DaMarcus Beasley (left) of the USA in action against Hassan Yebda of Algeria in Wednesday's Group C match. Photo by fifa.com/worldcup
The national teams of the United States and England have qualified for the second round of the 2010 World Cup after both scored minimum victories Wednesday night.
England beat Slovenia with a goal of forward Defoe in the 23rd minute, a minimal lead that the English managed to keep till the end.
In the other Group C match, the USA managed to qualify to the after-group phase of the World Cup in South Africa only thanks to an extra-time goal by forward Donovan, beating 1:0.
Thus, England and the USA managed to kick Slovenia out of the tournament even though before the last round of the group phase, the Slovenians were in the lead in Group C with 4 points while the unconvincing performances by the English and the Americans.
The USA ends up on top in Group C, and will be playing the second team in Group D, where Germany is facing Ghana, and Serbia is playing Australia late Wednesday night. The English remain second in Group C because of their worse goal difference, and will be pitted against the Group D leader in the next phase.