compete with Shaun Wright Philipps for the starting spot and probably get it.

Shaun Wright-Phillips, Right Winger, 28, Man City (31,6) the former Chelsea player’s time to show off his true talent has come. He has better dribble than Aaron Lennon and provides a methodical alternative to Milner and Lennon for Capello, that is if he gets playing time. He is however a fantastic choice for the bench, and this could be Capello’s brilliance.

Ledley King, 29, Central Defender, Tottenham (20,2) with Rio’ injury Ledley could fill the defensive role in front of Carragher if problems arise. He is very highly valued in England and a major figure in Tottenham’s resurgence as a team. His physical strength and stability make him a formidable talent, which could be obvious if he gets a chance to demonstrate it this WC.

Djamel Abdoun, 24, Right Winger, Nantes (7,0) a crafty right winger, that looks in his limited appearances so far, as a key new asset for Algeria. If he is not sacrificed due to an overly defensive policy of the coach he could really make a name for himself this June.

Abdelkader Ghezzal, 25, Striker, Siena (19,3) Algeria’s most interesting striker, he is very hard working up front where he often plays alone. Big and strong, he does well in a crowd of defenders by holding up balls and setting up teammates. He could shine here.

Tim Matavž, 21, Striker, Groningen (1,0) a real revelation in the Dutch league anda  surprise inclusion in the Slovenian team. A 188 cm tall skilled player.

Rene Krhin, 20, Central Midfielder, Inter Milan (4,0) a very talented, very inexperienced Slovenian prospect from the Inter youth team with bags of technical ability... will he play?

Jose Francisco Torres, 22, Central Midfielder, Pachuca (10,0) a very good addition to the US team, he is very well rounded and a likely starter.

Glen Johnson, Right Defender, 25, Liverpool (22,1) excellent defending, excellent going forward, a major star of Liverpool's poor season who was a great aquisition in an otherwise bleak season. He is peaking as a player but Capello rightly respects his tremendous abilities.

Missing key players:

Rio Ferdinand, 31, Central Defender, Manchester United (78,3) a major loss in defence for England, but they can cope. Injured.

David Beckham, 35, Right Midfielder, L.A. Galaxy (115,17) A legend who can be very important with his tremendous experience and fantastic passing. Injured.

Theo Walcott, 21, Arsenal, Right Winger/Forward (11,3) this fast still learning winger/forward didn’t meet Capello’s plans who chose Shaun Wright Phillips and Aaron Lennon and James Milner in that role instead.

Ashley Young, 24, Attacking Mild, Aston Villa (6,0) a huge talent with a very medium season, he will get his chance if he finds the form again.

Gabriel Agbonlahor, 23, Forward, Aston Villa (3,0) a fast good forward who had a moderate season and didn’t make the team.

Yacine Bezzaz, 28, Winger, Strasbourg (21,0) an asset for the poor Algerian offense but has not been selected for the team.

Miran Burgič, 25, Forward, AIK (5,0) a champion in Sweden last season, but never realy fitting into Slovenia.

Eddie Johnson, 26, Forward, Fulham (41,12) a huge loss for the US, as he is the best attacker the Americans have outside of Altydore. He hit a low slump of form and was very controvertially left out the team by Bob Bradley.

Conor Casey, 28, Forward, Colorado Rapids (19,2) a US talent of sorts, but not really. Another well known US attacker left out, but with the poor goal scoring record that’s understandable.

The Schedule

5	12/06 @ 2030h
6	13/06 @ 1330h
22	18/06 @ 1600h
23	18/06 @ 2030h
37	23/06 @ 1600h
38	23/06 @ 1600h