The Pulse Files covers Group C today. We will be focussing on the teams in England’s group before we post an England special on Wednesday. Thanks to our friends at The Guardian Sport. The Paddy Power Index and SportTrades Group Predictions follow.
Taking in full from the World Cup 2010 Guide by Kevin McCarra in The Guardian. If you can get a copy, get one, as you can read below well worth it.
ALGERIA
History lesson
Playing at their third finals after 1982 and 1986. Having defeated West Germany and Chile in Spain, the deciding group game between West Germany and Austria, scheduled for a day after Algeria had played their last match, ended with the West Germans strolling to the 1-0 victory that eliminated Algeria. The two had engineered, by accident or design, the Love Thy Neighbour result that put both through. Fifa refused to criticise either side despite the huge number of back-passes, meaningless bouts of tippy-tappy possession and the outcome stinking of fish. But the last group matches were never again staggered.
Tactics board
Used 3-5-2 most in qualification with Portsmouth's Nadir Belhadj marauding up the left. Despite a leaky defence recently, it is usually their strongest suit but all three goalkeepers look weak. Ziani bosses a hard-working midfield yet upfront the snail-like Rafik Saifi and Abdelkader Ghezzal make Emile Heskey look prolific.
Grudge match
Already won it against Egypt in the play-offs when they had the last laugh after their coach had been bricked in Cairo. Remote possibility of avenging 1982 against Germany in the last 16.
Also known as
Les Fennecs – the Desert Foxes, the Terry Nutkin-friendly variety not the Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel type.
The players
Vuvuzela superstar
Karim Ziani, like Zinedine Zidane, is a French-born playmaker. No one eclipses Zizou for popularity in Algiers but Wolfsburg's stocky string-puller hits deftly subtle passes and viciously spinning crosses. He has a fiery streak but his size would limit trademark Zidane headbutts to the gonad zone instead of the chest.
There's always Bolton
Madjid Bougherra has impressed at Rangers but the potless board will happily flog the classy centre-half, known as Big Bougie at Ibrox, to the highest bidder.
Laager lout
The midfielder Khaled Lemmouchia was sent home from the Africa Cup of Nations for insulting the coach during a tantrum after failing to make the starting XI but his pouty contrition has earned him a recall.
The coach
Body double
Although the tache and Jay Gatsby cap give him a raffish air, Rabah Saâdane's doleful countenance and oyster eyes give him the hangdog charm of the late Willie Whitelaw.
Big game hunter
Now in his fifth spell at the helm, he led Algeria at the 1986 finals, drawing with Northern Ireland and limiting the Brazil of Sócrates, Josimar and Careca to a 1-0 victory. Beating Egypt in the play-off for South Africa crowns his resumé.
Loved or loathed
Players show respect by calling him "Sheikh" but Algiers press attack him as a stubborn old buffer with negative tactics.
The country
Commentators' kit
In 1827 Hussein Dey, the Ottoman Empire's viceroy in Algeria, hit the French consul in the face with his fly-whisk during a heated debate over France's unpaid debts. The French restoration King Charles X used the incident as a pretext for invasion, leading to 132 years of colonial rule. "No flies on him," yells Jonathan Pearce.
They gave the world
Albert Camus, the darling of existentialists and "intellectual" football fans who wear his quote "All that I know most surely about morality and obligations, I owe to football" on T-shirts and an air of superiority on their faces.
National monument
The Sahara Desert covers 80% of Algeria. Sahara is the Arabic for desert, hence it is technically the Desert Desert.
Qualifying
Strong home record got them past Senegal, Gambia and Liberia then finished joint top of the final-stage group with Egypt. Antar Yahia's winner then beat the Pharaohs in an acrimonious Khartoum play-off.
The Triesman tapes ... what he didn't say"
Couscous dispatchers and avid sweet-savoury combiners who wear black polo necks and puff Gauloises on Paris's Rive Gauche."
Statistics
World Cup record: 2 finals
P6 W2 D1 L3 F6 A10
Highest finish: Round 1 in 1982, 1986
46: Total number of goals scored by Algeria in qualification for the 1982, 1986 and 2010 World Cup finals
Fixtures
Slovenia, 13 June, Peter Mokaba Stadium, 12.30pm
England, 18 June, Green Point Stadium, 7.30pm
USA, 23 June, Loftus Versfeld, 3pm
The verdict
The World Cup is humdrum by comparison after group games and a play-off match with Egypt that brought governments into conflict. A 4-0 rout of Algeria in the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations was weak revenge for Egypt but it highlighted problems with Rabah Saadane's squad. A first appearance at the finals for 24 years may be uneasy.
