SOCCER: USA takes on Slovenia in second World Cup match

After pushing England to a 1-1 tie in the World Cup opener, team USA takes on Slovenia Friday morning at 10:00 AM ET. The Slovenians can advance to the second round with a victory since they already have one game in the win column. A Slovenia win would in fact be an upset, as they are +260 to win at Sportsbook.com. A USA victory pays out at +105 and the reward for correctly calling a draw is +220.

Slovenia midfielder Andrej Komac is so confident about the tiny country’s chances against the United States in their World Cup match on Friday that he guaranteed victory.

“We are going to win this match,” Komac said after practice Tuesday. He added there’s “a good feeling” on the squad after Slovenia beat Algeria 1-0 to claim its first World Cup victory and the top spot in Group C. Komac came on as a substitute in the final minutes.

The U.S. and England have one point each after their 1-1 draw.

With a population of just over 2 million, Slovenia is the smallest nation in the World Cup — about the size of Houston. But its national team has upset bigger rivals before. It finished second in its qualifying group ahead of the Czech Republic and Poland, then stunned Russia in a two-match playoff to enter its second World Cup.

Besides the fact there are 150 times more Americans than Slovenes on the planet, the U.S. has a strong edge when it comes to soccer. The United States is No. 14 on the FIFA world rankings and has participated in the World Cup eight times before, with a 1930 semifinal as its best performance. Incidentally, Slovenia is ranked 25th.

Captain Robert Koren secured the victory Sunday against Algeria with a long-range shot in the 79th minute that goalkeeper Fawzi Chaouchi misjudged and allowed to bounce into the net off his arm.

Komac doesn’t expect the U.S. to underestimate his team, given what it’s accomplished so far. “We took three points in the first game. No one looks at us as small anymore,” he said. “Now we can only go forward like this, because we are leading the group.”

Slovenia produced few scoring chances against Algeria, but fielded a strong defense the North Africans couldn’t break down. Komac said Slovenia is not going to change strategy when it faces the Americans.

“We are playing our style of football and we’ll continue with that, and we can beat the U.S. with that style,” he said.

For those interested in wagering on the total for Friday’s match, the key number is the customary 2.5-goals, with the OVER priced at +140 and the UNDER at -200 at Sportsbook.com.