posted August 22, 2008 at 12:15 in Soccer Betting Trends
Argentina Fancied in Beijing but Nigeria Fancies Gold
Shanghai, China – The Olympic Games is fast approaching the closing stages. Of the several sport betting events begging for a conclusion is the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament. Negotiating a premier position in Saturday’s finale are the defending Olympic champions Argentina and former Olympic champions (Atlanta 1996) Nigeria.
In this battle for gold, the Albiceleste are very much fancied over the Super Eagles for Olympic glory, but while the bookies favour Argentina on the money line, the African side believe their destiny to win gold is written in the stars. This finale is underscored by the two back-stories these two great nations own.
The first is the 1996 Olympic final in Atlanta wherein Nigeria stunned Argentina 3:2 to win the gold medal. Secondary, is the back story of Nigeria’s heartbreaking outing at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Netherlands 2005, when a 75th minute penalty shot, taken by none other than Lionel Messi sealed their 2-1 loss to Argentina.
Like every great story, there are two perspectives and for the winner they were every bit as wonderful as they were terrible for the loser. Exactly half of their 18-man squad at these Olympic Games represented Nigeria and personally suffered the heartbreak three years ago. Argentina has many of the U-20 FIFA champions in the line up as well. So will it be an Olympic déjà vu all over again for Argentina or a U-20 FIFA déjà vu for Nigeria? Which side gets their payback on Saturday?
Argentina -½ -150 -150 2½ O +110 U -150 Draw +240
Nigeria +½ +110 +370 2½ O +110 U -150 Draw +240
Match Time: 12:00 AM Eastern Time, Saturday August 23, 2008
Soccer Betting Analysis: Nigeria (+370)
Nigeria deftly manoeuvred out of a tough group stage, making light work of what appeared to be the one of the tougher groups of the tournament with Netherlands, Japan and USA all in for the fight. In the quarterfinals, they were simply outstanding against a much more fancied Ivory Coast, beating them 2:0. They played a near perfect match against Belgium, handing the European hopefuls a 4:1 drubbing.
Soccer Betting Analysis: Argentina (-150)
Argentina entered the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament as one of the favourites. They are the defending champions from Athens, hoping for back-to-back gold medals with a win in Beijing. In Group action they were perfect, winning all three matches handily. In the quarterfinals, the met a strong Dutch side but a 2:1 score was enough to send them to the semis for a meeting with old foes Brazil. Payback was on Argentina’s agenda as they delivered a 3:0 drubbing to Brazil.
Soccer Betting Verdict: Both teams deserve to be here in the Olympic final. They played an incredible tournament. Argentina enters with the more star-studded line up, most notably in Lionel Messi and Diego. Nigeria has some recognizable names but perhaps not as glamorous as their more favoured opponents do. Therefore, Nigeria will have to try to neutralize the dazzling Argentines on the pitch.
For the Argentines, their big win over Brazil has given them a positive surge. They now meet Nigeria, the same side that stunned the Albiceleste in 1996 – a memory their nation has not forgotten – but a squad they beat in the U-20 FIFA World Cup.
This will be a tough soccer pick. I cannot help liking the Nigerians for their spirit and passion, even though everything points to an Argentinean repeat at the Olympic Games. While prudence recommend the Argentineans, Nigeria got this far didn’t they? So the least we can do is place a wager, ever so small, on their hugely tempting odds at +370. You never know, maybe it is their destiny to win after all. Check the stars tonight and see what they say.
Nila Amerova is a freelance sports writer and regular contributor to the BetUS.com Locker Room
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