World Cup: There will be more than 11 Americans starting on Friday

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Coach Bob Bradley will send 11 players onto the Ellis Park Stadium field in Johannesburg on Friday afternoon when the U.S. plays Slovenia in both teams’ second match of the 2010 World Cup.

But they won’t be the only Americans getting a start Friday.

Neven Subotic, a central defender for Serbia, has been told by Coach Radomir Antic that he probably will be in the lineup when Serbia plays Germany in Port Elizabeth. Subotic will be filling in for Aleksandar Lukovic, who was tossed out of Serbia’s 1-0 loss to Ghana for a handball infraction.

Subotic, 21, was born in what was then Yugoslavia but spent part of his youth in Salt Lake City and Florida and represented the U.S. at the under-17 and under-20 levels. He holds dual citizenship and opted to play for Serbia after he was left off the U.S. roster for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in 2007.

-- Grahame L. Jones in Johannesburg, South Africa