England blasts Argentina, books spot in quarterfinals

Soccer Betting Lines

09/17/2007 - Chengdu, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England booked a spot in the quarterfinals on Monday as Kelly Smith scored twice in a 6-1 triumph over Argentina.

England advances to the final eight for the second time in as many appearances, and will likely play either the United States or North Korea on Saturday. Germany moves on as the top team in Group A after beating Japan 2-0 on Monday.

An own goal by Eva Gonzalez was followed by a goal from Jill Scott as England started well in the first half. Argentina's Catalina Perez picked up her second yellow card early in the second half, and Fara Williams converted a penalty kick to make it a three-goal game.

Gonzalez atoned for her earlier mistake by scoring Argentina's lone goal of the competition from a free kick, but England answered back with two goals from Smith before Vicky Exley converted from the spot with minutes to play.

Argentina got off to another terrible start in the opening 10 minutes, with defensive miscues and goalkeeping errors once again hurting the South American team.

Casey Stoney lobbed a cross into the box from midfield in the ninth minute that was intended for Smith. The ball was hit a little strong and went past Smith, and Gonzalez tried to head the ball back to the keeper. However, she ended up putting the ball into the upper left corner past the keeper for a 1-0 England lead.

It didn't take long for England to increase its advantage with a goal scored by one of its own players. One minute later, a loose ball bounced out to Scott 35 yards from goal. She knocked it back into the box and it skipped through traffic and inside the right post. The shot did not have a lot on it but keeper Romina Ferro reacted way too late and another goalkeeping blunder cost Argentina.

England kept the pressure on and nearly took a three-goal lead five minutes later.

Eniola Aluko took a pass inside the box and turned quickly before firing a shot off the crossbar, and Rachel Yankey drove a dangerous cross through the face of goal that Faye White just missed with a sliding effort at the back post.

Smith then had two chances to further the England advantage as she hit a strong left-footed shot from the right just wide of the near post, and then blasted a rebound off of a defender that was headed for the lower right corner, only to be denied by a fine diving stop by the keeper.

The second half started off in the same way, with England looking for more goals.

Yankey ripped a hard shot from the left that was tipped over the net, but things got worse for Argentina in the 49th minute.

Smith beat her defender and carried the ball into the box on the left. Perez picked up a yellow card at the end of the first half, and then was hit with her second as she pulled down Smith inside the box to give England a penalty kick and end her day early.

Williams then stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way, putting her shot low into the left corner.

Argentina then tallied its first goal of the tournament with 30 minutes to play. England once again had trouble dealing with a free kick as Gonzalez smacked a curling right-footed shot inside the right post, but England responded quickly with another goal.

Yankey blew past her defender on the left and carried the ball to the end line. She then slipped a pass to Smith, who redirected it past the keeper from a few yards out.

Another keeper error lead to England's fifth goal as Yankey's long range shot was blocked by Ferro, but she spilled an easy rebound that Smith knocked home for her fourth goal of the tournament.

Exley then capped the scoring minutes before time with her first goal of the tournament, knocking a penalty kick of her own past Ferro.

Argentina exits the World Cup having lost all three of its matches by a combined 18-1 score, while England will move forward hoping to make its first ever trip to the semifinals with a win on Saturday.

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

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