Soccer Gambling Articles
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Copa America Prediction: Samba or Last Tango in Peru? What a pleasant surprise. Despite initial worries about poor quality, Copa America viewers have been treated to magnificent tournament. The Spanish-language broadcasts featuring announcers belting ‘Gol, Gol, Gol, Gol, Goooooooooooooool’ certainly helped. But the quality of play on the pitch was equally dramatic. Giants Argentina and Brazil face off in the final. The Argentines have taken a record 14 Copa America titles, but they haven’t won it since 1993. Since then, the highest they have placed is fifth. Argentina skipped the 2001 Copa in Colombia for ‘security reasons’. This will be Brazil’s fourth final in nine years. But with six victories, the Brazilians have won comparatively few of these tournaments, and four of those wins were on home soil. Brazil’s worst result was at the last Copa America in 2001. They lost to Honduras in the quarterfinal, finishing sixth overall. Of the few remaining props available, the top goalscorer is most lopsided. With six goals, Brazil’s Adriano is a bargain at 1:100. His closest rival, three-goal scorer Javier Saviola of Argentina, is available at 30:1. Adriano scored six of Brazil’s 11 goals. It’s tempting to back Saviola to pick up a hat trick against Brazil and tie Adriano for leading scorer. Among the ‘outsiders’ (as if Saviola weren’t one himself) are Luis Fabiano of Brazil (50:1) with two goals. Then there’s Brazil’s Alex (80:1) and Uruguay’s Diego Forlan (80:1), both with one goal apiece. Totals bettors will be tempted by the big priced Over 2.5 goals (available as high as +130). The Over went 5-1 in Argentina’s group. And with two high scoring and offensive-minded teams, there could easily be more than two goals in this game. Of course, cup finals tend to be cautious affairs. But the firepower of these teams, and lack of attention paid to defence makes this price simply irresistible. Amazingly, the two South American heavyweights have never met in a Copa America final. But make no mistake, there is no love lost between them. The last meeting of these teams -- in a World Cup qualifier two months ago -- resulted in a 3-0 Brazilian demolition of Argentina. Ronaldo scored all three goals from the penalty spot. Revenge will certainly be a factor, but keep in mind that these are different teams from the star studded squads who met in June. Over the few remaining dog days of summer, soccer junkies still have the Asian Cup, Intertoto Cup, Champions League and UEFA Cup qualifiers. The German Bundesliga kicks off on August 6th, followed by the English Premiership and the Olympics a week later. Last week: The money train keeps steaming ahead as we cashed two of our three Copa picks for a profit of +190 units. We’re 6-3 at the Copa America, or $3,980 in profit for a dime player. Don’t miss our take on the final two games of the tournament. This week's picks: Copa America - Third Place Game Game Date: Saturday, July 24, 2004 8:45 PM Matchup: Colombia vs. Uruguay Selection: Play on Uruguay Colombia's record in the group stage was far from convincing. They scored only 4 goals, and only squeezed past weak teams like Bolivia and Venezuela with 1-0 wins. In the quarter-finals, Colombia beat Costa Rica 2-0, but the Ticos were by far the worst team at this tournament and should have stayed home. Uruguay, conversely, faced tough group opposition, losing to Argentina and drawing with Mexico. But the Uruguayans still managed to score twice against both of those teams, and they score an average of 2 gpg. Uruguay are coming off a convincing 3-1 win over Paraguay -- a telling result considering Paraguay, like Colombia, play very defensively. That strategy should backfire against a prolific and improving Uruguayan offence. Take Uruguay -0.5/+190 Copa America - Final Game Date: Sunday, July 25, 2004 4:00 PM Matchup: Argentina vs. Brazil Selection: Play on Argentina The Argentines have been impressive in this tournament; they are clearly the best team at Copa America, scoring nearly 3 gpg. They produced dominant performances against Colombia, Uruguay and Ecuador and have improved by leaps and bounds with each match. While Brazil had enough quality to field a second string side and still reach the final, they face a tough task against Argentina. In the group stage, Brazil only edged past Chile 1-0, and lost to Paraguay 2-1. Particularly worrying was their 1-1 draw with Uruguay, which forced overtime in the semi-finals. Argentina have beaten Brazil in 8 of their 9 Copa meetings. And Argentina have won more Copa Americas (14) than any other nation. Expect them to build on that record against Brazil. Take Argentina -0.5/+155 |
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