Group C contenders
England
USA
Algeria
Slovenia

Route to finals
Slovenia produced one of the upsets of the preliminaries when they first secured second place in European zone Group 3 ahead of Czech Republic and Poland, and then beat Russia in a play-off to secure their finals berth.

Despite the tough opposition, the Slovenians ended up comfortably claiming the runners-up spot in the group, with six wins, two draws and two losses, enough to finish just two points behind winners Slovakia.

As a result, and just like when they qualified for the 2002 World Cup, they were required to go through a play-off.

At the half-way stage, however, it didn’t look good for the Slovenians, going down 2-1 in Moscow. But a resilient performance in Maribor in the return leg saw the Russians beaten 1-0 and miss out on South Africa on the away goals ruling.

Manager
Matjaz Kek won only one cap as a player for Slovenia but that has not stopped him making huge strides in international management.

He took over the reins of the national team in 2007, after six years with his home town of Maribor and a year with the Slovenian youth teams.

Player watch
Few of the Slovenia squad actually ply their trade in their homeland, with the majority making their professional way in Europe’s more established leagues.

Perhaps the most well known of these to an English audience is Robert Koren, the man who captained his country through the qualifying campaign.

The midfielder has been a mainstay at West Bromwich Albion since 2007 and played an instrumental role in getting the Baggies promoted back into the Premiership in 2010. 

Competition History
First appearance: 2002
No. of appearances (inc 2010): 2
Best result: Group Stage
Matches against England: 1

Squad

Goalkeepers
1	Samir Handanovic	Udinese, ITA
12	Jasmin Handanovic	Mantova, ITA
16	Aleksander Šeliga	Sparta Rotterdam, NED
Defenders
2	Miso Brecko	1. FC Köln, GER
3	Elvedin Dzinic	NK Maribor, SLO
4	Marko Suler	AA Gent, BEL
5	Bo štjan Cesar	Grenoble, FRA
6	Branko Ilic	Lokomotiv Moskva, RUS
13	Bojan Jokic	Chievo, ITA
19	Suad Filekovic	NK Maribor, SLO
22	Matej Mavric	TuS Koblenz, GER
Midfielders
8	Robert Koren	West Bromwich Albion, ENG
10	Valter Birsa	AJ Auxerre, FRA
15	Rene Krhin	Internazionale, ITA
17	Andraz Kirm	Wisla Kraków, POL
18	Aleksander Radosavljevic	Larissa, GRE
20	Andrej Komac	Maccabi Tel Aviv, ISR
21	Dalibor Stevanovic	Vitesse, NED
Forwards
7	Nejc Pecnik	CD Nacional, POR
9	Zlatan Ljubijankic	AA Gent, BEL
11	Milivoje Novakovic	1. FC Köln, GER
14	Zlatko Dedic	VfL Bochum, GER
23	Tim Matavz	FC Groningen, NED