Slovenia celebrated their first ever victory in a World Cup tournament today, beating Algeria 1-0 in Polokwane. In a World Cup 2010 game that we probably all want to forget as soon as possible, Slovenia of Matjaž Kek grabbed a stressful victory against Algeria to reach the first position of Group C in South Africa.
A beautiful foul shot from Nadir Belhadj in the third minute of the game that forced a great save from Samir Handanovič opened the fans’ appetite, but the rest of the game was definitely disappointing. The rhythm of the World Cup 2010 match up between Algeria and Slovenia was non existent, with both teams having just one chance each for the rest of the first half: Rafik Halliche’s header in the 38th minute, as well as Valter Birsa’s long shot two minutes before half time both went straight out.
The game did not change much during the second half, with most of the fans (and television) focusing on Algerian descent superstar Zinedine Zidane that was also watching the game in Polokwane. Abdelkader Ghezzal came inside the game for Algeria in the 58th minute and tried really hard to wake his team mates up. The Algerians had the ball possession and picked up the pace for the rest of the second half, but Ghezzal managed to receive two yellow cards within 14 minutes and left his national team with 10 on the field.
A long shot from Robert Koren 10 minutes before the final whistle gave the three points to Slovenia, with a little bit of help from Algeria’s goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi that did not calculate properly and lost the ball from his hands. Slovenia won their first World Cup match ever, and after yesterday’s tie between England and the United States they are now in the pole position of Group C.
