Hammer F5, click refresh or use our auto-refresher for the latest updates and send your comments to paul.doyle@guardian.co.uk 7 min: No quality on display from either side so far. “If every game in a group ended, let’s say, 1-1, leaving the entire group tied on points and GD, then by what method would Fifa decide who went through to the knockout stages?” asks Will Hayward. “Most reducers?” Lots would be drawn. 5 min: Bold burst by Bradley through the middle. He then slips the ball wide to Findley, who wins a corner taht Donovan wastes. “As a jealous Croatian neighbor I am praying for the Slovenians to lose in order to avoid eruptions of exuberance such as these ,” gnashes Zlatko Ceraj-Ceric. “Come to think of it, this may be a conversation stopper, just the opposite of what was called for.” 3 min: No sooner does play resume after that little ruckus than Ljubjankic concedes a freekick for a careless tackle in the American half. It’s a tetchy opening and no mistake. 1 min: It’s kicked off in more ways than one! After 15 seconds Ljubjankic goes down after copping an elbow from Dempsey. The outraged Slovenians converge on the ref, who, it seems, is not going to punish the American who, if I recall correctly, left John Terry with a broken cheekbone following a similar sort of clash a couple of season ago. Debate: “Now that Germany and Spain have a very good chance of finishing their groups in second place, what do the other teams do?” wonders Gadi Abraham. “Do Brazil and England try to lose points in the last game? Do the Netherlands? How can they go about doing it without the whole world going up in arms?” National anthems: Why do they stick a microphone in front of the players during this formality? It’s really not fair. Both sets of players are appalling singers and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be. Do we ask Beyonce or Ingelbert Humperdink to do keepie-uppies before a concert, do we? 2:54pm: “Watch for Jose Torres in this match,” tips Matt Lucas. “His game is very similar to Xavi Hernandez and he really should have started against England.” I find that hard to believe but am open to being converrted. Bring it on, Jose. Preamble: For reasons that you wil not care about but may well be very grateful for, there is no time for a lengthy intro today. So let me just give you my prediction – USA 1-0 Slovenia – and a plea for one or more of you to suggest a motion for us to debate alongside the match commentary. Thanks. Teams: Slovenia: Samir Handanovic; Miso Brecko, Marko Suler, Bostjan Cesar, Bojan Jokic, Valter Birsa, Robert Koren, Aleksandar Radosavljevic, Andraz Kirm, Zlatan Ljubijankic, Milivoje Novakovic United States: Tim Howard; Steve Cherundolo, Jay DeMerit, Oguchi Onyewu, Carlos Bocanegra; Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley, Jose Torres, Clint Dempsey; Jozy Altidore, Robbie Findley. Referee: Koman Coulibaly (Mali) Stats that may or may not be relevant: • This will be the first ever meeting between Slovenia and USA • USA have kept only one clean sheet in 20 World Cup matches • Slovenia have won seven of their last eight matches • Eight of USA’s 10 goals in the last three World Cups have come in the first half • Landon Donovan was involved in six of USA’s 12 shots against England World Cup 2010 Group C World Cup 2010 Slovenia USA Paul Doyle guardian.co.uk
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World Cup 2010: Slovenia v USA – live!
