Sports Betting Blog

Uruguay had a very difficult time making it into the World Cup. They did not exactly had the most brilliant qualification stage ever. The team played Costa Rica for the last spot among the North and South American teams. But one thing you can count on. The Uruguayans have a lot of soul and just plain enthusiasm and stamina. They go all out, put their hearts behind each game. And that is how a small country in South America, with no more then 4 million habitants have once again made it to the top of the soccer world.

The Germans have had a long-standing tradition of good World Cup performances. This is the second consecutive tournament in which they finish third. But there is much more to be said about this German squad. They are one of the youngest teams to come in the tournament. With the exception of the Veteran striker Miroslav Klose, the Germans have proved to have made quite an exceptional team. The men guided by Joachim Low had a great run. Perhaps, missing Muller during their semifinal game against the Netherlands proved a very high price, and they could not make it to the final.

Let’s face it. The Germans and the Uruguayans did not make it to the This game played for the third place, was far more interesting and exciting, if not to say, much better played then the final game between Netherlands and Spain.

Uruguay was the last South American team standing in the World Cup. And truth be said, the Charruas had a good chance to complete the upset. And yet much has to be said about Fernando Muslera’s performance at the end of the Uruguayans defense. It is well known that the goalkeeper is one of most thankless jobs ever. But even the young keeper agrees that this was one of his worst games. Sure it was pouring down for most of the game. And sure, many players and keepers have commented on the ball’s poor performance and distorted trajectory. But it was simply not his game. Two of the German goals came basically because of his poor performance.

Thomas Muller opened the scoring for the Germans after 19 minutes of play. Bastian Schweinsteiger made a great shot from over 30 yard. Muslera blocked the first shot but was unable to keep the ball as it bounced and finished close to Muller who finished the play with ease.

Not ten minutes after that, Luis Suarez opened a superb pass thru the left flank and the fast Edinson Cavani crossed the ball to the keepers left and managed a nice goal. This gave the Uruguayan team a new look and some sort of a power boost. They kept on been quite effective on the defensive end. And still, thanks to the lead of Diego Forlan on the midfield, they kept pushing the limits of the German defense. Luis Suarez was not as sharp as his team would have like, and he missed a couple of good chances to finish off the game.

Forlan’s shot from outside the box, gave the Uruguayan team the lead early in the second half. It really seemed as if they could pull it off. But then again, Muslera mismanaged a ball in the penalty box and Marcell Jansen, without missing a beat, finished the play to draw the game.

8 minutes before the end, the Uruguayan defense could not sent off a ball from a corner kick. The Germans managed to head the ball twice and Khedira looped it inside the South American goal to make it 3-2. It seemed as if that was going to be it. But perhaps it was the last play of the game that exemplifies the Uruguayan courage. The team kept on attacking even as time was running down and it seemed there was going to be no hope.

Forlan had a great chance from a 23-meter free kick shot. This was it. He put his soul into the shot as if swerved thru the air and bounced off the top goal post. The Germans took the third spot. Both teams gave us one of the best games in the Tournament.

The Argentinean people are very proud of their National Soccer Team. There is somewhat of a cult build around it. If the press fills in your T.V. with soccer news during every World Cup in each possible TV station, and you think its either overwhelming or just plain annoying, I got to tell you something. I don’t think any other country is got a single thing to match the way both players and fans, home or abroad cheer and sing and swear and live football like the argentines do. When the team plays the streets are empty, the bars are full, even at the bank the clerks are watching the game. Even at schools, students are cramped into TV equipped classrooms so that they can follow the games.

And then there is playing against Germany. I guess that only playing against Brazil or playing England can bring on such intensity, such a potent and deep-rooted rivalry among fans in the beautiful sport. And we are going to live a bit of that when both Argentina and Germany set foot on the Green Point Stadium soccer field in Cape Town this Saturday.

The expectations outside of Argentina were not particularly high for the team guided by Diego Maradona. They had had quite an irregular and somehow disappointing qualifying stage. Some of their losses were unprecedented (think Bolivia) and other were just painful (Brazil at home), but somehow it seems that despite the somewhat dubious experience of  Maradona as head coach, the Argentine team has managed to play wonderfully ever since they landed in South Africa.

The German squad is full of young talented players all of whom play in the German Bundesliga. It is not usual to see a World Cup team of only domestic players, yet Joachim Low’s team has proved to be one of the most competitive teams out there. With Brazil out of the picture, they are certainly going to take on a very promising change on the odds to win the World Cup.

But Argentina is still one heck of a team, and they have to beat the odds if they want to make it to the next round. Now, there are a couple of things you might want to keep an eye out for in this next game. For Argentina, many are wondering if Lionel Messi is finally going to be able to score. He has been close real close on many occasions, yet the best player in the world, according to FIFA, has yet to score on this tournament. He was a bit off on his last game, but heck, if he is as good as they say he is, he is going to want to prove it against the Germans. For better or worse, this is the first real threat to the Argentine hegemony in the tournament.

Now, since Tevez has been a bit overshadowed by Messi and Higuain in the group stage, he had to bring on his A-game against the Mexicans. His second goal was an instant classic, and might be the finest goal scored so far in the tournament.