SLOVENIA
History lesson
Played their first matches in 1992 after independence from Yugoslavia a year earlier and made rapid progress, qualifying for Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup. Lost all three matches in South Korea, their fortunes derailed when pouty play-maker Zlatko Zahovic was substituted during the defeat by Spain and went all Roy Keane. "You're a prick of a coach and you were a prick of a player," he shouted at Srecko Katanec. "I could buy you, your house and your family." He couldn't even buy himself a decent haircut.
Tactics board
It's 4-4-2 all the way, based on an exceptionally tight defence that conceded only four goals in 10 group games. West Brom's Robert Koren supplies the midfield guile and the tricky Valter Birsa cuts in from the left in much the same way Luka Modric did for Tottenham before Gareth Bale's re-emergence. Zlatko Dedic, the support striker, is the epitome of this impressively industrious side, running his legs to stumps to link midfield and attack.
Grudge match
Potential clash with Serbia in the last 16 would be tasty but their true rivalry is with Croatia, who did not make it yet bore the neighbours by banging on about their third-place in 1998 and Goran Ivanisevic.
Also known as
Zmajceki – the Dragons – which seems perfectly ripe for some tenuous St George-related guff before the England match.
The players
Vuvuzela superstar
The lank-haired centre-forward Milivoje Novakovic is a 6ft 4in Derek Douganesque beanpole whose sly, predatory penalty box skills have got him 14 international goals. Samir Handanovic, the Udinese goalkeeper, is pretty, er, handy, too.
There's always Bolton
Zlatko Dedic scored the goal that did for Russia and forced the Slovenia prime minister, Borut Pahor, to honour his pre-tie pledge and clean the squad's boots. The much-travelled Bochum striker would fit the Reebok template of centre-forwards whose goals are few and far between.
Laager lout
Hardly in Zahovic's class, but Novakovic was stripped of the Cologne captaincy after staying at home too long to celebrate victory in the play-offs.
The coach
Body double
A cross between Adrian Chiles and hoofer extraordinaire Chris Hollins. If the BBC were recruiting for the One Show sofa on face symmetry alone, Matjaz Kek would be a shoo-in.
Big game hunter
Overcoming Russia in the play-offs is the current pinnacle for this quiet and likeable coach. Took Maribor to two domestic titles before moving to Slovenia's youth set-up.
Loved or loathed
Slovenia needed a safe pair of hands after the upheaval following Srecko Katanec's tempestuous reign and got one with Kek. Formerly respected more than adored, he returned from Russia with love.
The country
Commentators' kit
In 1980 archeologists found the bone of a bear with holes drilled into it in a cave in western Slovenia. Initially thought to be the recipient of Paul Scholes's first ever tackle, it is now believed to be Europe's oldest musical instrument.
They gave the world
Butja Repa – a delightful national dish made from lard and a pig's head, neck and skin. Roughage comes when groats of millet are added while the health freaks get one of their five-a-day from the sour turnips added towards the end of the process. Gourmands insist grease is the word and demand it is best served cold.
National monument
The prancing, slightly camp Lipizzaner stallions of Vienna's Spanish Riding School originally came from Lipica in Slovenia.
Qualifying
Won four of five at home but lost to Northern Ireland away as they came second behind Slovakia. Lost 2-1 to Russia in Moscow in the play-off but went through on away goals after a 1-0 victory in Maribor.
The Triesman tapes ... what he didn't say
"Dumpling-devouring, cave zealots who gather together in rural harmony troupes to boast incessantly about an abundance of trees."
Statistics
World Cup record 1 finals
P3 W0 D0 L3 F2 A7
Highest finish: Round 1 in 2002
13: Goals scored in 36 matches by Milivoje Novakovic, stripped of Cologne's captaincy after his play-off celebrations overran
Fixtures
Algeria, 13 June, Peter Mokaba Stadium ,12.30pm
USA, 18 June, Ellis Park, 3pm
England, 23 June, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, 3pm
The verdict
"Their presence verges on the preposterous. A nation of 2m people produced a side to beat Russia in the play-offs. Slovenia revels in the overachievement of a team captained by West Brom's Robert Koren. The manager, Matjaz Kek, has an effective striker in Milivoje Novakovic of Cologne and the defending in the qualifiers was rigorous."
