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Full Time
Slovenia 2 2United States
V. Birsa  13' 1-0 
Z. Ljubijankic  42' 2-0 
 2-1L. Donovan  48'
 2-2M. Bradley  82'
HT: 2-0
Ellis Park (Attendance: 45,573)
Referee: Koman Coulibaly
Preview  |  Stats  |  Match Report
CommentaryTeam StatsPlayer Stats Shotchart
Slovenia vs. United States
Minute Commentary
94' FULL-TIME
It's all over at Ellis Park and has finished 2-2, but both teams will be disappointed not to have won. Slovenia were top-class in the first half and lead 2-0 at the break, but the States grabbed two in the second 45 and looked to have grabbed a winner, only for it to be inexplicably ruled out. It's the perfect result for England, but leaves Group C qualification in the balance.
93' ENFORCED CHANGE
Pecnik is down and is subbed for Komac for the final moments.
91' WILD BY GOMEZ
The ball drops to Gomez at an angle in the box and he goes for something spectacular... but gets it all wrong and sends his shot high over the bar.
89' HOWARD IS FURIOUS
Radosavljevic is given way too much time and unleashes a shot that Howard does well to punch away from the danger area. The USA keeper is livid with his defenders for allowing the midfielder to get a shot away.
88' SAVE BY HOWARD
Howard saves comfortably from Novakovic's well-directed header. Either side could snatch this at the end, it's wide open.
87' LATE SWITCH
The excellent Birsa is replaced by Dedic after beginning to show signs of lagging. There's no room for passengers at this late stage.
85' NO GOOAAALLL!!!
Edu turns the ball home from Donovan's set-piece delivery, but the referee's whistle had already gone. Clearly the official saw some kind of foul there, but replays reveal nothing of the sort. The USA have been robbed there!
84' CHANGE OF FORMATION
The USA have changed things, reverting to a back-four to regain some sort of stability for the final minutes.
83' MORE ON THAT GOAL
A long pump into the box is brilliantly won in the air by Altidore. The striker's knockdown is into space, and the onrushing Bradley - son of the manager - is on hand to poke the ball past the keeper and make it 2-2. What a vital goal for the USA - they were facing an early exit in all likelihood had they lost this game.
82' GOOAAALLL!!!
Bradley scores for the USA! It's 2-2!
81' WELL TAKEN
Bradley turns and shoots, but the keeper claims well and does even better to hold on to the ball with USA shirts advancing on him from all angles.
80' USA MAKE THE CHANGE
Gomez comes on for the tiring Onyewu as the USA resort to desperate attacking measures in search of a crucial second goal.
78' HERCULES TO THE RESCUE
The wonderfully-named Hercules Gomez is preparing to come on for the USA.
75' CLOCK IS TICKING
The USA are becoming increasingly desperate as they go in search of an equaliser. Slovenia have just 15 minutes to hold on and reach the second round, which would be a phenomenal achievement for such a small country.
74' REF TO THE RESCUE
Dempsey's lightning reactions earn him a shooting opportunity, but his shot is wide and just fails to inadvertently find Bradley at the back post. The ref's whistle had gone in any case, so it wouldn't have counted.
73' FIRST SLOVENIAN CHANGE
The goal-scorer Ljubijankic makes way for Pecnik as Slovenia look to freshen things up.
72' IMPRESSIVE TECHNIQUE
Feilhaber does well to get a twisting volley on target from the edge of the area, but it is comfortable for the keeper, who claims the ball with ease.
72' YELLOW CARD
A sloppy late challenge by Kirm on Cherundolo earns the Slovenian a yellow and gives the USA another chance to pump the ball into the box.
70' STRAIGHT AT THE KEEPER
Donovan drills the free-kick into a crowd of players in the box. It rebounds to Altidore, who shoots on the turn, but his powerful strike is straight into the midriff of Handanovic.
69' YELLOW CARD
Suler drags down Altidore right at the edge of the area and picks up a yellow card for his troubles. It's a fantastic position for a shot, just right of the goal.
