CAPE TOWN, South Africa: For all the attention on Wayne Rooney and his bid to break his England goal scoring drought, the focus on Friday’s World Cup match against Algeria will almost certainly be on the goalkeepers.
If a draw against the United States was barely acceptable, only a win over Algeria will do for an England squad that is expected to progress from Group C. But the Algerians know about upsets, otherwise they would not be at the World Cup.
Both teams suffered from dire goalkeeping errors in their opening matches.
Slovenia took the lead in the group through a 1-0 win because of Algeria’s Fawzi Chaouchi’s costly mistake.
That, though, was a minor glitch compared with the fumble from Robert Green, which allowed the United States an equalizer and cost England a victory in the 1-1 draw at Rustenburg.
It even called into question the coaching acumen of Fabio Capello, who had been lauded as England’s genius tactician during preparations for South Africa until that draw.
Green’s horrendous blunder led news bulletins in Britain and was the subject of endless criticism, putting his starting spot at risk despite initial support from within the team.
It also overshadowed a mediocre opening game by Rooney, who was considered until recently as second only to Lionel Messi among the forwards expected to star in South Africa.
"For us to do well, I need to play better than I did," Rooney said. Despite an impressive season for Manchester United, Rooney has not scored for England since a World Cup qualifying win over Croatia last September.
"The main focus is to win the next game, however you do it. After that you can worry about how you play. The main thing Friday at all costs is to win the game.
England might not even face Algeria’s blundering goalkeeper. Chaouchi hurt his left knee in training on Tuesday, and may save coach Rabah Saadane from having to make a choice about replacing him.
Capello has three fit ‘keepers to select from, though none instills high confidence among the England fans.
Green’s pride is already hurt. But will Capello go for veteran David James, who already has earned his nickname "Calamity" James for good reason?
Not even the rashest of coaches would consider pulling Rooney off the starting lineup, but his strike partner Emile Heskey is coming under increasing pressure.
Beyond England’s borders he is not considered World Cup caliber and even Capello has hinted he is considering replacing Heskey with Jermain Defoe.
For Rooney, though, the 2010 World Cup is also about making up for a mediocre 2006 edition.
"The last World Cup was a disappointment for me," he said. "I’m looking to do well in this one and try to prove myself on the world stage.
One selection certainty for England is the return of midfielder Gareth Barry from a six-week injury layoff for his first World Cup game.
"He can sit in the hole for us, is good in possession and gives us another option," Rooney said. The move would drop James Milner to the bench.
Despite the struggling start, England is still favored to advance from Group C where its last match is against Slovenia.
Algeria may by No. 30 in the world rankings, 22 spots behind England, and coming to its first World Cup in two decades, yet the Desert Foxes have already proven their strength by rising sharply from No. 103 over the last two years.
After producing the best performance in the first phase of World Cup group matches with its emphatic 4-0 win over Australia, Germany is being extra wary of Serbia.
"It’s (Serbia’s) last chance to stay in the tournament and we’ll have to be very careful and concentrated," Germany assistant coach Hansi Flick said of Friday’s match.
"Australia was no measuring stick and Serbia is a very good team, with players in top clubs in Europe. We’ll have to improve what we did well against Australia."
And so the Serbians face a double dilemma in the Group D match: the Balkan team is coming off a mediocre performance in losing 1-0 to Ghana, while Germany was at its clinical best against Australia to boost its claims to the title.
Another loss will almost certainly end Serbia’s chances of progressing.
Serbia coach Radomir Antic said his squad had lost some confidence in its opening match, but was capable of rebounding against the Germans.
Serbia’s only claim to a win over Germany at the World Cup came when the country was part of Yugoslavia, which beat West Germany in the 1962 quarterfinals in Chile.
"This upcoming match is really a historic match for us," Antic said. "But Germany should also inspire us to regain the passion and joy in our game.
We were too tight against Ghana, we failed mentally. All our players have to raise their level."
Germany has been working on ways to isolate tall Serbia striker Nikola Zigic and prevent him from distributing the ball to teammates. The 2.03-meter (6-foot-8) Zigic uses his height to head long balls into the path of his teammates.
Midfielder Sami Khedira said the German team had been closely scrutinizing this aspect of Serbia’s game.
"We will have to win those balls laid on by Zigic," Khedira said.
Midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has missed two of those practice sessions because of a cold, but should be fit to play on Friday.
Flick said Schweinsteiger is getting better and although he sat out Wednesday’s team practice, he did do work on his own.
Germany is taking every precaution to try and ensure other members of the squad don’t get sick after the sudden drop in temperature this week and the arrival of wintry conditions.
Flick said Germany’s players have been told to dress warmly and even to blow-dry their hair after showers — and "to listen to their mothers’ advice."
When the United States faces Group C leader Slovenia on Friday, the pressure is on the Americans.
Cushioned by three points from their opening win against Algeria, the Slovenes can afford to lose and still have a chance of advancing to the second round — albeit from a tough last group match against England.
For the Americans, who earned a surprising 1-1 draw with England in their opening match, avoiding a loss is more crucial.
"The game against Slovenia is going to determine if we get out of the group or not," US defender Oguchi Onyewu said.
A loss would leave the Americans dangerously close to elimination. While a draw could be enough, the Americans need to beat Slovenia to enter the last group stage match against Algeria with any kind of comfort.
Slovenia, a nation with only 2 million inhabitants, is not at England’s level in international football, but it has earned a reputation for producing upset wins over the bigger nations in crucial matches.
It stunned Russia in a two-match playoff to qualify for the World Cup. Romania and Ukraine have also missed major tournaments after stumbling against the Slovenes.
Suddenly, advancing to the second round is not just a possibility, it’s "our goal," Slovenia coach Matjaz Kek said.
The Slovenes have sounded optimistic, even confident, that they can beat the US Still, Kek said the Americans are coming into the match as favorites, given their higher FIFA ranking and the fact they made it to the final of the Confederations Cup last year.
The US is ranked 14th, while Slovenia is No. 25.
Because Slovenia likely will rely on counterattacks, there has been speculation US coach Bob Bradley might consider starting Jose Torres in place of Ricardo Clark in an effort to increase possession.
Slovenia typically is stronger against other Eastern European nations. It’s less comfortable with northern European teams which, like the US, often play a more physical game.
