USA vs Slovenia score, result, highlights as USMNT ends January camp with stagnant defeat

Kyle Bonn

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USA vs Slovenia score, result, highlights as USMNT ends January camp with stagnant defeat image

Just as they did last year, the United States saw a host of players make their international debuts but fell to defeat to a European opponent as Slovenia depart San Antonio as 1-0 winners on a first-half goal by Nejc Gradisar.

With the match falling outside a FIFA international window, both sides featured extremely inexperienced rosters with very few first-choice regulars. It was an opportunity for fringe players to impress the coaching staff and earn minutes in future national team windows, but few players actually snatched that chance.

18-year-old Esmir Bajraktarevic was by far the brightest U.S. player throughout the match, coming off the bench for an impressive final half-hour. Yet those in the initial XI were stagnant across much of the first 60 minutes, and questions can be asked about those who Gregg Berhalter handed the start.

Diego Luna and DeJuan Jones also had a few positive moments, but on the whole, the United States were unable to create many opportunities in the attacking half for much of the game. They took control in the final 15 minutes and pummeled Slovenia in search of an equalizer, but could not find the net.

The Sporting News followed the USA vs Slovenia match live, providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happened.

USA vs Slovenia final score

  Score Goal scorers
USA 0 –
Slovenia 1 Gradisar (26')

Kickoff: 2:07 p.m. local (3:07 p.m. ET / 12:07 p.m. PT)
Location: Toyota Stadium (San Antonio, Texas)
Referee: Pierre Luc Lauziere (CAN)

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Starting lineups:

USA (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Schulte (GK) — 18. Moore (Tolkin, 61'), 12. M. Robinson, 14. Zawadzki, 5. D. Jones — 15. Atencio (McGlynn, 61'), 8. A. Morris, 11. Tillman (A. Jackson, 89') — 17. Kamungo (Bajraktarevic, 61'), 9. B. White (Maguire, 61'), 7. Luna (Wiley, 75').

Slovenia (4-4-2 diamond, right to left): 1. Vekic (GK) — 2. Karnicnik, 5. Zaletel, 6. Zec, 3. Kuzmic (Ratnik, 88') — 13. Zeljkovic (Zabukovnik, 65') — 22. Svetlin (Ilenic, 46'), 20. Repas (Ticic, 46') — 10. Elsnik — 11. Gradisar (Vombergar, 65'), 17. Sturm (Poplatnik, 80').

USA vs Slovenia live updates, highlights, commentary

FULLTIME: USA 0-1 Slovenia

The ugly first-half goal stands as the winner as Slovenia come across the Atlantic and secure a friendly win to conclude January camp, just as Serbia did last year.

There were some positives to take from the match, most notably the performance of Esmir Bajraktarevic off the bench. But the stagnant first 60 minutes will be the biggest takeaway, and those starters will know they have to do better with opportunities at the national team level so rare.

USA vs Slovenia: Second Half

87th min: The U.S. is absolutely cooking now down the stretch as Esmir Bajraktarevic is running the show. Again he gets on the end of a vertical ball down the right, but DeJuan Jones can't turn his cross in at the near post while under heavy pressure from a trailing defender. Bajraktarevic has been the best U.S. player in this match at just 18 years old.

Gregg Berhalter dips to the bench for his final substitution, bringing on Aziel Jackson for his U.S. debut, leaving Drake Callender, Roman Celentano, Ian Murphy, Nkosi Tafari, Nathan Harriel, and James Sands as the players unable to see the field today.

83rd min: Chance, USA! JOHN TOLKIN HAS TO SCORE BUT MISSES! Oh no, the equalizer was right in his lap, but as the cross squeaks through the forest and falls to the Red Bulls defender in acres of space, he blasts it off target! That's got to be in the net!

82nd min: Chance, USA! Oh man the U.S. come so close to a delicious equalizer! Esmir Bajraktarevic drives on goal and has a hit but it's blocked away. It falls right to a teammate at the top of the penalty area, who touches left to John Tolkin who goes for the sensational outside-foot poke to the far post, but whizzes it inches wide!

77th min: Chance, USA! 18-year-old Esmir Bajraktarevic comes inches from a memorable goal! He takes a big switch from midfield and dribbles in towards the net from the right edge, and with space to shoot, he has a go but blasts it over the crossbar. No far off!

74th min: Chance, Slovenia! Aidan Morris is whistled for a foul right on the edge of the penalty area, which live appeared to be a joke, but on replay does look to have been enough contact for the whistle.

It's a dangerous free-kick for Slovenia, taken by Danijel Sturm, and he curls it around the wall towards the far post, but Patrick Schulte dives to parry it away!

