US rallies to tie Slovenia 2-2
Photo 
United States' Landon Donovan, right back, scores during the World Cup group C soccer match between Slovenia and the United States at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, Friday.
JOHANNESBURG — Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley scored in a furious second-half comeback, giving the United States a 2-2 tie against Slovenia on Friday that kept alive the Americans' chances of advancing in the World Cup.
Slovenia, the smallest of the 32 nations in the tournament, took a 2-0 lead when Valter Birsa caught goalkeeper Tim Howard flat-footed to score in the 13th minute and Zlatan Ljubijankic scored on a counterattack in the 42nd.
Donovan scored in the 48th minute and Michael Bradley, son of U.S. coach Bob Bradley, tied the score in the 82nd.
Second-half sub Maurice Edu appeared to put the U.S. ahead in the 86th, poking in a 12-yard shot after Jozy Altidore headed Donovan's free kick to him. But the goal was disallowed by referee Koman Couilibaly of Mali, apparently for a foul before Edu got the ball.
"I still don't know why the goal was disallowed," Bob Bradley said after the match.
Slovenia (1-0-1) leads Group C with four points and would have qualified for the second round with a win.
The U.S. (0-0-2) is second with two points, followed by England (0-0-1) with one point, pending its match against Algeria (0-1) in Cape Town later Friday. The top two teams in the group advance.
A pro-U.S. crowd dressed in red, white and blue came to cheer the Americans, who entered with an 0-5 record against Eastern European nations in World Cup play.
It was a blustery 55 degrees at gametime in Ellis Park, where the U.S. lost to Brazil 3-2 in last June's Confederations Cup final after taking a two-goal lead into halftime.
Jun 18, 2010 at 12:46 p.m.
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This will start the outcry for instant replay at the world cup...if only the rest of the world knew what instant replay was...and the rest of America gave two hoots about soccer!
the refs seem to be affecting a lot of outcomes with blown calls and throwing out players for relatively minor fouls.
Jun 18, 2010 at 12:35 p.m.
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We have a good chance of winning vs. Algeria in the third game, giving us 5 points in the round total. If England beats Algeria today as expected, they will go into their game against Slovenia with 4 points each. If that game is a win for either side, the winning team will have 7 points, we'll have 5, and the losers 4, putting us into the Round of 16. But if that game is a draw, all three teams in the group save Algeria will have 5 points and tiebreaker formulas will be used. But it's essential that we get a win over Algeria, because three points will not be enough to advance.
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