Argentina tops Greece to cap perfect group stage

Soccer Betting Lines

06/22/2010 - Polokwane, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Demichelis and Martin Palermo scored late in the second half, helping Argentina complete a perfect run through Group B of the FIFA World Cup with a 2-0 win over Greece on Tuesday at Peter Mokaba Stadium.

Demichelis scored the opener in the 77th minute and the 36-year-old Palermo added his first-ever World Cup goal in the 89th, as Argentina won for the third straight time in as many games to easily finish atop Group B. Greece was eliminated with the loss.

Argentina plays Mexico on Sunday in the round of 16, while South Korea also advanced from Group B with a 2-2 draw against Nigeria on Tuesday, and plays Uruguay on Saturday in the first knockout round.

Argentina dominated possession in the opening 45 minutes, but outside of a few half chances, failed to put Greece under any real pressure.

Sergio Aguero had a decent chance in the 18th minute for Argentina, but Greece goalie Alexandros Tzorvas palmed the ball wide of the left post.

Juan Veron returned to the lineup after missing Argentina's 4-1 win over North Korea and made his presence felt with a 40-yard blast that Tzorvas pushed high in the 19th.

Diego Milito created a good chance for Argentina in the 32nd, but Tzorvas dove to deflect his cross out of danger.

Maxi Rodriguez had an open look from the right side of the area in first-half stoppage time, then Lio Messi followed with a dipping 20-yard shot seconds later, but Tzorvas was able to save both to leave Argentina scoreless at halftime for the first time through three games.

Greece opened the second half with its first shot when Georgios Samaras played down a long pass to avoid Demichelis in the 48th, then curled a ball just wide of the right post.

Clemente Rodriguez drove a pass into the area that Milito was unable to reach, and Tzorvas easily grabbed the ball in the 57th. Clemente Rodriguez then fired wide left one minute later on a long-range shot.

Messi curled a long shot wide right in the 69th, and Mario Bolatti unleashed a bullet into the mid-section of Tzorvas from six yards to waste Argentina's top chance seconds later off a corner kick.

Demichelis ended Argentina's frustrations with under 15 minutes left after he headed an initial shot into Milito, then hammered the deflection home from the edge of the six-yard box.

Messi nearly sealed Argentina's win in the 89th, but Tzorvas pushed his shot wide and Palermo ran onto the rebound and easily slotted inside the right post to overtake manager Diego Maradona as the oldest Argentine player to score in the World Cup.

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Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

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He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

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With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

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