Thanks for coming back to check us out.RSS feed. Stay connected!

World Cup Semi Final Predictions: July 6th/7th 2010:

Hello everyone. My predictions for the quarter finals went ok. I got two out of four. The correct predictions were Uruguay beating Ghana & Spain beating Paraguay. I didn’t expect Germany to thrash Argentina 4-0. The same applies to Brazil losing to Holland. I suppose the Germany result makes England look better than Argentina as England only lost 4-1 or 4-2 if you want to count Frank Lampard’s disallowed goal. Germany must be favourites for the World cup now that Brazil have been knocked out by Holland which I have to say pleased me as I am fed up with Brazil doing well at World cups almost as much as Germany. It now falls on Spain to try & stop the Germans but I don’t think they will. I will post my final preview as well as an overview of the whole world cup in context of my predictions before Sunday. Good luck.

Match 60: Semi Finals: Holland – Uruguay: (Tuesday July 6th 7.30pm):

Holland beat Brazil 2-1 which was a major shock to them as well as the rest of the footballing world. This has been a world cup of shocks so I suppose I should have known better when I predicted Brazil to win & not Holland. Can the Dutch repeat 1974 & 1978 & reach the final but this time go further. We will see. I think they will beat Uruguay in this game to at least emulate the great side of the 1970’s. Uruguay have really done well to reach the semi final stage for the first time since they won the world cup for the second time in 1950. They beat Nigeria on penalties in the quarter finals but only after Nigeria had missed a penalty in the last minute of extra time. Pity the poor Nigerian player who missed the penalty. The same of course applies to the Paraguay player who missed a second half penalty against Spain when the score was 0-0. He had to be consoled by his team mates as he was in tears after the final whistle. You couldn’t but feel for him. Uruguay are the only south American side left in the tournaments which is something you would have not betted on even if you were start raving mad. Stand up that bloke from Darlington. Ha. The Dutch to win then & they could be facing a repeat of the 1974 final by playing Germany & some revenge for that defeat. Personally I hope not as I would rather they play Spain & that way we would have a new name on the roll call of winners of the World cup & not the bloody Germans again. Do I am come across as bitter?

Result Prediction: Holland to win

Score Prediction: Holland 2 Uruguay 1

Match 61: Semi Finals: Spain – Germany: (Wednesday July 7th 7.30pm):

I went to church today & asked God to let Spain win this game. He said no trouble my son as no one likes the Germans at football. Most of Europe would agree with him. Despite that I think the Germans will win mainly because they always seem to when it comes to semi finals. My memory tells me that they have only lost two semi finals in 30 odd years & that was at the last World cup when they lost to Italy 2-0 & the 1988 European Championships when they lost to Holland 2-1. The full boring list of semi final victories going back to 1974 is as follows:- 1976 European Championships (Yugoslavia 4-2) 1980 Euro Championships (Top of their group), 1982 World Cup (France on Penalties), 1986 World Cup (France 2-0), 1990 World Cup (England on Penalties), European Championships (Sweeden 3-2), Euro 96 (England on Penalties), 2002 World Cup (South Korea 1-0) & the 2008 European Championships (Turkey 3-2). Depressing isn’t it. Spain play great passing football but have had to work hard to break sides down as was proved by their last 16 game & the Quarter final victory against Paraguay. This game will be remembered for both sides missing penalties, firstly Paraguay when the score was 0-0 & then Spain five minutes later when the referee made a crazy decision by making Spain take their penalty again because of players encroaching in the penalty area albeit by about six inches which was in total contrast to Paraguay’s penalty where just about everybody encroached. Hmm. Spain missed the second penalty & it took a brilliant piece of football to unlock the Paraguay defence which enabled David Villa to score another goal to put him top scorer in the World Cup. Manchester City fans must be chomping at the bit to see him play for them next season. I do have to say that Germany have played some great football going forward but it will be a question if Spain can get through their defence? Germany have destroyed England (4-1) & Argentina 4-0 but this game could be closer. It is of course a repeat of the 2008 European Championship final which the Spanish won 1-0. The German side they play in this game is a very different one than that of 2008. I think the Germans will win because they look like they are going to win again & that is depressing.

Result Prediction: Germany to win

Score Prediction: Spain 1 Germany 2

Good Luck everyone & see you all at the weekend for the final.