On the German side, keep an eye out for Mezut Ozil. He has the talent and the ball handling skill to change the rhythm of the German offensive drive at will. And of course, keep an eye out for Thomas Muller. The youngster is on fire. He has scored 3 goals and 3 assists for the squad in this tournament. Truth be said, the young team has been playing so well we don’t even miss Michael Ballack that much. Neither do the German national soccer team.

This World Cup has had its up and downs. If you are into Cinderella stories, well, this was one heck of a World Cup. If you are more of the go with the favorite, or safer bet sort of person, well, you probably are not that happy. Back in 2006 both Italy and France saw faced each other at the Germany 2006 World Cup Final game. 4 years later both teams faced each other at the South African airport on their way out after just the first round. That’s right: first round.

Now, just to get you in the mood for numbers, Brazil was ML+105 while the Dutch upset came back at ML+250 for this quarterfinals game. It was not a risky call to go for Brazil, but the chances for an upset were there. If you were following the live line, things got really interesting right before halftime. The Brazilian squad has been absolutely dominant in the first couple of minutes. They kept driving into the Dutch defense like if it were butter.

Robinho had already scored once before his first official goal came in after 11 minutes of play. On a previous play, the referee considered he was offside and Brazil first goal didn’t count towards the score. Yet Brazil did not lose its cool. Just a couple of minutes later, a great pass by Midfielder Melo down the middle placed Robinho in  a great position to shot on goal with plenty of space and with only the goalkeeper to deal with.

Dunga’s team kept on bringing great plays. Kaka had a great run from the right, cut across the penalty area and made one great shot that had it not been for Marteen Stekelenburg great save, it would have ment the 2-0 deficit before halftime. It really seemed as if Brazil was going to live up to its expectations, and the team the counted with the talent of Kaká, Robinho, Maicón, Lucío and Luis Fabiano were on their easy way into the semifinals.

Not much was happening for the Dutch key players. Before halftime, except for a couple of fast breaks through the flanks.  Arjen Robben on the top and Wesley Sneijder, in the midfield, were still to tune as fine as they had on the previous games.

It is uncertain what happened in the halftime break, but it seemed as if the Neatherlands had changed their pace, their rhythm but most importantly, their mentality. Sneijder began to place some great passes through the middle, and kept been a real problem for the Brazilian defense. Despite Robin van Persie not finding his best aim from the distance (his shot were going ridiculously high) the Dutch team were finding their best game.

Soon Sneijder crossed a ball into the penalty area. Both Julio Cesar, the brazilian keeper, and Maicon went for the ball. And sure enough, the ball bounced off Maicon’s head and went straight into the goal. To finish of his great performance of the night, he scored with 22 minutes to play after a great play that seemed already orchestrated from the team’s training sessions. From a right corner kick, and a double header, Sneijder pushed the ball in to make it 2-1.

And that was it. Brazil lost control of the ball. Melo was shown a red card a couple minutes later after he intentionally stepped over Robben, and despite their chance, Brazil, with only 10 men on the field could not complete their comeback. The Neatherlands will now face the winner of the Uruguay – Ghana Match.

Uruguay became the first World Cup Champion back in 1932 when they host the tournament and defeated Argentina 4-2 in the final game. The team then followed this success in the 1950 World Cup held in Brazil. The Uruguayans went on to defeat the Brazilians in the final game by a 2-1 after a dramatic goal by Alcides Ghiggia when there were only 11 minutes left to play. Had Brazil draw that game, they would have won the tournament. Ghiggia’s goal came before some 200,000 mostly  local spectators that had filled the Maracana stadium. The stunning defeat is known as the Maracanazo.

But since 1970 things have not been as smooth for Uruguay World Cup soccer teams. They have not made it pass the second round since, and have missed a couple of tournaments because the team has not been able to qualify. The 2010 Uruguay National soccer team on the other hand, might just be able to make up for all those forty years of disappointment. They now face South Korea on the South Africa 2010 World Cup second round. And they sure have what it takes to defeat the Asians.

After the catastrophic failure of the French team to do much anything in this World Cup, the Uruguayans managed to put on some great games against Mexico (1-0 win), South Africa (3-0 win) after their initial 0-0 draw against the French. This was enough to lead Group A after the first round.

Now, here is the trick. Uruguay is a clear favorite to win their game against South Korea in the World Cup betting Odds. As of press time Uruguay is at ML-115 while South Korea has a nice comeback at ML+300 and the Draw kicking in at ML+215. However the South Koreans might come in with an upset. Sure enough, Argentina smack them down to a 4-1 on their second game, but a 2-0 win against Greece and a dramatic and explosive 2-2 draw with Nigeria has placed them in the right spot.

There is one big issue concerning the South Korean defense. Are they going to have what it takes to keep such keen and prolific strikers as Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez under the radar? Coach Oscar Tabarez knows his team well, and might have the right combination up front and on the defense to slow down the speedy and fast-paced Asian team.

There is one extra motivation behind this game. However makes it to the quarterfinals will face either the United States or Ghana for the  quarterfinals. Is not that we don’t appreciate the talent and the great tour of force this two other teas have shown so far in the tournament. But it is as simple as this: you would rather have your team play either Ghana or Team USA then Brazil, Germany, England, Argentina or any of the other big names left in the tournament.

It’s going to be one heck of a game. That’s for sure. The Uruguayans are a clear favorite on the betting odds. But the South Koreans are going to give it their best try to prove they deserve to move on the next round.