Cape Town - England held Algeria to a goalless draw on Friday and left one of the World Cup favourites on the brink of elimination with one game to go in the first round.

With a sullen Wayne Rooney scoreless for a seventh straight match, England lacked heart and inspiration, struggling throughout against an opponent fighting to avoid becoming the first to be eliminated from the SWC.?

The result set up a Group C finale on Wednesday with England taking on Slovenia and the United States playing Algeria.

Slovenia leads the group with four points, followed by England and the United States with two each. Algeria has one point.

Copyright News24.com. Reprinting is not allowed without express, written permission.