The No. 1 Unofficial World Cup Website

Affiliated to FIFA: 1992

FIFA Ranking: 28 

WC Best: Never Previously Entered

Playing alongside Gianluca Vialli, Roberto Mancini and David Platt amongst others, Katanec won the European Cup Winner’s Cup in 1990, and the Serie A title the following season.

He served his managerial apprenticeship with the Slovenian Under-21s, before a brief spell in charge of NK Gorica immediately before his elevation to national team boss.

In a dramatic finale, Yugoslavia pulled it back to 3-3. A narrow 2-1 defeat to Spain and another creditable draw, against Norway, meant there were no more big surprises, but the Eastern European minnows had certainly made their mark.

Even then, nobody gave Srecko Katanec’s side much hope when they faced Gheorge Hagi’s Romania in a World Cup play-off last year. True to form, Slovenia upset the apple cart once again, squeezing past the Romanians 3-2 on aggregate.

Now, they arrive at another major tournament as rank outsiders (only Northern Ireland have qualified for the World Cup with a smaller population). The key to their success may be that they also arrive in the Far East with nothing to lose.

If they do spring any more shocks, much will depend on the form of arguably their only real top class player, Zlatko Zahovic. 30 goals in 60 internationals (including three in three in Euro 2000) have made Zahovic a national hero, and he can be expected to be the focal of much of Slovenia’s attacking play.

It would be unfair, however, to call Slovenia a one-man team - especially since their play-off victory over Romania was achieved while Zahovic was injured. Milan Osterc of Hapoel Tel Aviv (Chelsea fans will have painful memories of his away goal in this thr UEFA Cup) and Lecce’s talented forward Sebastjan Cimerotic are more than useful, but the real star of the team is the coach, Katanec, who has created a compact and effective outfit from vastly limited resources.

They are the clear underdogs in Group B but, as Yugoslavia will testify, should not be taken lightly.

But it’s at the other end of the pitch where Zlatko more frequently proves his worth to the tiny nation – averaging a goal every other game throughout his international career. He’s the playmaker, and most of the positive invention from the team stems from his creative vision and killer passes.

But injury-proneness and a questionable temperament are chinks in his armour, and they go some way to explaining why his club career has been quite so nomadic.

Having never played in his homeland, Zahovic began his career at Yugoslavian club Partizan Belgrade, before a loan move to Proleter Zrenjanin and a switch to Portuguese club Vitoria Guimares in 1993. A transfer to Porto followed in 1996, followed by a love-hate relationship with Olympiakos in Greece. An unhappy season at Valencia last season, where he missed a penalty in the Champions League Final, was rapidly followed by an immediate return to Portugal... Benfica this time.