67' TENSION RISES
This match is hanging in the balance, and both teams are clearly acutely aware of just how much is at stake.
65' SLICED WIDE
Feilhaber is given time to line up a shot from outside of the box, but doesn't connect well and skews his effort wide of the far post.
63' HOWARD STAYS ALERT
Jokic picks out a lovely cross aimed at a lone white shirt at the back post, but Howard is sharp off his line to catch and cut out the cross.
61' WHO SAID THIS WAS BORING?
After such a slow start, the World Cup has exploded into life, and this game is just continuing the quality entertainment.
59' SAVED BY THE WHISTLE
A dangerous ball into the Slovenia box picks out Bocanegra at the back post, but the whistle goes to prevent the skipper from having a go. Replays show that it was Dempsey at fault, wrestling his marker to the ground.
57' LACK OF CONFIDENCE
Altidore turns his marker and should burst clean into the box behind the defence, but he doesn't knock it out of his feet and Suler recovers to nick the ball away.
55' END TO END STUFF
Both teams are throwing themselves forward in search of the next goal, but they are leaving it wide open at the back and are each grateful for timely interventions by the last man to prevent counter-attacks breaking through the back-line.
53' EDU NEEDS TO WAKE UP
The sub has been all over the shop since coming on, giving the ball away on countless occasions and generally struggling to keep up with the pace of the game. On a positive note, his presence has allowed Donovan to push centrally alongside Altidore, where he is causing Slovenia a lot of problems.
52' OVER THE BAR
Slovenia work the corner to Koren, but the midfielder's shot is over the bar.
51' QUALITY FROM SET-PIECES
Donovan and Birsa have produced some quality deliveries into the box in this game, and this time the latter forces Howard into a spectacular punch to clear the danger.
50' ALL IT NEEDED WAS A TOUCH!
Donovan's terrific ball in is flicked on by Dempsey, but Onyewu just can't get a touch at the back stick. The defender was actually offside, but Dempsey could have got a proper head to that and diverted it on target.
49' MORE ON THAT GOAL
Donovan burst clean through down the right. He cut into the area, but it was a narrow angle and he looked likely to pull the ball back rather than shoot. Instead he went for power and sent the ball hammering into the roof of the net with one of the most spectacular finishes of the tournament.
48' GOOAAALLL!!!
Donovan hammers the ball home from a narrow angle to make it 2-1. Game on!
47' SPARKLING START
Jokic saves his centre-backs with a timely intervention as Altidore prepared to pull the trigger in the box. Encouraging early signs for the USA.
46' SECOND HALF
Slovenia get the second 45 underway and the USA have made two changes, bringing on Edu and Feilhaber for the disappointing Findley and Torres.
45' HALF TIME
The whistle goes to bring an end to a half that Slovenia have dominated and they fully deserve to be two goals up. The USA will have to change things for the second half as they're being overrun in Johannesburg.
44' USA ON THE ROPES
The States have been all over the place and are a shadow of the team that did so well against England. Slovenia have dominated the central midfield battle, and have caused all sorts of problems on the counter-attack.
43' MORE ON THAT GOAL
The number nine was sent clean through behind the USA defence, and he kept his composure to slide the ball past Howard and into the net to put Slovenia two goals to the good. The last-16 is beckoning for the European minnows!
42' GOOAAALLL!!!
Ljubijankic puts Slovenia 2-0 up!
40' UNBELIEVABLE DEFENDING
Dempsey's ball across the Slovenia box beats the keeper and looks destined to find a USA shirt at the back post, only for Brecko to turn and clear off the line. Stunning defending!
39' YELLOW CARD
Findley gets a booking for a completely unintentional handball, which only struck his arm after deflecting off his cheek. Strange decision by the ref that!
38' POOR DELIVERY
Findley has a chance to pick out a team-mate on the counter-attack, but his final pass is substandard and the chance goes begging.
