World Cup Buzz, Day 13 - Will it be an unlucky 13 for England, as anything but a win will see them join France as one of the tournament's big losers?

So this is it, D-Day. 70 years on from Winston Churchill's infamous words, 'never has so much been given to so many by so few', and it really is time for England to deliver for their legions of disappointed, disillusioned and taken-for-granted supporters. By 5pm a nation will either owe an eternal debt of gratitude to the gods of fate, or be bemoaning its footballing malaise and misfortune to be represented by such uninterested, over-paid and over-indulged players as make up the England squad. Having shown their attacking potential against the United States, and surprisingly having led 2-0 at half-time against Bob Bradley's side, Slovenia will not simply roll over and allow the all-conquering English to triumph. Fabio Capello's men will have to improve drastically on their lacklustre performance against Algeria, where they represented pub players tired and drowsy after a few pints rather than international-level footballers. With Capello likely to give James Milner and Jermaine Defoe starts, could we have an Italia '90 scenario, where having disappointed in their opening group games England finally turn on the style and progress to the Round of 16? Let's hope so. Wayne Rooney is another player needing a good performance to win back some favour with his loyal supporters after last week's disgraceful comments, and the time is ripe for him to inject some impetus into England's so-far weak attack. Slovenia ought not to be underestimated, but really and truly if England are inacapable of overcoming their opponents later today then they simply do not deserve to progress. A vastly improved performance is a requirement, but one would imagine that the legions of beleaguered and downhearted England fans would settle for a win, however it came. With Emile Heskey out of the side England fans will have to find a new scapegoat for any potential failure later today; let's just hope that Jermaine Defoe is able to deputise successfully for the much-maligned Aston Villa front-man, otherwise he may never be given a chance up front for England again, which would be a shame given that he is perhaps the only out-and-out goalscorer in the squad.

Whilst all the newspapers in this country will be focused entirely on England's vital clash with Slovenia, Group C's other game may perhaps be of equal significance to English hopes at this World Cup. For if the United States are able to find a way past Algeria, which one would imagine they ought to be capable of doing, England would need to beat Slovenia by at least a goal more than the USA wins over Algeria by, otherwise Joachim Low's Germany may be waiting in the wings, assuming England manage to triumph over Slovenia. It would be a crying shame if the United States fail to progress, given the abysmal refereeing decisions they have been subjected to already at this tournament; Maurice Edu's late 'winner' against Slovenia comes to mind. Algeria shouldn't prove too much of a challenge for the Americans, who have already acquitted themselves well at this tournament, far better than their supposedly more illustrious Group C opponents. With a team gaining confidence and self-belief despite the setback against Slovenia, the USA are favourites to progress to the knock-out stages, but whether or not they do so in first or second place depends on how well they manage to break down the stubborn Algerian defence. Two goals would almost certainly see the United States top Group C, but if England were able by some miracle to put three or four past Slovenia, the Americans may find themselves facing a very difficult tie against Joachim Low's Germany. If not it may well be Ghana for Bob Bradley's side, a far more attractive prospect for most American 'soccer' fans I'm sure.

As for the Germans they face a difficult challenge in the shape of Ghana, the only African side likely to progress to the Round of 16. Although Germany suffered defeat last time out against Serbia, they were rather unfortunate, given Lukas Podolski's missed penalty and Miroslav Klose's ridiculous sending-off. Although Germany are a young side, talents such as Mesut Ozil, Podolski and Klose should see them through as group winners. The 4-0 thrashing of Australia in the opening game is for me a better indication of the potential strength and likely performance level of Low's team than the defeat to Serbia. Ghana have performed fairly well so far without being hugely impressive, and will need to put on a strong performance to overcome the Germans. It is clear that the Black Stars are missing midfield general Michael Essien, and in his absence the form of Asamoah Gyan has been, and will continue to be, crucial. Germany's excellent goal difference also gives them the edge in the battle to win Group D, and even if Ghana manage to beat Germany, were Serbia able to put two or more goals past Australia they would squeeze the Black Stars out of second spot.

Group D's other clash sees Serbia take on Australia, hammered 4-0 by Germany in the opening game and in need of a miracle if they are to reach the Round of 16. Serbia are possibly slight favourites, but perhaps they have already reached their peak in this tournament with the fortuitous 1-0 victory over Germany. Australia meanwhile have grossly underachieved and will be looking to leave the tournament on a high. Having missed the second group game through suspension, Tim Cahill could provide the neccessary spark for Australia, and inspire them to what would be an excellent victory. Whether or not it would be enough I don't know, given that going into tonight's matches the Aussies have a goal difference of -4, remains to be seen. Although a 2-0 victory for Germany, and a 3-0 defeat for Serbia would see Australia go through on goals scored. It would be a shame for Serbia not to reach the Round of 16, given that they have achieved the most impressive result of all the sides in the competition, but from the opposing point of view, their opening defeat to Ghana was acommpanied by a limp, cautious and wasteful performance. Given that their victory over Germany was slightly fortuitous to say the least, perhaps it would be fair for the Serbs not to reach the knock-out stages. With Germany huge favourites to claim top spot, the battle for second place is too close to call. Ghana have a slight advantage, but if the Germans put on a performance equal to that which they managed against the Aussies, and Australia knock a few past Serbia, anything is possible. Exactly how the World Cup should be.