JOHANNESBURG: Tired of having to rally from early deficits, the United States aims to score first and make things less complicated when it take on Algeria in their decisive World Cup Group C match Wednesday.
So far, the Americans have salvaged two draws, after dropping an early goal to England and going down 2-0 in the first half against Slovenia.
It’s a scenario they would rather avoid when they face Algeria in Pretoria.
"We can all go around and say, ‘hey, lets get an early lead,’ but that doesn’t always translate on the field," said Clint Dempsey, who scored the equalizer in the opening 1-1 draw with England.
"So it’s a little bit more hard work and concentration and hopefully a little bit of luck, we can get on the right end of the score early on."
The United States will advance to the round of 16 if it beats Algeria.
A draw would suffice if England loses to Slovenia. If the United States and England both draw, the Americans would advance provided they end up with more goals scored than the English — currently the US has three goals, while England has one.
A draw will not be enough if England wins, and a defeat would definitely send the Americans home early.
Algeria’s outlook is bleaker, with only one point after a 1-0 loss to Slovenia and a scoreless draw with England. Anything less than victory will spell the end of their tournament, and even if they win, the North Africans would be eliminated if group leader Slovenia loses narrowly to England.
Given the stakes, Algeria striker Karim Matmour is not expecting a beautiful game against the United States.
"Today’s football is very physical. Skill is just for the final meters," Matmour said. "I’m quite happy to see everybody play the most simple game possible."
The Americans, too, are expecting a bruising battle, with both teams keeping a compact defense — at least early on.
"Initially it’s going to be a game that’s going to be tight," Dempsey said.
"And then as the game goes on, seeing how things go, it’s going to have to open up, no matter what. People are going to start taking risks because we know that pretty much a draw is not going to get you through."
US striker Robbie Findley is suspended after receiving his second yellow card against Slovenia, while Abdelkader Ghezzal is back for Algeria after a one-match suspension following a red card in the opening game.
For Algeria, the World Cup started with the kind of turmoil that has since swamped bigger teams like France.
Coach Rabah Saadane dropped captain Yazid Mansouri on the eve of Algeria’s first match. The experienced midfielder reportedly threatened to walk out of the team but was persuaded to stay by Algerian football federation officials.
The team now looks happy and confident.
"If Algeria plays to its potential we don’t need to worry about our opponents," Matmour said. "If we play our style of football we can beat anyone."
The Algerians have studied the United States’ dramatic fight back against Slovenia, with second-half goals from Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley. A third US goal was disallowed in the final minutes.
"They keep fighting," striker Hassan Yebda said. The lesson to Algeria, he said: Even if they score first "we have to keep going."
England’s World Cup woes usually revolve around the pressure of knowing it hasn’t won the global title since 1966.
With England to play Slovenia in a Group C match on Wednesday at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, a more telling fact is that it’s been 50 years — 1958 in Sweden — that the English have failed to advance past the first round once they’ve made it to the finals.
Yet that scenario is facing coach Fabio Capello and his apparently discordant English players — a loss to Slovenia would end any chance of England making it to the round of 16. England has two points after a 1-1 draw with the United States and a scoreless stalemate with Algeria.
Its chances Wednesday won’t be helped by rumors of a rift between the players and Capello.
But on Monday at England’s training base in Rustenburg, midfielder Frank Lampard denied there were any problems with the coach.
He said John Terry’s emotional talk of a team meeting with Capello after England’s poor performance in the 0-0 draw with Algeria was in keeping with ex-captain’s style.
"The messages I got yesterday from people was that John was saying some positive things. We will try and hit things head on, on the training ground."
After the match against Algeria, England players were booed by their own fans.
Slovenia captain Robert Koren, meanwhile, says England’s lackluster performances against the United States and Algeria have made his side more confident of victory.
Koren said his teammates were surprised by the low standard of England’s performances so far.
"I watched their games against the US and Algeria and I saw good things and bad things. They didn’t show the type of football we expect of them. It gives us some hope. But we will see on Wednesday."
Slovenia had a winning start after a mistake by Algeria goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi handed the team a 1-0 victory, the country’s first ever at a World Cup.
The small nation looked as good as in the round of 16 when it led the US 2-0 in its second game, but the Americans fought back for a 2-2 draw.
"Our whole nation is together following our success, it’s a big thing back home," Slovenia coach Matjaz Kek said. "They are very proud of us and we want to continue making them proud."
Australia and Serbia have already experienced the highs and lows of this World Cup ahead of their decisive Group D encounter on Wednesday.
Australia suffered a red card in each of its opening matches, while Serbia conceded penalties in both of its games.
But on the positive side, Serbia bounced back from an opening defeat against Ghana to beat Germany, while Australia’s 4-0 thrashing at the hands of the Germans was followed by a battling 1-1 draw with ten men against Ghana.
After those ups and downs, both sides are left in the position of knowing defeat in Wednesday’s match at Nelspruit’s Mbombela stadium could equal an early flight home.
Not much separates the two sides according to FIFA’s rankings; Serbia is in 15th spot, with the Australians five places further back.
Australia’s preparation has been hampered by suspensions to two key players. Forward Harry Kewell will miss out after his red card against Ghana and experienced defender Craig Moore is sidelined after picking up two yellow cards.
"They still have good players in the reserves, but these two are big players for them," Serbia captain Dejan Stankovic said. "We will try to use that to our advantage."
The brighter news for Australia is that attacking midfielder Tim Cahill is available after serving a one-match ban for his red card against the Germans.
Cahill averages a goal every second game for the Socceroos and his ability to arrive late in the box from midfield is among the national team’s principal weapons.
At the back, Moore’s likely replacement is Michael Beauchamp, who stands 1.91 meters (6 feet 3 inches) tall and could be a useful attribute to counter Serbia’s 2.02m (6 feet, 7- ½ inch) Nikola Zigic.
Despite the collapse against Germany, Australian sports stars have a reputation for relishing competition.
Serbia can count on players from some of Europe’s top clubs. Nemanja Vidic is a regular in the center of Manchester United’s defense, while Branislav Ivanovic impressed with Chelsea in the season past.
Serbia will have defender Aleksandar Lukovic available after his one-game suspension, but six other players are carrying yellow cards and in danger of picking up a suspension for the round of 16.
The situation has prompted coach Radomir Antic to look at alternatives ahead of this decisive match.
