England vs Algeria full preview Robert Green or James
England will be hoping to put a sub-standard opening performance behind them, when they encounter Algeria in their second match in Group C.A 1-1 stalemate with the United States posed plenty of questions for the Three Lions, and they know there is still a lot of work to be done if they are to live up to pre-tournament expectations.
A win against Algeria would go some way to comforting a challenging public, and give them a good chance of reaching the knockout stages, but England have an inclination of doing things the hard way over the years.
If their performance against the USA is the best they have to offer, then the 2010 World Cup could be heading in the same way as previous tournaments, as they allowed two invaluable points to slither through their hands, quite literally.
Robert Green will have replayed the horror of letting Clint Dempsey's weak effort to trickle over the line a hundred times, while several of his teammates on show in Rustenburg are liable to have taken a good look at themselves and the effort they put in.
A faltering start, as opposed to a flying one, suggests alterations could be on the cards when England turn up in Cape Town, but Fabio Capello has persistently refused to give any hints as to his selection thoughts.
Algeria could also come to a decision to energize things, for their second outing, following a lacklustre 1-0 loss to Slovenia in their opening match, which will have done little to arouse confidence.
The Africans suffered a goalkeeping disaster of their own in that game and they too may settle on a different last line of cover this time out.
They unquestionably need to elevate their game significantly if they are to cause England problems, while losing would almost certainly end their World Cup tournament, and see them packing their suitcases for the journey home.
As suggested, England face somewhat of a selection predicament heading into the game, with troublesome knocks and a lack of creativity against America giving Capello a bit of a headache.
The Italian may well decide to support Green, by giving him another chance to prove his worth between the posts, but reasons can be made for the inclusion of either David James or Joe Hart.
In the defence, Ledley King will certainly be missing, having suffered a groin injury, meaning Jamie Carragher, Michael Dawson and Matthew Upson will fight it out for the opportunity to partner John Terry.
Having watched James Milner and Shaun Wright-Phillips provide very little down the left wing last time out both, may have to settle for a seat on the bench.
With Gareth Barry back to full health and set to carry on his holding role in the midfield, Steven Gerrard is to be expected to be allowed a Messi type role, whereby he will be allowed to roam.
Meanwhile, the striking partnership of Emile Heskey and Wayne Rooney was quite a handful for the USA last Saturday, and should be the forward line once again.
With Algeria far from blessed with world-class alternatives in their goalkeeping ranks, they are likely to stay loyal to Faouzi Chaouchi , regardless of his glaring blunder against Slovenia and a knee injury picked up in training.
The main concern for manager Rabah Saadane to address, is how to achieve the best from his striking talents, allowing them the opportunity to test an England defence which appears vulnerable to pace and movement.
A lot will be expected of Wolfsburg star Karim Ziani, but the midfield maestro needs support from others around him if he is to have an impact on proceedings.
One of those who will certainly not be offering his contribution is Abdelkader Ghezzal, following his irresponsible sending off against Slovenia.
He lasted just 15 minutes of that match, following his appearance as a second half substitute, and picked up two yellow cards, meaning he must serve a suspension.
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