Five things about England v Slovenia which you might not know

Friday 29 Sep 2017

England return to Wembley next Thursday for their penultimate World Cup qualifier against Slovenia.

Gareth Southgate’s men know that a victory in front of a home crowd will be enough to see them secure their spot in Russia next summer.

And even a draw might be good enough, depending on how the game between Scotland and Slovakia goes in Glasgow on the same night.

The build-up to the game begins on Sunday evening when the Three Lions squad meet up at St. George’s Park but in the meantime, we’ve selected five things about England v Slovenia you might not have known.

A short history

The first-ever meeting between England and Slovenia took place was a friendly at Wembley in September 2009. England won 2-1 as Frank Lampard scored from the spot in the first half before Jermain Defoe added a second just past the hour mark. Zlatan Ljubijankic scored for Slovenia in the 85th minute.

Positive outcome

The draw between the nations in Ljubljana last October was Slovenia's first ever positive result against the Three Lions. Both teams attempted 13 shots and hit the target four times, but the game ended 0-0.

Pass masters

England completed almost twice as many passes as Slovenia in last year’s match (603 - 307) in Ljubljana.

Slovenia's slayer

England striker Jermain Defoe has scored in his two games against Slovenia, with both proving to be the winner. The aforementioned Wembley goal in the 2009 friendly was his first, before he netted a first-half winner in the 2010 World Cup group game in South Africa to help England into the knock-out stages. He hasn't featured against them since so will be looking to make it a treble this month.

Slovenian shut out

The 0-0 draw in Ljubljana in 2016 is the only time England have failed to score in their last 20 qualifiers (World Cup or Euro Championship). This dated back to a scoreless draw with Ukraine in September 2013.

Tickets for the game with Slovenia are on sale now, priced from £20 for adults and £10 for kids. Click here for more details or to purchase tickets online.

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By Nicholas Veevers Content Manager - FA Owned Channels

Five Things: England v Slovenia