Slovenia at the FIFA World Cup

Slovenia have appeared in the finals of the FIFA World Cup on two occasions in 2002 and 2010. Prior to 1991 the country was part of Yugoslavia; see Yugoslavian national football team for records up to this point.

World Cup record

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1930 to 1994	Did not enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1998	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2002	Round 1	30	3	0	0	3	2	7
2006	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2010	Round 1	18	3	1	1	1	3	3
2014	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	2/20		6	1	1	4	5	10

Slovenia at Japan/South Korea 2002

Slovenia qualified for their first World Cup in 2002 under the management of Srecko Katenec, but suffered a 3-1 defeat to Spain in their opening game. Katenec's decision to substitute midfielder Zlatko Zahovic led to an argument which saw Zahovic sent home from the tournament at Katenec announce his intention to resign as manager after the tournament.^[1] Slovenia lost their second game 1-0 to South Africa, leaving them unable to qualify from the group.^[2] The side's final game ended in a 3-1 defeat to Paraguay.^[3]

Group B

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Spain	3	3	0	0	9	4	+5	9
Paraguay	3	1	1	1	6	6	0	4
South Africa	3	1	1	1	5	5	0	4
Slovenia	3	0	0	3	2	7	−5	0

Spain  v  Slovenia

2002-06-02 18:00

Spain	3 – 1	Slovenia
Raúl  44' Valerón  74' Hierro  87' (pen.)	(Report)	Cimirotič  82'

Gwangju World Cup Stadium, Gwangju Attendance: 28,598 Referee: Mohammed Guezzaz (Morocco)

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South Africa  v  Slovenia

2002-06-08 21:00

South Africa	1 – 0	Slovenia
Nomvethe  4'	(Report)

Daegu World Cup Stadium, Daegu Attendance: 47,226 Referee: Ángel Sánchez (Argentina)

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Slovenia  v  Paraguay

2002-06-12 20:30

Slovenia	1 – 3	Paraguay
Ačimovič  45+1'	(Report)	Cuevas  65'  84' Campos  73'

Jeju World Cup Stadium, Seogwipo Attendance: 30,176 Referee: Felipe Ramos Rizo (Mexico)

Slovenia at South Africa 2010

Slovenia were the smallest country to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Under the management of Matjaz Kek, the side qualified for the tournament by winning a two-legged playoff against Russia despite having lost the first leg. Slovenia beat Algeria 1-0 in their opening game, and drew 2-2 with the USA having led 2-0. This meant that the side only needed to draw their final group game against England to reach the second round of the tournament.^[4] However, a 1-0 defeat to England, combined with a USA victory over Algeria, saw the side finish third in the group and fail to progress.^[5]

Group C

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  United States 3 1 2 0 4 3 +1 5  England 3 1 2 0 2 1 +1 5  Slovenia 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4  Algeria 3 0 1 2 0 2 −2 1

Algeria  v  Slovenia

13 June 2010 13:30

Algeria	0 – 1	Slovenia
	Report	Koren  79'

Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane Attendance: 30,325 Referee: Carlos Batres (Guatemala)[6]

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Slovenia  v  United States

18 June 2010 16:00

Slovenia	2 – 2	United States
Birsa  13' Ljubijankič  42'	Report	Donovan  48' Bradley  82'

Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg Attendance: 45,573 Referee: Koman Coulibaly (Mali)[7]

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Slovenia  v  England

23 June 2010 16:00

Slovenia	0 – 1	England
	Report	Defoe  23'

Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth Attendance: 36,893 Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany)

References

1. BBC Sport | World Cup | Slovenia send Zahovic home
2. BBC Sport | World Cup | South Africa send Slovenia home
3. BBC Sport | World Cup | Paraguay snatch vital win
4. BBC Sport - Football - World Cup 2010: Slovenia boss respects England quality
5. Slovenia 0-1 England | World Cup 2010 Match Report | Football | The Guardian
6. "Algeria-Slovenia gets substitute ref". ESPNsoccernet.com. Associated Press. 8 June 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
7. "Referee designations for matches 17-24" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2010.