IRENE, South Africa — American fans were obsessing over England for six months, wondering how the Americans would stop Wayne Rooney.

Well, they did.

Now that the U.S. got past the English with a 1-1 tie, a big part of the Americans' World Cup fate will be determined Friday against Slovenia.

"There's nothing flashy about them," Landon Donovan said Tuesday. "There's not a few players, like with England, where you go, 'We need to 100 percent stop that player or else we're in trouble.' But they seem to be a very good team overall. They seem like they have good chemistry. They seem like they know each other well."

Sound familiar?

Sure does to the U.S. players.

"A team of individuals that are willing to work for each other. A collective," defender Jay DeMerit said. "We've mirrored that type of tag before, and we know as a team how far that can take you."

There was some new gear at training in Pretoria on Tuesday, with many players wearing navy ski caps, most wearing sweat pants and some putting on gloves as a biting 22 mph southern wind ripped across Pilditch Stadium, where the temperature was just 46 before the sunset at 5:24 p.m.

It will be a different type of game, too, against Slovenia, which beat Algeria 1-0 in its opener on Robert Koren's 79th-minute goal.

Slovenia likely will rely on counterattacks.

"In all likelihood, if we lose we're out of the tournament," Donovan said. "That's the reality of the situation. A tie means we're still in."