Slovenia at the World Cup

Slovenia

Vital Statistics:

World Cup appearances – 1

Best World Cup – Round 1; 2002

FIFA World Ranking – 31

Manager: Matjaz Zahovic

Captain: Robert Koren

Profile:

Slovenia are another of the breakaway nations that split apart from Yugoslavia to form their own independent country. They made their first real impact on the football scene back in 2000 in the European Championships when they were a surprise inclusion after beating Ukraine in a play-off. They would later earn two draws in the Group Stage of the tournament before losing in a respectable manner to Spain, 2-1. They did now, however, bypass the group despite some creditable results. However, they were startling us once more in 2002 when they qualified for the 2002 World Cup in Japan by going through the whole of qualifying unbeaten. They later beat Romania in a play-off, although once they got to Japan they went home unhappy and empty-handed after failing to pick up a single point in their group.

The Slovenians, despite not boasting some high profile players, have been a persistent nuisance for most opponents and be the thorn in someone’s side in the summer. They have proved in the past that they can compete on the big stage, but they’ve yet to win a fixture in the World Cup proper.

Key Player(s):

Robert Koren -

it doesn’t bode well to hear that the captain of Slovenia is that of a Championship player in West Brom’s Robert Koren. However, being a captain isn’t always about having stand-out quality but more about being a worthy leader. The ‘Baggies’ midfielder has been described as a ‘model professional’ by his club manager back home and this is perhaps why Zahovic has opted for Koren as captain as he leads by example and is a role model to the kids back home in Slovenia.

Milivoje Novakovic -

We know next to nothing about the FC Cologne forward but he was Slovenia’s highest scoring striker during qualification with five goals and looks to be their sole hope of goals in South Africa. We haven’t seen him play all that often, with a few brief glimpses of him during some of their qualifiers, but he is a tall, some would say lanky, individual so perhaps he will be a threat from crosses. He does average a goal every 3 games for his country and is, on paper anyway, their best forward heading into South Africa.

Strengths – Slovenia appear to have this underdog aurora about them. They won’t be fancied in the slightest to go far in South Africa but could cause a few countries a problem with their stiff and rigid approach to games. They should also merit some form of respect for beating Russia in a two-legged play-ff just to get this far, beating the Russian’s home and away.

Also, Slovenia finished qualifying with the best defensive record, beating the likes of England & Spain to that honour after conceding just 4 goals in 10 qualifiers. That’s a staggering statistic for such a small nation on a football scale.

Weakness – Their obvious flaw is that they don’t boast too many well known players, which could be seen as a good factor as it makes then an unknown quantity. However, in this day and age just about every player with an ounce of talent gets spotted and picked up by the big clubs and the fact that these Slovakian players haven’t been lured away is a concern. However, the vast majority do ply their trade with European clubs so they will have some form of knowledge of how the big names in Europe play. Still, a big lack of quality in camp makes them a weak proposition.

Qualification:

Sector: European

Group: 3

Position: 2nd

Win-Draw-Lose: 6-2-2

Goals Scored: 18

Goals Conceded: 4

Slovenia boast the best defensive record in Europe after conceding just four goals in ten qualifiers. However, their solid defence wasn’t enough to seal qualification via the group as they had to battle their way past Russia in a play-off to finally seal their passage in South Africa. Slovenia beat Russia 3-1 on Aggregate, winning in both Russia & Slovenia.

World Cup Potential: 2/5

Their amazing defence during qualifying makes them a potentially awkward opponent for some and they could very well spring a surprise if they defend well in games and knick a rare goal on the break. We don’t think they’ll stand much of a chance against the bigger nations but we don’t think Slovenia will leave South Africa empty handed. We fancy the Slovenians to claim at least one scalp this summer, before they inevitably pack their bags, unfortunately.

Current World Cup Odds (Outright): 300/1 bWin

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