Slovenia not well known in soccer circles

Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG

OK, time to grab a map or look at a globe. The mission: finding Slovenia.

When Slovenia faces the United States on Friday, it will be one of those little guys versus giants moments that sometimes happen at the World Cup.

With a population of 2 million spread over a land the size of New Jersey, Slovenia is not as widely recognized in the world as its Balkan neighbors Croatia and Serbia. Annoyingly to Slovenes, the third-smallest nation to make a World Cup — Northern Ireland and Trinidad and Tobago have fewer people — often is confused with slightly larger Slovakia.

But 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 United States at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.

“The important thing is the heart, not how big you are as a country,” midfielder Dalibor Stevanovic said.

American fans browsing the Internet for information on their next World Cup opponent — searches for “where is Slovenia” is spiking off the charts — will find that, statistically, the two countries are in different leagues.

Besides the fact there are 150 times more Americans than Slovenes on the planet, the U.S. has a strong edge when it comes to soccer. The United States is No. 14 on the FIFA world rankings and has participated in the World Cup eight times before, with a 1930 semifinal as its best performance.

Slovenia, ranked 25th, is entering soccer’s biggest show for only the second time, and without any prominent players on the squad.

But none of that matters to Slovenian coach Matjaz Kek and his resilient squad of fighters. Just ask Russia.

Against the 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 the Czech Republic and Poland.

And that’s not the only time Slovenia stunned the soccer world. It qualified for the 2000 European Championship by beating Ukraine in a playoff. Two years later it 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 threw the team off-balance, and it lost all three group stage matches.

Slovenia has already done better in South Africa. On Sunday, captain Robert Koren’s second-half goal against Algeria secured its first World Cup win and first place in Group C after England and the U.S. drew.