What Went Right? World Cup novices that did what World Cup novices always do: Stayed discipline and organized in the back and in front of the defense while hitting quickly on the counter hoping for the defensive mistake. This was a very physical team and made up their lack of creative elegance with physical, sometimes brutish play. Slovenia pounded the ball forward on the flanks with long, surprisingly accurate passes. Service into the box was a result of long through balls and passes but was pretty spot on. When they scored a goal they inevitably would crowd the back and center and hold on for dear life. Good goalkeeping, though.
What Went Wrong? Slovenia couldn’t sustain a concerted attack to save their lives, and the finishing skills by their front men were practically nonexistent. In the second have or late in games they would get chippy, committing cheap fouls with clumsy tackles from the back and constant grabbing and shirt pulling. Played less like they were trying to win and more like they just wanted to survive, showing no urgency even with a chance to advance. Not the world’s most pleasing side to watch.
Who Stepped Up To The Plate? Robert Koren was a quick, nimble and unselfish creator and the best part of the Slovenian attack. Samir Handanovic is an up-and-coming keeper who played well. The backline of Bojan Jokic, Bostjan Cesar, Marko Suler and Misco Brecko was as organized and disciplined as they come; not once were they taken out of their game. Alexander Radosavljevic and Andrez Kim were suffocating in front of the backline. Withdrawn forward Valder Birsa made fantastic use of runs into the box and beating the offside trap. The best finisher up front they had was Zlatan Ljubijankic (quite frankly, the only players really attacking with any quality were Koren, Birsa and Ljubijankic).
Who Didn’t Show Up? Slovenia needs to find more refined attackers than Milovoje Nokakociv and Zlatko Dedic, who couldn’t get on the end of anything. Radosavljevic and Kim could have come forward orchestrated an attack much more than they did. To call the rest of their team reserves would be an insult to reserves.
How Was The Coaching? Matjaz Kek is regarded as a thoughtful, analytical coach who can make changes as a match plays out. All evidence to the contrary. He was a defender when he played. Ya think? Still, probably got more out of this side than most of us thought possible. After all, had the United States not scored in their final group fixture, Slovenia would have gone through.
Did They Finish Where They Were Expected? Yes, but not for lack of trying. And they their ticket to the knockout round booked until the Americans scored with only two minutes left.
Now What? This is a heavily defensive side that is built to their capabilities. With a little luck, qualification into international tournaments could be a fairly regular thing for them. But don’t expect it to get much better than that.