Karim Matmour tried his luck from distance but was way off the mark after more good work from Belhadj, the best player on the field by far.
Algeria keeper Faouzi Chaouchi was called into action just before the break, producing a save for the cameras in dealing with a shot from the edge of the box by Valter Birsa.
Unsurprisingly the first half ended goalless and TV pundit Alan Hansen summed up the opening 45 minutes perfectly when he moaned: “That was awful. I shouldn't be subjected to this sort of pain on my birthday."
Slovenia keeper Handanovic showed assured handling as he competently dealt with a probing cross and a goalbound shot in the opening stages of the second half.
Slovenia carved out a couple of opportunities just after the hour mark, with one of those falling to Koren who, in-keeping with the current World Cup theme, blazed the ball high over the bar.
Sub Ghezzal headed over in the 70th minute, and he repeated the act moments later as Algeria began to look the team most likely to make the breakthrough.
But, when he attempted his third header in a matter of minutes, Ghezzal was shown a second yellow card – his first came seconds after he came on – for deliberate hand ball, little more than 15 minutes after his introduction.
Algeria paid the penalty for Ghezzal’s needless dismissal when Koren scored the only goal of the game ten minutes from time, with more than a little help from the keeper.
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