Slovenia claim lucky victory over Algeria

Robert Koren scored a late goal Sunday to give Slovenia a 1-0 win over 10-man Algeria and first place in Group C of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

The Slovenian captain sent in a long-range shot that Algeria goalkeeper Fawzi Chaouchi misjudged and allowed to bounce into the net off his arm in the 79th minute.

"I was just lucky to see it go in like that," Koren said.

Algerian coach Rabah Saadane said the new World Cup ball may have been a factor in the goal.

"Everyone saw what happened with the ball, and what happened yesterday with England's goalkeeper," Saadane said. "You have to adjust to the flight of the ball."

Algeria substitute Abdelkader Ghezzal had been sent off seven minutes earlier, picking up a second yellow card for handling the ball inside the Slovenian penalty area.

It was the tiny Balkan nation's first ever World Cup victory after losing all three group matches at the 2002 tournament.

Algeria twice came close in the first half when Nadir Belhadj's 25 yard free kick forced Slovenia goalkeeper Samir Handanovic to stretch and push the ball over the crossbar, and defender Rafik Halliche headed just wide.

Goalkeeper blunder

Both sides knew heading into the match that a loss would be costly, with difficult encounters against England and the United States left on the program. The Group C favourites drew 1-1 on Saturday after a blunder by goalkeeper Robert Green cost England the victory.

"We must recover and prepare for an even more difficult match against England, which is the best of the group," Saadane said. "It's going to be very difficult now. We had a great opportunity today and we missed it."

Slovenia's only scoring chance before the break was Valter Birsa's long-range attempt in the 43rd, tipped over the bar in a spectacular right-hand save by Chaouchi.

Algeria beat North African rival Egypt in a tense playoff to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986. Slovenia reached its second World Cup with an upset playoff victory over Russia.

Slovenia faces the United States next while Algeria travels to Cape Town to take on England.