37' WOULD HAVE BEEN A STUNNER
DeMerit very nearly scores with a header from outside of the box. A loose ball falls to the defender, and his powerful, looping header beats the keeper, but just drifts wide of the post.
36' TOP SAVE
Torres has a go at goal from the free-kick and forces the keeper to make a top save to push the ball away. Shooting from distance has been much better in this game than previous showings.
35' ALTIDORE WINS A FREE-KICK
The forward is hauled down on the edge of the box and it's a free-kick in a very dangerous area.
32' NEED SOMETHING EXTRA
The USA have resorted to long balls forward to Altidore, but that approach is playing right into the hands of the Slovenia centre-backs, who are dealing with the threat comfortably so far.
29' BIT OF A TURN UP
Slovenia were stagnant against Algeria, but have really upped their game for this one and have been all over the States defence.
26' DULL SINCE THE GOAL
It's all been a bit stagnant since the Slovenia goal, with the teams cancelling each other out in midfield. Slovenia do look the far more lively going forward, and the States will need to find a way of shutting down the floating Birsa.
22' ALMOST A SECOND
Birsa is buzzing after that goal and fires in another shot, forcing Howard to get down at the foot of his right post and make a save.
21' NEVER A FOUL!
Bradley breaks at pace, but the referee calls play back for a foul by Bocanegra on Birsa that was never a free-kick.
18' THREAT OUT WIDE
It isn't a surprise, but the States' threat is coming when they get the ball out wide to the talented Donovan and Dempsey.
16' BRAVE GOALKEEPING
Handanovic produces a vital diving punch in the box to clear the ball. There were a string of USA players queuing up to turn that home, so the keeper's full-length efforts kept his team ahead.
14' MORE ON THAT GOAL
That wide man picked the ball up in space and was given time to turn and tee up a shot from 30 yards. Unlike so many before him in this tournament, he kept it down, curling the ball beyond the rooted Howard and into the corner. It's a wonderful strike and a fitting opener.
13' GOOAAALLL!!!
Birsa scores for Slovenia with one of the goals of the tournament so far!
12' CONTENT TO KEEP THE BALL
The Europeans are being given plenty of time on the ball at the back, and are happy to just pass it between them and frustrate the States.
10' SLOVENIA'S STAR MAN
Koren is the obvious player of quality in this Slovenia side, and has been at the centre of all of his team's good work in the opening minutes.
7' PACKED CROWD
Ellis Park is awash with red, white and blue today, as the travelling horde of States fans have arrived in numbers. In fact, the USA have brought the biggest number of fans to the tournament, which may come as a surprise given the stature of 'soccer' in the USA.
6' SHOULD HAVE GOT A CROSS IN
Findley is sent clear down the left, but delays his cross and is closed down by the full-back. Altidore was perfectly placed in the area, so it was a timely intervention.
5' CLEVER INTERPLAY
Both teams are compose on the ball in the centre of the park and are pinging it about nicely. Slovenia almost carve out a chance, but Koren's clever dummy just fails to fool the USA defence.
3' SOLID AT THE BACK
Onyewu, who was a rock against England, has missed the whole season at AC Milan through injury. Incredibly, he has opted to repay the faith of his club by playing for free next season. How many footballers would make that sort of gesture?
1' KICK-OFF
Slovenia kick-off and immediately Dempsey goes in for a big clash in the centre circle and appears to catch his opponent with an elbow. Any later in the game and that could have been a red.
0' THE ANTHEMS
The teams are out and belt out their respective anthems ahead of a crunch Group C clash.
0' EARLY TEAM NEWS
Slovenia coach Matjaz Kek has no reported injury concerns and may name an unchanged starting line-up. USA goalkeeper Tim Howard is expected to play despite suffering bruised ribs against England and coach Bob Bradley could also name an unchanged team.
0' PREVIEW
Slovenia recorded their first World Cup victory when they beat Algeria 1-0 last Sunday and will qualify for the last 16 if they beat the USA at Ellis Park. The USA, meanwhile, showed plenty of character when they rallied to earn a 1-1 draw against Fabio Capello's England after going behind after just four minutes. They fought back to claim a point courtesy of England 'keeper Robert Green well-publicised howler. Defeat for Bob Bradley's side in Johannesburg would more or less end their chances of making it through to the last 16 and guarantee place in the next stage for Slovenia.