Caleb Wiley comes on for his second U.S. international cap to replace Diego Luna, who had a good creative performance overall. With John Tolkin and DeJuan Jones already on the pitch, that means Wiley is going to play further forward in a wide role.

67th min: Diego Luna draws a booking from substitute Mark Zabukovnik as he's yanked back in midfield while the U.S. attempts to break. Off the restart Timothy Tillman looks to find space to squeeze the ball inside the near post but doesn't quite get enough power on the hit to beat the goalkeeper.

65th min: Patrick Schulte makes a pair of near-deadly mistakes in possession, but Aidan Morris does well to put out the fire and the rest of the squad scrambles to clear before Slovenia can take advantage. Yikes. Can't be passing it straight to opponents in your own third.

61st min: One the hour mark, Gregg Berhalter makes four substitutions, including three more international debuts. Duncan Maguire, Jack McGlynn, and young Esmir Bajraktarevic enter the match, while John Tolkin also comes on.

Shaq Moore, Bernard Kamungo, Josh Atencio, and Brian White are withdrawn. DaJuan Jones moves over to the right so Tolkin can slot in at left-back.

57th min: Chance, USA! Shaq Moore stings the palms of Igor Vekic who does really well to not only make the save but hold on instead of conceding a corner! Diego Luna is involved again as he springs Moore in lots of space down the right, and he chooses to have a go on goal with the seas parting from his angle.

His effort isn't difficult for Vekic to get in front of, but there was power on the shot, and where he could have easily deflected it out for a corner, he expertly pops it up in the air to catch it and maintain possession. Great goalkeeping.

54th min: Slovenia move well down the right side and it produces a good delivery into the penalty area by the substitute Mitja Ilenic, but Sean Zawadzki makes a necessary intervention to clear it before arriving in the middle.

46th min: Not even a minute into the second half, Brian White gets a booking as he clatters a Slovenian player late with a dangerous charge, pummeling Zan Zaletel in the head with his ribs as the defender was bending down to head the ball.

Kickoff: They're off in the second half! Looks like Gregg Berhalter will stick with the same XI that started the match, which feels like a bit of a waste, as other players will be itching to prove they can bring something to this otherwise stagnant performance.

Slovenia make a change, bringing on their only MLS player in Mitja Ilenic who joined NYCFC this offseason.

HALFTIME: USA 0-1 Slovenia

Not many players for the United States stood out in those 45 minutes. It's fine if the USMNT coaching staff wants to put these fringe players in a similar system that the first-team plays to see how they can handle it, but if they struggle, you wonder how these players earned a spot in the team and the starting lineup.

Bernard Kamungo was the most influential player in the U.S. attack, which is a positive, but he had two poor moments, with the giveaway on Slovenia's goal and a miss on the best opportunity for the hosts. Diego Luna had bright moments, and Timothy Tillman was positive in possession, but otherwise, it was a letdown first half. So far, none of these players appear to be up to the quality the first-choice side requires.

Changes should be made at the break to give other players the opportunity. One that fans would love to see take the field would be Philadelphia Union midfielder Jack McGlynn, who has been excellent at times for the youth national team.

USA vs Slovenia: First Half

45th min: The first  yellow card of the match is shown to Danjiel Sturm for a prolonged grab of Shaq Moore's arm on the touchline. Well earned.

Miles Robinson gets high in the air and makes aerial contact with the free-kick delivery, but is challenged hard by Igor Vekic and skies the header over the crossbar as the halftime whistle blows.

40th min: The U.S. has another good look in the final third, but Igor Vekic gets in good position at his near post to block the ball from Bernard Kamungo who was dribbling right along the end line looking to feed his teammates in front of net.

30th min: Chance, USA! It should be 1-1 but Igor Vekic makes an unbelievable save! A wonderful ball from Diego Luna finds Brian White, and he crosses to Bernard Kamungo right on the doorstep, but Vekic is there off his line to block the effort inside the six-yard box! That's a MASSIVE opportunity and should have been the equalizer!

26th min: GOAL! SLOVENIA! The hosts have looked the better side, but are behind after Bernard Kamungo is muscled off the ball in midfield, which leads directly to the opener. It's Danijel Sturm who simply bodies Kamungo out of possession and breaks the other way two-on-two, feeding a vertical ball to Nejc Gradisar for a tight-angle finish. An ugly goal for the U.S. to concede, in all honesty.

16th min: The U.S. have a free-kick from about 40 yards out on the left, but it's floated too deep and into the waiting arms of the Slovenian goalkeeper.

A minute later Slovenia have a free-kick from around the same spot although a bit closer to the penalty area, but Shaq Moore gets his head to the delivery from Jan Repas and the chance evaporates.

