Slovenia at the FIFA World Cup

Slovenia has 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 Yugoslavia national football team for records up to this point.

World Cup record

From 1930 to 1990, Slovenia competed as part of Yugoslavia. They reached third place at the inaugural World Cup, and fourth place in 1962 in Chile.

Since their independence in 1991, Slovenia has qualified for two World Cups, but have yet to survive the Group Stage.

Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA
1994Did not enter
1998Did not qualify
2002Round 130300327
2006Did not qualify
2010Round 118311133
2014Did not qualify
2018
2022To be determined
Total2/76114510

Slovenia at Japan/South Korea 2002

Slovenia qualified for their first World Cup in 2002 under the management of Srečko Katanec, but suffered a 3-1 defeat to Spain in their opening game. Katenec's decision to substitute midfielder Zlatko Zahovič 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 330094+59
 Paraguay 31116604
 South Africa 31115504
 Slovenia 300327−50
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)
South Africa 1 – 0 Slovenia
Nomvethe  4' (Report)
Daegu World Cup Stadium, Daegu
Attendance: 47,226
Slovenia 1 – 3 Paraguay
Ačimovič  45+1' (Report) Cuevas  65'  84'
Campos  73'
Attendance: 30,176

Slovenia at South Africa 2010

Slovenia were the smallest country to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Under the management of Matjaž 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
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  United States 3 1 2 0 4 3 +1 5 Advance to knockout stage
2  England 3 1 2 0 2 1 +1 5
3  Slovenia 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
4  Algeria 3 0 1 2 0 2 −2 1
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria
Algeria 0 – 1 Slovenia
Report Koren  79'
Attendance: 30,325
Slovenia 2 – 2 United States
Birsa  13'
Ljubijankić  42'		 Report Donovan  48'
Bradley  82'
Attendance: 45,573
Slovenia 0 – 1 England
Report Defoe  23'
Attendance: 36,893

Record Players

Slovenia's 2010 Squad did not feature a single veteran from the 2002 tournament, so no player had the chance to play more than three World Cup matches for Slovenia. That means no less than 21 players share their record as Slovenia's record World Cup player:

No. Name Matches World Cups
1 Milenko Ačimovič32002
Aleš Čeh32002
Sebastjan Cimirotič32002
Amir Karić32002
Željko Milinovič32002
Džoni Novak32002
Milan Osterc32002
Miran Pavlin32002
Mladen Rudonja32002
Valter Birsa32010
Mišo Brečko32010
Boštjan Cesar32010
Zlatko Dedić32010
Samir Handanović32010
Bojan Jokić32010
Andraž Kirm32010
Robert Koren32010
Zlatan Ljubijankić32010
Milivoje Novaković32010
Aleksandar Radosavljević32010
Marko Šuler32010

Top goalscorers

Five Slovenian players scored one goal each at FIFA World Cups.

No. Name Goals World Cups
1 Milenko Ačimovič12002
Sebastjan Cimirotič12002
Valter Birsa12010
Robert Koren12010
Zlatan Ljubijankić12010
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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.
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