CommentaryTeam StatsPlayer Stats Shotchart
Teams
Slovenia
(4-4-2)
Samir Handanovic1
Miso Brecko2
69' Marko Suler4
35' Bostjan Cesar5
75' Bojan Jokic13
87' 13' Valter Birsa10
Robert Koren8
Aleksandar Radosavljevic18
72' Andraz Kirm17
74' 42' Zlatan Ljubijankic9
Milivoje Novakovic11
Substitutes
Jasmin Handanovic12
Aleksander Seliga16
Matej Mavric22
Suad Filekovic19
Branko Ilic6
Elvedin Dzinic3
90' Andrej Komac20
74' 90' Nejc Pecnik7
Dalibor Stevanovic21
Rene Krhin15
87' Zlatko Dedic14
Tim Matavz23
United States
(4-4-2)
1Tim Howard
6Steven Cherundolo
15Jay DeMerit
5Oguchi Onyewu 80'
3Carlos Bocanegra
10Landon Donovan 48' 
16Francisco Torres 46'
4Michael Bradley 82' 
8Clint Dempsey
17Jozy Altidore
20Robbie Findley 40' 46'
Substitutes
23Marcus Hahnemann
18Brad Guzan
21Clarence Goodson
12Jonathan Bornstein
2Jonathan Spector
19Maurice Edu 46'
22Benny Feilhaber 46'
7DaMarcus Beasley
13Ricardo Clark
11Stuart Holden
9Herculez Gomez 80'
14Edson Buddle
Team Stats
Slovenia United States
2 Goals 2
2 Assists 2
7 Shots 14
4 Shots on Goal 6
4 Saves 2
0 Penalties Scored 0
0 Penalty Kicks 0
27 Crosses 17
2 Corner Kicks 4
3 Offsides 0
15 Fouls Committed 18
4 Cautions/Yellow Cards 1
0 Red Cards 0
CommentaryTeam StatsPlayer Stats Shotchart
Slovenia
No. Player G YC RC GA Svs
1S. Handanovic - 0 0 2 4
2M. Brecko 0 0 0 - -
4M. Suler 0 1 0 - -
5B. Cesar 0 1 0 - -
8R. Koren 0 0 0 - -
9Z. Ljubijankic 1 0 0 - -
10V. Birsa 1 0 0 - -
11M. Novakovic 0 0 0 - -
13B. Jokic 0 1 0 - -
17A. Kirm 0 1 0 - -
18A. Radosavljevic 0 0 0 - -
Substitutes
7N. Pecnik 0 0 0 - -
14Z. Dedic 0 0 0 - -
20A. Komac 0 0 0 - -

United States
No. Player G YC RC GA Svs
1T. Howard - 0 0 2 2
3C. Bocanegra 0 0 0 - -
4M. Bradley 1 0 0 - -
5O. Onyewu 0 0 0 - -
6S. Cherundolo 0 0 0 - -
8C. Dempsey 0 0 0 - -
10L. Donovan 1 0 0 - -
15J. DeMerit 0 0 0 - -
16F. Torres 0 0 0 - -
17J. Altidore 0 0 0 - -
20R. Findley 0 1 0 - -
Substitutes
9H. Gomez 0 0 0 - -
19M. Edu 0 0 0 - -
22B. Feilhaber 0 0 0 - -
CommentaryTeam StatsPlayer Stats Shotchart

Players
No.Number
GGoals
AstAssists
SHTSShots
SOGShots on Goal
CKCorner Kicks
CRCrosses
OffOffsides
FCFouls Committed
FSFouls Suffered
YCYellow Cards
RCRed Cards
GAGoals Against
SvsSaves
w2 © 2013 by STATS LLC.
Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC is strictly prohibited.

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