14th min: It's been a bit of a cagey start between these two sides, with the teams engaging in a midfield battle. They are both trying to play forward through the middle but neither side has been able to get a real foothold in the match.

7th min: Only some utterly brilliant defending by DeJuan Jones prevented a very dangerous effort on goal as Slovenia counter-attack with real intent. Tamar Svetlin gets clean through and seemed to have an opening on goal but Jones muscles him out of the shooting window from behind.

3rd min: Bernard Kamungo runs the first attack for the United States down the left, and he feeds a dangerous ball into the middle but it's intercepted and cleared by a Slovenian defender. A bright start for the U.S. who are dominating possession and have their first foray forward.

Kickoff: They're under way at Toyota Stadium! Slovenia are wearing blue, while the U.S. players are in their white kits.

It's a chance for players on both sides to impress and hopefully earn more minutes moving forward. Both teams have upcoming major tournaments this summer, so the reward for a good showing could potentially be huge.

USA vs Slovenia: Pre-match commentary, analysis, stats, and more

15 mins to kickoff: There are three players from MLS Cup winners Columbus Crew in the USMNT starting lineup today, the most of any club. FC Cincinnati sent three players to the January camp as well, but only new free agent signing Miles Robinson got a start, with Roman Celentano and Ian Murphy on the bench to begin.

30 mins to kickoff: The two players fans may have hoped to see the most in Jack McGlynn and Duncan Maguire start on the bench, but one to watch in the starting XI is Josh Atencio. The 21-year-old defensive midfielder earned a spot with the Seattle Sounders late in the season, and performed well as they made a run to the Western Conference semifinals.

He scored for the U.S. team just six days ago in a scrimmage against Argentine club River Plate, which finished in a 2-2 draw.

45 mins to kickoff: Slovenia's lineup looks to potentially be a 4-4-2 diamond, with exciting 21-year-old debutant Adrian Zeljkovic at the No. 6 position. The most experienced player is full-back Zan Karnicinik, whose 24 caps far exceed anyone else on this very inexperienced roster.

1 hour to kickoff: The USMNT lineup is in. As we speculated earlier, it's Patrick Schulte in goal, while Miles Robinson captain's the team. Brian White takes the central striker spot, flanked by Bernard Kamungo and Diego Luna.

Seven players in the U.S. starting lineup are earning their first USMNT cap, which equals the modern era record set in last year's January camp defeat to Serbia. The only players in the lineup with a prior international cap are Miles Robinson, Aidan Morris, DeJuan Jones, and Shaq Moore. Every single forward, two of three midfielders, a defender, and the goalkeeper are all on their debut.

1 hour 15 mins to kick: The youngest player on the USMNT roster for this match is 18-year-old New England Revolution winger Esmir Bajraktarevic, but he's got plenty of national team experience. He has been with the U-23 national team for a while now, and is a possibility to play for the side at the Olympics this summer.

"Talking to Gregg [Berhalter] and [U-23 national team head coach] Marko [Mitrovic], they've been telling me this - if you're good enough, you're old enough," Bajraktarevic told Brian Sciaretta of American Soccer Now. "I try not to really think about my age that much. I still have a lot of growing to do, but I think that I can compete no matter what. It doesn't matter how young I am.”

With Cade Cowell departing USMNT camp to complete his transfer to Mexican club Chivas, Bajraktarevic could have a window to start this match, or see big minutes in some capacity.

1 hour 30 mins to kick: The United States released the official squad with numbers for this match, and it's interesting to note that Patrick Schulte gets the No. 1 jersey, possibly hinting at the Columbus Crew man earning the start today.

It was through that Drake Callender could be given the start based solely on time served, having been called in to USMNT service multiple times without seeing the field, but it's entirely possible Schulte, who won the MLS Cup title this past season, may have won the spot across the last few weeks of camp.

1 hour 45 mins to kick: Another player who departed national team camp early is Cade Cowell, who left on Wednesday to finalize a move to Mexican club Chivas. Cowell's move is a big one for the 22-year-old, costing the Liga MX side $4 million according to reports. He will not participate today, and while that does see him miss out on a chance, Cowell is far more well established in the national team setup than someone like Ragen whose absence is tough for a player who isn't likely to see more opportunities to impress.

2 hours to kickoff: One player who would have been in line to start this match is Jackson Ragen, who had a second consecutive stellar season with the Seattle Sounders. Ragen was one of the best central defenders in MLS this past year, and at a position of uncertainty for the U.S., he had a lot to gain from a good performance in this match.

