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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1994 |
Did not enter | |||||||
 1998 |
Did not qualify | |||||||
  2002 |
Round 1 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
 2006 |
Did not qualify | |||||||
 2010 |
Round 1 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
 2014 |
Did not qualify | |||||||
 2018
| ||||||||
 2022 |
To be determined | |||||||
| Total | 2/7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 | |
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
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 9 |
 Paraguay
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| South Africa
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
 Slovenia
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 |
| South Africa | 1 – 0 | Slovenia |
|---|---|---|
Nomvethe  4' |
(Report) |
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
Template:2010 FIFA World Cup Group C
| Slovenia | 2 – 2 | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Birsa 13' Ljubijankić 42' |
Report | Donovan 48' Bradley 82' |
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 Ačimovič | 3 | 2002 |
| Aleš Čeh | 3 | 2002 | |
| Sebastjan Cimirotič | 3 | 2002 | |
| Amir Karić | 3 | 2002 | |
| Željko Milinovič | 3 | 2002 | |
| Džoni Novak | 3 | 2002 | |
| Milan Osterc | 3 | 2002 | |
| Miran Pavlin | 3 | 2002 | |
| Mladen Rudonja | 3 | 2002 | |
| Valter Birsa | 3 | 2010 | |
| Mišo Brečko | 3 | 2010 | |
| Boštjan Cesar | 3 | 2010 | |
| Zlatko Dedić | 3 | 2010 | |
| Samir Handanović | 3 | 2010 | |
| Bojan Jokić | 3 | 2010 | |
| Andraž Kirm | 3 | 2010 | |
| Robert Koren | 3 | 2010 | |
| Zlatan Ljubijankić | 3 | 2010 | |
| Milivoje Novaković | 3 | 2010 | |
| Aleksandar Radosavljević | 3 | 2010 | |
| Marko Šuler | 3 | 2010 |
Top goalscorers
Five Slovenian players scored one goal each at FIFA World Cups.
| No. | Name | Goals | World Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milenko Ačimovič | 1 | 2002 |
| Sebastjan Cimirotič | 1 | 2002 | |
| Valter Birsa | 1 | 2010 | |
| Robert Koren | 1 | 2010 | |
| Zlatan Ljubijankić | 1 | 2010 |
References
- ^ BBC Sport | World Cup | Slovenia send Zahovic home
- ^ BBC Sport | World Cup | South Africa send Slovenia home
- ^ BBC Sport | World Cup | Paraguay snatch vital win
- ^ BBC Sport - Football - World Cup 2010: Slovenia boss respects England quality
- ^ Slovenia 0-1 England | World Cup 2010 Match Report | Football | The Guardian
- ^ "Algeria-Slovenia gets substitute ref". ESPNsoccernet.com. Associated Press. 8 June 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
- ^ "Referee designations for matches 17-24" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2010.