Olympic Soccer Betting – Argentina, Brazil on collision course
Bet sports online – Argentina (+135); Brazil (+180); Draw (+215)
A battle of epic proportions is about to take place at The Workers' Stadium in Beijing, when defending gold medalists Argentina will face their bitter rivals from South America, Brazil in the semifinal round of the 2008 Summer Olympics.
The Brazilians have won five World Cups to Argentina's two, but the Argentinians hold the only major honor Brazil has never won – a gold medal. Brazil has been brilliant thus far in the tournament, but Olympic betting odds say the Argentinians will get the better of their rivals.
Brazil is the only team yet to allow a goal but they were given all they could handle and more during the quarterfinals, when they beat Cameroon 2-0 in extra time. This was a small measure of revenge for the Brazilians, who lost to Cameroon in the quarterfinal round in Sydney, much to the chagrin of those involved in Olympic soccer betting.
Rafael Sobis and marauding fullback Marcelo scored four minutes apart in the first half of extra time for the Brazilians. Marcelo has shown the world he is the natural successor to Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos at left back and he's a better defender than Carlos was.
Angel di Maria hit the match-winner in the 105th minute in the quarterfinals to give Argentina a 2-1 win over the Netherlands. That's encouraging to Argentina supporters because they won despite not playing their best football and, maybe, got their bad game out of their system before meeting Brazil.
Argentina were outshot 13-11 and they strayed offsides a remarkable 10 times, a sign of impatient and undisciplined play. Lionel Messi also scored for Argentina, and it was the second goal of the competition for the 21-year-old “wonder kid”. He's part of the reason Olympic soccer betting odds favor Argentina.
Todd's Analysis: This will be the match of the tournament, as Brazil is sixth in the FIFA world rankings while Argentina is seventh. Ronaldinho must have a big match for Brazil but he will be marked very closely by Argentina's Javier Mascherano, who has made a career of shutting down attacking midfielders at both club and national level.
Meanwhile, the Brazilians don't seem to have a player capable of marking Juan Roman Riquelme, whose deft eye for passing can unlock the stingiest of defenses. Also, Argentina has added incentive, a humiliating 3-0 loss to Brazil in the final of last year's Copa America tournament.
Go with the Olympic soccer betting odds, as defending gold medalist Argentina should repeat glory and edge Brazil in what will be a wildly entertaining match.
Visit the Bettor's Edge daily for hot tips and advice on Olympic betting odds, and check out the BetOnline.com online sportsbook for the best props, lines and odds.
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