By AVI CREDITOR

Wednesday's friendlies provided a glimpse into the progress of Group C's teams, and the results showed a bit of vulnerability for two of the United States' opponents.

England fell behind by a goal before rallying for a 3-1 victory over Egypt. Peter Crouch netted a brace, and Shaun Wright-Phillips scored the game-winner in the 75th minute. Neither player started for the Three Lions.

The Pharaohs silenced the Wembley Stadium crowd with Mohamed Zidan's 23rd-minute strike from the edge of the box, but Crouch knotted the score with a 56th-minute goal. He added another in the 80th minute, giving Fabio Capello something to think about when he names his starting strikers for the World Cup.

As for the other two teams in Group C:

Up-and-down Algeria was embarrassed on its home soil by Group D-member Serbia, falling 3-0. Marko Pantelic opened the scoring in the 16th minute, and Zdravko Kuzmanovic and Zoran Tosic netted second-half goals against the Desert Foxes.

Slovenia eased to a 4-1 win over Qatar, grabbing a 3-0 lead by the 34th minute. Goals were scored by Milivoje Novakovic, Bostjan Cesar, Andraz Kirm and Bojan Jokic. Not a whole lot can be gathered from this result, as Qatar, 92nd in the latest FIFA rankings, isn't the strongest of opponents. 

In other Wednesday friendlies of interest:

• Mexico downed New Zealand 2-0 at the Rose Bowl behind goals from Javier Hernandez and Carlos Vela.
• Argentina silenced Germany 1-0 on a breakaway goal from Gonzalo Higuain.
• Spain outclassed France 2-0 on strikes from David Villa and Sergio Ramos.
• Italy was held to a scoreless draw by Cameroon.
• Future U.S.-friendly opponents Turkey and Czech Republic split their results, as Turkey downed Honduras 2-0 and the Czechs fell to Scotland 1-0.
• Senegal surprised Greece 2-0.
• African powers Ghana and Ivory Coast both were beaten, with the Black Stars falling to Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-1 and the Elephants losing to South Korea 2-0.
• World Cup-host South Africa drew with Namibia 1-1.

What do you make of England, Algeria and Slovenia after their performances on Wednesday? Do you not read much into friendly results? What score surprised you the most?

Share your thoughts below.