Next up for US is potential giant-killer Slovenia, smallest nation in World Cup

A primer on Slovenia before US matchup

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.

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 the 2010 World Cup.

Prime Minister Borut Pahor called it “an epic victory which shows once again we’re a small nation with a big heart.”

Pahor vowed to clean the players’ boots if they qualified for the World Cup and fulfilled his promise after the stunning victory over Russia in November. Playing it safe, he made no similar promises ahead for the World Cup.

Slovenia’s success stems primarily from a tight defense led by center back Bostjan Cesar. The team allowed 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 ’80s 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.

Right now Slovenia is all about soccer. The country has been on a joyride since the playoff win over Russia and the word on everyone’s lips is “pravlica,” which means fairy tale in Slovene.

One player, midfielder Andrej Komac, already has predicted victory over the Americans.

“I think talk is cheap,” American goalkeeper Tim Howard said Wednesday. “He’s got to stand toe to toe. And they’ve got to stand toe to toe with us for 90 minutes. And if he’s still standing, then I’ll take my hat off to him. But a lot of boxers talk, too, and they’re looking up at the lights. And the next thing they know, they’re trying to figure out how they got there.”

As always, throngs of people will gather to watch Slovenia’s match with the Americans on a big screen set up on the main square in the capital, Ljubljana. President Danilo Turk will attend the match at the request of the players.

“After our first win against Algeria we are very motivated for the next game,” Stevanovic said. “Everything is in our hands.”

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Associated Press writers Ali Zerdin in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and Snjezana Vukic in Zagreb, Croatia, contributed to this report.