Unfortunately, the 25-year-old had to withdraw from camp earlier this week due to a knee injury. It's a huge missed opportunity for him, but hopefully he did enough to earn more looks down the road. If he puts forth another big season in MLS, he likely will, as the USMNT center-back depth chart is muddy at best.

USA vs Slovenia lineups, team news

With a roster entirely made up of domestic-based players in the midst of their offseason, it's quite difficult to know who will get the nod in the match. It's highly likely that defender Miles Robinson will start and captain the side, but his potential center-back partner Jackson Ragen withdrew from the squad due to injury. Also missing from the squad is winger Cade Cowell who departed early to finalize his club transfer to Mexican side Chivas.

With three uncapped goalkeepers on the roster, Drake Callender will be disappointed not to earn the start, as it's Patrick Schulte chosen to begin between the sticks. 

There are seven debutants in the starting lineup for the United States, tying a modern record set in last January's friendly against Serbia. Josh Atencio and Bernard Kamungo are amongst those rewarded for a bright MLS season last year, while Jack McGlynn and Duncan McGuire will bide their time hoping for a first cap off the bench.

USA starting lineup (4-4-3): Schulte (GK) — Moore, M. Robinson, Zawadzki, D. Jones — Atencio, A. Morris, Tillman — Kamungo, B. White, Luna.

USA subs (12): Callender (GK), Celentano (GK), Wiley, Tolkin, Murphy, Tafari, Sands, McGlynn, Harriel, A. Jackson, Bajraktarevic, McGuire.

Like the United states, Slovenia's squad features almost entirely domestic-based players who have little or no international experience.

The most veteran player on the roster is defender Zan Karnicnik who has 24 international appearances and the only senior international goal scored of any player in the entire Slovenia squad. He is one of four players called up from Slovenian club Celje who are running away with this year's league title, 10 points clear at the top through 19 matches.

There is one US-based player on the roster, with 19-year-old right-back Mitja Ilenic just brought over to MLS side NYCFC from Slovenian club NK Domzale this winter for a €1 million transfer fee. He is joined by another exciting young player in 21-year-old defensive midfielder Adrian Zeljkovic who has Europa Conference League experience with his Slovakian club Spartak Trnava.

Slovenia starting lineup (4-4-2): Vekic (GK) — Karnicnik, Zaletel, Zec, Kuzmic — Zeljkovic — Svetlin, Repas — Elsnik — Gradisar, Sturm.

Slovenia subs (10): Pintol (GK), Mihelak (GK), Karic, Ilenic, Kavcic, Ratnik, Ticic, Zabukovnik, Vombergar, Poplatnik.

How to watch USA vs Slovenia

  • TV Channel (English): TNT
  • Streaming (English): Sling, Max, Watch TNT
  • TV Channel (Spanish): Telemundo, Universo
  • Streaming (Spanish): Sling, Peacock, Telemundo Deportes en Vivo

The friendly between the United States men's national team and Slovenia on Saturday will be broadcast in the United States in English on TNT, which is available to watch on Sling, which is offering half-off right now for first time subscribers. The match will also be streamed on Max (formerly HBO Max).

A Spanish-language broadcast can be found on Telemundo and Universo, which are also available to stream on Sling, as well as Peacock for those with a premium login. 

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USA vs Slovenia betting odds, lines

Last January, a USMNT side led by interim coach Anthony Hudson fell to Serbia and drew with Colombia in its two friendlies, proving that a fringe national team side will struggle to keep up even as opponents travel great distances and also feature second-choice players.

They struggled mightily to put together significant attacking pressure and, especially against Serbia, were carved to shreds on the counter-attack.

With a very inexperienced and youthful attacking squad, sporting players in the midst of their club offseason, it's entirely possible that a young Slovenia side comes across the Atlantic and spoils the party. While the moneyline might not be the best play, Slovenia on the double chance at +115 presents solid value.

Prediction: USA 1-1 Slovenia

  DraftKings
(USA)
USA win -150
Draw +270
Slovenia win +400
Both teams
to score Y/N		 -110 / -130
Over / Under
2.5 goals		 +100 / -150
USA
-0.5 goals		 -165
Slovenia
+0.5 goals		 +110

Kyle Bonn

Kyle Bonn Photo

Kyle Bonn, is a Syracuse University broadcast journalism graduate with over a decade of experience covering soccer globally. Kyle specializes in soccer tactics and betting, with a degree in data analytics. Kyle also does TV broadcasts for Wake Forest soccer, and has had previous stops with NBC Soccer and IMG College. When not covering the game, he has long enjoyed loyalty to the New York Giants, Yankees, and Fulham. Kyle enjoys playing racquetball and video games when not watching or covering sports.