USA
History lesson
Have never bettered their losing semi-final appearance in the inaugural tournament though their defeat of England in 1950 was another rare pinnacle. Woeful in 1990 and again in 1998 when Iran humiliated them, they made the last 16 as hosts in 1994 and went one better in 2002 with an outstanding victory over Portugal before losing to Germany in the quarter-finals. Last time round was the dampest of squibs, exiting at the group stage when their traditional lack of flair was exposed by Ghana in the deciding match.
Tactics board
Tried 4-5-1 in qualification but Hull's Jozy Altidore doesn't have the nous or relentless running power to lead the line effectively. Expect Clint Dempsey to share the forward burden in a 4-4-2, with two holding midfielders in Maurice Edu and Michael Bradley and Landon Donovan given licence to break forward from his position on the left.
Grudge match
They despise Mexico, the historic Concacaf powerhouses, whom they suspect of treating them like parvenus. It would be a possible if unlikely quarter-final match when Mexico would look for revenge for their second-round defeat in 2002 and the USA for Rafael Márquez's brutal assault on Cobi Jones during that game.
Also known as
The Yanks but no longer do a roaring trade in swapping chewing gum for "favours".
The players
Vuvuzela superstar
The Stars and Stripes have few stellar performers. Landon Donovan has talked the talk for years and his excellent loan spell at Everton this year suggests he's finally becoming as good as he thinks he is.
There's always Bolton
Michael Bradley, the son of "Coach Bob" Bradley, has curbed his clogging this season with Borussia Mönchengladbach and has a Tim Cahillesque knack of getting into the box at exactly the right time.
Laager lout
Carlos Bocanegra, the captain, crocked Aston Villa's Mark Delaney with a grotesque foul while playing for Fulham in 2004. Villa's then manager, David O'Leary, had to be restrained from giving Bocanegra, Spanish for "black mouth", an eye to match his gob.
The coach
Body double
A cross between Sergeant Bilko's goofy commanding officer Colonel John T Hall and Sir Clive Woodward.
Big game hunter
Bob Bradley won the MLS Cup with Chicago Fire in 1998 and was appointed national coach in 2006 after attempts to hire Jürgen Klinsmann foundered over contract negotiations. Beat Spain in the 2009 Confederations Cup before squandering a 2-0 lead in the final to end as runners-up to Brazil.
Loved or loathed
Some fans remain unconvinced by second-choice Bob or "Baaaaaab" as they call him. Most of the rest simply want him sacked.
The country
Commentators' kit
Rangers' DaMarcus Beasley looked out of his central Glasgow apartment window in February to see his £65,000 BMW erupt in flames after it was firebombed. At the 2002 World Cup, while preparing to come on as a substitute, he was caught short and solved his dilemma by urinating down his leg. Had he been true to form he could have saved Messrs McCuthbert, McDibble and McGrub the bother.
They gave the world
"All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." And Spam.
National monument
The Statue of Liberty, still the cheapest way to get inside a woman in New York.
Qualifying
A three-stage affair ended when they topped the last group by a point from Mexico. Losing to their old foes in Mexico City was the only blip but they had already beaten them at home to share bragging rights.
The Triesman tapes ... what he didn't say
"Dental hygiene fascists and incorrigible donners of khaki trousers who have to invent abstruse games to call themselves world champions."
Statistics
World Cup record: 8 finals
P25 W6 D17 L13 F27 A51
Highest finish: Third place, 1, 1930
58: USA's matches unbeaten at home against Concacaf rivals until July last year when beaten 5-0 by Mexico in the Gold Cup
Fixtures
England, 12 June, Royal Bafokeng Stadium, 7.30pm
Slovenia, 18 June, Ellis Park, 3pm
Algeria, 23 June, Loftus Versfeld, 3pm
The verdict
"The outfield players are capable while Tim Howard and the other goalkeepers are more impressive still. Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and others exercised a steadiness in the qualifiers that included victory in Mexico. A win over Spain at the Confederations Cup highlighted the serious test for England."
PADDY POWER INDEX
England 15/2 USA 80/1 SLOVENIA 300/1 ALGERIA 600/1
SportTrades Group Prediction.
In line with Paddy Power,
1 England
2 USA
3 Slovenia
4 Algeria
We will be back on Wednesday with the final Pulse Files. Our England Special. We will appear now and then throughout the tournament, with the odd story that amuses us.
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