Preview: England – Algeria

(GSM) – After a goalkeeping howler against the USA forced them to settle for a draw, England return to the pitch on Friday with a sense of desperation as they must win against Algeria to keep qualification hopes alive in Group C.

Despite grabbing an early lead against the USA, Robert Green’s horrendous error gifted the Americans an equalizer in a 1-1 draw on Saturday.

Algeria are also coming off a goalkeeping mistake of their own as Faouzi Chaouchi’s gaffe allowed Robert Koren to grab a 1-0 win over Slovenia.

With both sides desperate for points to keep afloat in the group, tensions are sure to be high when the squads face off in Cape Town.

At this point, it is unclear who England coach Fabio Capello will start in goal as both David James and Joe Hart have been tossed around in the media as possibly getting a chance between the posts in place of the under-fire Green.

In addition, Capello is dealing with the loss of central defender Ledley King to injury in a position which was already hurting from the loss of Rio Ferdinand before the start of the tournament.

It is expected that Jamie Carragher will go from the start in King’s stead, and Capello will also introduce fit-again midfielder Gareth Barry to the mix in an otherwise-unchanged starting XI.

Algeria coach Rabah Saadane could be forced to change keepers if Chaouchi isn’t healthy to start, and skipper Yazid Mansouri remains out of favor with Saadane.

Ghezzal will be unavailable due to his suspension for the red card against Slovenia.

On England’s side, James Milner, Carragher and Steven Gerrard will be trying to avoid a second booking while Algerian midfielder Hassan Yebda is the only Desert Fox on a yellow card.