Well, took a beatdown this morning with the women, hope to have a better morning with the men.
Argentina/Ivory Coast over 2.5, -122
Argentina are the favorites in this tournament, and for good reason. They sport a solid front line with Messi up front who will put the ball in the back of the net. They also have Mascherano and Riquelme at MF that will keep them dangerous going forward. As for Ivory coast, Kalou up front gives them a scoring threat. Ivory coast is going to struggle to keep the Argentines off the scoreboard, but I can see them finding the back of the net as well. Sticking to the over here.
Brazil -1.5, -119
For a country with so much success in World Cups, Brazil has strangely not been able to capture Olympic goal. 2008 might be the year they finally get one. This team is really gunning for gold. Per Coach Dunga : "Many people think the Olympics are not as important to us as the World Cup, as we have five of those already," he told FIFA.com "But we're Brazil, and every time we take to the pitch, we do so to win. We want to claim our country's first gold medal [in soccer]." They have the team to back this up as well. With Ronaldinho and Pato, they have a real scoring threat, and Marcelo holding the back line, they are bound to have success at this tourney. On paper, this is the most talented team I can recall at the Olympics. Brazil should roll out of the gate and take care of Belgium, who will be concentrating on a defensive game, but most likely won't be able to contain the dangerous Brazilian attacks.
Italy/Honduras under 2.5, -103
This has the makings of a low scoring game. Honduras plays solid defensive soccer, allowing only 2 goals in the last 7 games. They don't score a heck of alot either, only 8 goals in 7 games. The Hondurans qualified for the tournament against the USA, thanks to an extra time goal by Georgie Welcome, but he has been left off the team. On the other side, the Azzurini, like their older counterparts, are notoriously slow starters in tournaments. I think they are going to have a tough time cracking the Honduran defence.
Argentina/Ivory Coast over 2.5, -122
Argentina are the favorites in this tournament, and for good reason. They sport a solid front line with Messi up front who will put the ball in the back of the net. They also have Mascherano and Riquelme at MF that will keep them dangerous going forward. As for Ivory coast, Kalou up front gives them a scoring threat. Ivory coast is going to struggle to keep the Argentines off the scoreboard, but I can see them finding the back of the net as well. Sticking to the over here.
Brazil -1.5, -119
For a country with so much success in World Cups, Brazil has strangely not been able to capture Olympic goal. 2008 might be the year they finally get one. This team is really gunning for gold. Per Coach Dunga : "Many people think the Olympics are not as important to us as the World Cup, as we have five of those already," he told FIFA.com "But we're Brazil, and every time we take to the pitch, we do so to win. We want to claim our country's first gold medal [in soccer]." They have the team to back this up as well. With Ronaldinho and Pato, they have a real scoring threat, and Marcelo holding the back line, they are bound to have success at this tourney. On paper, this is the most talented team I can recall at the Olympics. Brazil should roll out of the gate and take care of Belgium, who will be concentrating on a defensive game, but most likely won't be able to contain the dangerous Brazilian attacks.
Italy/Honduras under 2.5, -103
This has the makings of a low scoring game. Honduras plays solid defensive soccer, allowing only 2 goals in the last 7 games. They don't score a heck of alot either, only 8 goals in 7 games. The Hondurans qualified for the tournament against the USA, thanks to an extra time goal by Georgie Welcome, but he has been left off the team. On the other side, the Azzurini, like their older counterparts, are notoriously slow starters in tournaments. I think they are going to have a tough time cracking the Honduran defence.