Douglas Martin

sportingways.com

July 5th 2010

World Cup gambling at the sportsbook on Sunday in the round of 16 may easily be a semifinal or final but Germany and England competed on Sunday with the loser being removed from the 2010 World Cup gambling and bets.

With the English the slightest of favorites, the World Cup betting odds were about as close as you are able to get on this match.

World Cup wagering has favored Germany and England in each of their group matches and neither squad has been excessively impressive. England was actually unsatisfactory in their three group games however they did enough to get through as the 2nd place squad from Group C behind the united states. Germany was not very impressive either but at least they did get two victories in Group D.

England may have more skill but so far in this World Cup they haven’t yet shown much of it. At least in the last match versus Slovenia, Wayne Rooney looked better, though he has not landed yet. He was the 1 player who could make a big difference on Sunday.

Germany and England have a history of playing great World Cup matches. England won 4-2 when they met back in the 1966 final at Wembley. Geoff Hurst won a hat trick for England in that final. Four years later it was Germany defeating England in the quarterfinals. The teams met in 1990 in the semifinals and the competition went to a penalty shootout that Germany ended up winning 4-3.

And now Germany has virtually thrashed the English team to a 4-1 victory in the 2010 World Cup.

While it was considered that the similarly-matched teams may come down to penalty time in a close competition, that just wasn’t the situation. The English defense was sloppy and the Germans came out fast to a 2-0 lead before the English squad obtained their point.

Then, England’s Frank Lampard made a goal that could have brought the competition to a tie. Unfortunately for the English squad, the goal was not spotted by the referee. The ball bounced two feet behind the line at the goal, but lacking delay, the German goalie simply picked it up and threw it back into play. That effectively tricked the referee into thinking the ball had not crossed the line and the English squad was denied their point.

Germany might feel the decision atones for 1966, when the English team was famously awarded a third goal even though Geoff Hurst’s shot looked to bounce down on the line.

England’s coach Fabio Capello believed that goal might have been a turning point for the English squad, and they may have wound up winning the contest after that. In the second half, nonetheless, a superior German squad just ran away with the match. Germany’s Thomas Muller landed twice to take Germany to a 4-1 lead, giving England their biggest ever World Cup loss.

Germany will take on Argentina in the last eight on Saturday. They have now reached at least the quarterfinals at every World Cup since 1954.

Liverpool versus Chelsea EPL Sunday November 7

This Sunday brings a cracker of an Premier League game, as Liverpool heads to Anfield for a significant contest against Chelsea. As these are two of the largest soccer clubs on the earth, the thrill will be extremely high. Not only will this be an particularly fascinating football match, but it will also offer many opportunities for well-informed sports bettors to participate in some informed fantasy betting.

Everyone that is showing an interest in fantasy betting on this game between Liverpool and Chelsea should keep the following stats in mind when walking to the betting window. Liverpool’s Frank Lampard has scored goals in three of the previous 5 games he has played in Anfield versus Chelsea. Liverpool’s key player, Fernando Torres, has scored 4 times in four trips to battle Chelsea at Anfield. Liverpool was not able to score a goal this year that wasn’t scored or assisted by the two megastars, Lampard and Torres.

On the other side of the pitch, Chelsea legend, Didier Drogba, has scored 5 times in his last five games against Liverpool. Chelsea goalkeeper, Pete Cech, leads the Premier League with a saves-to-shots ratio of 91.7% this year.

For those interested in match betting, there are also a range of fascinating stats at which to consider. Chelsea has only allowed one goal from inside of the penalty box this entire football season. Liverpool has recently been a quite poor first half squad and a very strong second half team this year. Nine of the 10 goals they have scored this soccer season have been in the 2nd half of their games. Chelsea has been rock steady on the defensive half of the pitch, as they have kept a clean sheet in seven matches this football season. That is three more clean sheets than any other squad in the England Premier League.

The weekend game is going to be stimulating and you can analyse all the comparative odds at http://www.myscoreslive.com/football/upcoming-soccer-games/England/27/Premier+League/96.  Ensure you are getting the best odds readily available and maximising your chances to win.  Sign up for Fantasy Betting and see how good you are. It is very easy to keep up-to-date on what happens during this match between Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield. Simply follow livescores for live football scoring, and you will know the instant anything important transpires in this exciting match. If you are following the live football scoring and looking for a good wager, then remember the following. Chelsea has won all seven of the games they have scored first in during British Premier League play this year. Nothing is certain, but that is as close as a gambler can come.

