World Cup 2010: Slovenia vs USA - Koman Coulibaly Decision Costs the US team a Win
The USA had conceded an early goal in their opening World Cup match against England, but were later on helped by a fumble from the English goalkeeper Robert Green, and were a little lucky to end up getting a point. Coincidentally, Slovenia was also benefited in a similar kind of fumble by the Algerian goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi late on after he had kept the Slovenians quiet for most of the match. Slovenia won that match and was at top of the Group C table after the first round of matches.
A win in this match against the USA would have confirmed Slovenia’s place in the second stage of the 2010 World Cup. Considering that their last match is against the title contenders England, it was extremely important for them to get a positive result from this match. The USA, on the other hand, could also leave matters until their last group match against Algeria, but it is no doubt a lot better to complete the job early on.
The match had a very slow start - something that has become a norm in this tournament - after it was stopped after just ten seconds when Slovenian player Zlatan Ljubijankic got injured. Slovenia started to enjoy more ball possession with Valter Birsa in an innovative mood on the pitch. He created two goal scoring opportunities for Ljubijankic before taking the matters in his own hands and scoring arguably the best goal of the tournament so far. The American goalkeeper, Tim Howard, could not even take his feet off the ground, and could only see the ball fly past him. Birsa’s brilliant performance in the first half was capped by an assist in the counter attack, feeding Ljubijankic to score a second goal for Slovenia just before the halftime.
The second half had a completely different story. Landon Donovan scored early on from a solo run with an unstoppable shot in roof of the net from close range. The Americans continued to press for the equaliser while receiving tough tackles from the Slovenians, and were awarded for their spirited performance with a goal from their coach Bob Bradley’s son Michael Bradley with only eights minutes remaining, assisted by a good performance from Jozy Altidore. Maurice Edu followed to put the ball in back of the net for a winner from Donovan’s kick, only to be disallowed by the referee for pushing among the players.
It would not be harsh on Slovenia to comment that the USA had done just enough overall to deserve victory in this match. No doubt the European minnows had played extremely well in the first half and their two goals were sensational, but not being able to defend their two goal advantage was very poor on their part. USA showed a winning attitude and resilience in coming from two goals down to have actually created an opportunity to complete a victory, only to be denied that chance by a mysterious and controversial decision by the Malian referee Koman Coulibaly.
USA will face Algeria in their last group match, which they need to win to keep their fate in their own hands and guarantee their place in the Round of 16. If England fails to beat Slovenia in their match or draws at 0-0 or 1-1, then a point from the Algeria game will also be enough for USA to progress through this group with second position. A defeat at Algeria’s hands, however, will end their 2010 World Cup campaign.
Slovenia will play England in their last group match, which is almost a must win for England. Slovenia, on the other hand, just needs to avoid defeat in it for not depending on the USA-Algeria result. A win for Slovenia over England will guarantee their top spot in the group, while a draw will get them the second position if USA gets the likely win against Algeria. If the USA-Algeria match ends in a draw, then Slovenia need not worry about the result in their own match, as Slovenia will have their qualification guaranteed to the knock-out, but position will still matter.
The winner of this group will face the runners-up of Group D in the Round of 16, while the second-positioned team from this group will face their winners. Group D consists of Germany, Ghana, Serbia and Australia.
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