Algeria vs Slovenia - 23:30

TEAM NEWS

Algeria head coach Rabah Saadane has dropped out-of-form captain Yazid Mansouri, with Portsmouth's Hassan Yebda partnering Medhi Lacen in midfield. Defender Anther Yahia will lead the team.
Goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi and attacking left-back Nadir Belhadj are serving suspensions following their red cards in January's Africa Cup of Nations
Slovenia head coach Matjaz Kek stuck with a settled starting line-up in the last five World Cup qualifiers, captained by former West Brom midfielder Robert Koren.
Star striker Milivoje Novakovic proved his fitness following an abdominal injury with two goals in a friendly win against New Zealand. Fellow forward Zlatan Ljubijankic has overcome a slight ankle problem.

MATCH PREVIEW
Having defied the odds to reach the World Cup finals, both sides accept that a winning start is vital if they are to continue to exceed expectation. Neither Algeria nor Slovenia has ever progressed to the knockout stages, and few observers give them much chance of finishing ahead of England and the USA for the two qualifying places.
Nonetheless, reputation counts for nothing with these two teams. They both qualified for the tournament by winning play-off matches they were expected to lose: Algeria upset African champions Egypt, while tiny Slovenia overcame the might of Russia.
Slovenia's build-up has been low key but a well-drilled and unified team will not succumb to the chaos of their last World Cup appearance eight years ago, when record goalscorer Zlatko Zahovic verbally abused the head coach and was sent home in disgrace. The rest of the team soon followed, having lost all three matches.
The Algeria side has been extensively remodelled since qualification, with nine members of the squad uncapped prior to this year. They are very much a work in progress, and the team's supporters took their frustration out on captain Yazid Mansouri by jeering him in recent matches. Nonetheless, Algeria's victory over the Ivory Coast at this year's Africa Cup of Nations highlighted their potential.

MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
- This is the first meeting of these national sides.
Algeria
- Rabah Sadaane, who led Algeria at the 1986 World Cup, is the first African head coach to take part in two World Cup finals.
- Algeria's only win in the last 15 attempts against European opposition was against Romania in December 2000 (W1, D6, L8).
- Algeria have conceded at least one goal in each of their six previous matches at a World Cup finals.
- They beat the United Arab Emirates earlier this month to end a run of four consecutive defeats without scoring. However, the goal in Algeria's 1-0 win was a penalty.
Slovenia
- With a population of only two million, Slovenia is one of the five smallest nations ever to play in a World Cup finals.
- Slovenia have won six of their last seven matches since losing to England in September.
- This is Slovenia's sixth match against an African side. They have lost the last two.
- Striker Milivoje Novakovic needs one goal to move clear in second place on Slovenia's all-time goalscorers list. He is currently alongside the retired Saso Udovic on 16 goals.

MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Carlos Alberto Batres (Guatemala)
Assistants: Leonel Leal (Costa Rica) & Carlos Pastrana (Honduras)
Fourth official: Peter O'Leary (New Zealand)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/matches/match_06/default.stm

Oh. My. God.

It just dawned on me I'll be in this stadium this time next week.

Poor, poor keeping.