Howard keen to knock Slovenes down to size in America's 'cup final'

Slovenia v USA; Today, 3pm, BBC1

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There is not much that unites America and Slovenia, except for the fact that both have benefited from the two worst goalkeeping errors of the many that have befallen this World Cup. However, while Rob Green's inability to hold Clint Dempsey's tame effort at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium earned the United States just a single point, Faouzi Chaouchi's error has put the smallest nation in this World Cup on the brink of qualification for the knockout stages. All they have to do is beat the biggest.

The disparity in resources can be judged from the fact that the relatively modest American television -audience of 12m that watched their frantic draw with England is six times the population of Slovenia, although the United States coach, Bob Bradley, predicted that this afternoon's encounter at Ellis Park would be more of "a game of chess" than the 1-1 in Rustenburg. There will be an edge to the moves. The Slovenes celebrated their victory over Algeria with a trip to a lion park and their midfielder, Andrej Komac, irritated his opponents with predictions of what Slovenia were capable of doing to the Americans.

Tim Howard was not impressed. "Komac has got to stand toe-to-toe with us for 90 minutes and, if he is still standing, then I will take my hat off to him," said the Everton goalkeeper. "But a lot of boxers talk too and then, the next thing they know, they are looking up at the lights trying to figure out how they got there."

What to watch out for: The attitude of the USA

The United States, by contrast, have been trying to play down expectations since they slugged it out with England in Royal Bafokeng, a task for which Bradley appears perfectly suited. "After the game against England something dawned on me," said his midfielder Landon Donovan. "In the past, there would have been a real excitement, an almost overboard reaction, about the result. And I think that Bob, whether he does it intentionally or not, immediately goes on to the next thing. There was some happiness after the game against England but, as soon as I got into the locker room, I was thinking about Slovenia."

Donovan, who is experiencing his third World Cup, described the encounter in Johannesburg as "the biggest game we will ever play", although Donovan was part of an American side that nearly overcame Germany in the quarter-finals in the 2002 tournament, a competition that saw Slovenia finish pointless and bottom of their group.

"We are in a very good place right now," said Donovan. "The bus ride home from Rustenburg was a lot better after the draw against England and Slovenia are a team we are confident we can beat – it will be like a final for us.

"The England game solidified some of the beliefs we already had – that we can compete with teams of their calibre. In fact, we were a little disappointed that we didn't do better when we had chances to go forward. But we have to beware; the natural tendency after coming off a high is a letdown."