Germany beat the favored Argentina in a slight upset in their quarterfinals competition on Saturday in soccer betting. The final score of 4-0 was largely due to a really aggressive Argentina offense against a very patient German defense.

Argentina now follows the other highly favored South American squad at the online sportsbook, Brazil, from the contest. In the mean time, Germany will continue on to the semifinals to take on Spain, who moved on after beating Paraguay 1-0.

Germany has been a pleasant surprise for several World Cup wagering enthusiasts. This is a young team that had a fairly dull qualifying round in the run up to the World Cup odds contest in South Africa. It doesn’t boast any huge names like Ballack or Kahn as World Cup betting tournaments in the past. In reality, at least until it steps onto the soccer pitch, it is a fairly low key team that seems to fly under radar.

The German team sailed through the World Cup wagering group stage, losing a game to a remarkably great Serbian side, but getting 6 points and finally winning the group. And no soccer wagering lover will forget the clinic this squad put on vs the highly preferred English side in the World Cup betting round of 16.

Through 4 competitions in this year’s World Cup wagering, the issue that has stood out most is this team’s offensive ability. It has landed 9 goals, including two 4 goal outburst and granted only 2 goals for an outstanding differential of +7.

But in order to win vs a squad of Argentina’s caliber, it’s the defense that must shine, or at the very least the mid-field must have the ability to hold somewhat. And that doesn’t seem all that hard for Germany. Against a quite strong attacking English mid-field of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, the Germans basically shut them out though Lampard did unleash a few good shots from a distance.

The Argentine attack was much trickier to defend and much different in the World Cup betting quarterfinal matchup. It’s packed with quickness (Messi, Tevez, and Higuian) and there is not a defense that keeps pace with this trio man for man. But Germany was able to firmly refuse the attempts of those 3 attackers to keep them away and stop any goals. In the counterattack, Germany then had  lots of chances to get shots on the Argentine goal.

Germany has been an fantastic finishing squad so far in the World Cup wagering action. It concluded well again for its chance to advance to the semifinals in the World Cup.

Infamous Argentina coach Diego Maradona, for his part, was quite irritated and frustrated with the squad’s loss. Maradona expressed his aggravation at a few of Germany’s loyal buffs by getting angry and yelling at them until his daughter escorted him away. He once played for the same squad that he coaches now. He has even thinking about leaving the team as coach, clearly taking this defeat extremely hard. It’s sad to see such a devoted team coach so heartbroken, as much as he was entertaining in his antics during the World Cup.

With the new football season kick off it is a good time to think about our hopes for the new season which is shaping up to be a cracking one. This is my top five wishes :

For the England team, I hope Capello Fabio will give the youngsters their opportunity and build a new team even if this hurts our chances of qualifying for Euro 2012 and upsets Beckham. If he stays in the team,  Frank Lampard will save his football gifts for England, if not then he needs to be one of the first old players to be kicked out to make way for the kids.

Liverpool score an example to the rest of the league by rejecting the Chinese takeover approach and show that the game is about more than just money. A foreign country owning a football club is a bad example to set  and we could end up having our own domestic World Cup.

It would be magnificent for Blackpool to beat all the odds end up in a Champions League position by getting their team of cheap players to play brilliantly and outplay all the top six teams filled with big money purchases thanks to their oversuppoly of Manchester City gifts are left with a huge excess of overpaid but unwanted players who they can’t sell. Surely we all want the Premier League to become a truly competitive league where more than one from five or six teams are able to win it and where the football scores are a surprise each Saturday.

For the mid-table clubs, at Fulham I want Mohamed Al Fayed to properly support his new manager and give him a adequate time to establish himself and make things happen. I want Newcastle to stop being an underperforming big club and finally achieve their potential. It would be nice if West Brom could stay up for more one season rather than yo-yo’ing up and down.

I have hopes for refereeing as well, television technology to be used to be sure of goals for a start and for the more silly directives to be got rid off, in particular referees booking players for taking their shirts off.