Winless England has eyes on quarterfinals

Soccer Betting Lines

09/16/2007 - Chengdu, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England advanced to the quarterfinals in its only other appearance in the Women's World Cup in 1995. The team is in a great position to do so once again Monday despite the fact it has failed to win either of its first two games in the group stage.

England was held to a 2-2 draw by Japan in its first match after conceding a goal in the 94th minute, but it put together a much better performance in holding defending champion Germany to a 0-0 draw on Friday.

England will advance to the next round no matter what if it records a two- goal win against Argentina, which should not be a problem for Hope Powell's club.

The Brits have performed better than expected to this point, and will give any team in the quarterfinals a tough time. Star striker Kelly Smith has proven to be one of the top strikers in the world, scoring two goals against Japan and giving the strong German defense all it could handle.

What has been the most impressive so far is how well the English defense has held up.

England keeper Rachel Brown has performed well, including a big stop in the final 10 minutes to preserve the 0-0 draw with Germany. Both Japan goals came from free kicks, so England has not allowed a goal from the run of play in two matches and shouldn't have a problem keeping that streak going against a weak Argentina side.

England captain Faye White has anchored the back line, along with Alex Scott and Casey Stoney. That trio combined to hold the German attack in check, including Birgit Prinz, who had almost no impact on the match.

Argentina has hardly even threatened to score and, with no firepower up top, is unlikely to do so against England. The South Americans have lacked any ability to sustain a build up, and although they lost only 1-0 to Japan last time out, don't look to have much of a chance.

Poor play in goal has been another problem for Argentina, with Vanina Correa getting overmatched in the first game with Germany, and veteran Romina Ferro spilling a bad rebound in stoppage time that prevented Argentina from earning a point against Japan.

This combination bodes well for England's Smith, who figures to add to her goal total in this competition.

England should not have to do any watching of the scoreboard on Monday because it will go out and put itself in the quarterfinals with a big win, something Japan failed to do against Argentina.

Powell has England going in the right direction, and it will take more than Argentina to knock the team off track.

Oddsmsker Soccer Betting News

<< Rennes pulls within point of top spot
Lorient, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Etienne Didot scored his second goal of the season as Rennes defeated Lorient, 1-0, on Sunday to climb within one point of the top spot in France's Ligue 1. Didot scored in the 35th minute, which

<< Rags to Riches injured; expected to return in 2008
Elmont, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches suffered a hairline fracture in her right front pastern, and will not race again until 2008. Rags to Riches, the first filly to win the Belmont Stakes since 1905, returne

<< Hansen wins Mercedes Benz Championship by four
Cologne, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Soren Hansen eagled two holes on the back nine and shot a five-under 67 on Sunday to win the Mercedes-Benz Championship by four shots. Hansen picked up his second European Tour victory and first sinc

<< Oilers invite Carter to camp
Edmonton, Alberta (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers have invited forward Anson Carter to training camp for a try-out for the upcoming season, the club announced Sunday. Carter, 33, split the 2006-07 season between the Col

<< NFL Inactives (Sunday, September 16, 2007)
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The following is a list of the players placed on the inactive squad for this week's NFL games. HOUSTON TEXANS AT CAROLINA PANTHERS, 1:00 P.M. (ET) Texans - WR Andre' Davis, CB Dexter Wynn, RB Samkon Gado

Texans' Johnson leaves game >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson left Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers early in the fourth quarter. Johnson hauled in a 10-yard pass from Matt Schaub and was immediately drilled by Ca

Garrard leads Jaguars to comeback win over Falcons >>
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Garrard threw for 272 yards and a touchdown as the Jaguars edged Atlanta, 13-7, at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. Garrard completed 17-of-25 passes and added 20 rushing yards for the

Favre now No. 1 in wins as Green Bay pounds Giants >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brett Favre threw three touchdown passes and DeShawn Wynn ran for a pair of scores to lead the Green Bay Packers to a 35-13 win over the New York Giants. Favre complete 29-of-38 passes for 286 ya

Germany should have no problem with Japan >>
Hangzhou, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Germany received a little dose of reality on Friday when it was held to a 0-0 draw by England after winning the opening game of the tournament 11-0 against Argentina. The Germans looked unstoppable in

Parker powers Steelers to rout of Bills >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Willie Parker rushed for 126 yards on 23 carries with a touchdown, and the Pittsburgh Steelers won their home opener under new head coach Mike Tomlin in dominating fashion, 26-3, over the Buffalo Bill

Online Sportsbook Football Betting

The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

MySportsbook is considered one of the finest football sportsbooks according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.

MySportsbook is a large company with strong financial backing. Considered the best sportsbook for betting football online You will find their customer service is second to none and their web site is extremely user friendly and easy-to-use. All major professional sports games are available. Once you signup with MySportsbook, you may never use another online sportsbook again.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your nfl football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.