Knockout Rounds thread - only 15 games to go......

Wow.

That was not fun.

Just glad we had the cushion.

That was a crappy ending!

Dude - Just so you know....

If you have a -1/-1.5 line, you can always bet that in combination with the Holland -.5 (win) bet to make a -1 line.  With these soccer lines, its almost always possible to make the line you want by using a combination of bets.

No problem - its kind of tricky - just wanted to make sure you were aware of the possibilities but if you only have one option - thats all you can do.

BTW - that sucked.  Im still bitter about it.  Slovakia cost me in this tourney on 2 last second goals, the one against NZ and now this game....

As Im sure you have noticed, the key to these knockout games is the first goal.  Once the goal is scored, there is a ton of space, and a second goal has been sure to follow.

Brazil will be able to open up today because Chile will dictate that they open up by being in constant attack mode.  Brazil wont sit on a 1-0 lead unless that goal comes very late.

Just my guess.

What else would we expect

You shoulda been 2-0 today what a job you ve been doing Van

Thanks Van!!!

Van just want to throw in my thanks for your work for us in this strange game,did not realize how hard this game was to bet,but was lucky to be able to read your write-ups and picks early on.

Another great day from you and you are helping alot of us on this site,

GL rest of way 

Game Picks

Current Record 25-12
Up 53.76 units, Down 22.37 units
TOTAL - Up +31.39 units

Futures... 

Current Record  8-10
Up 20.8 Units, Down 17.4 units
Total Up +3.4 units

PENDING FUTURES:
17.  Argentina to win tournament +725 (6 units risked)
18.  Argentina / Neth final +3300 (.5 unit)

I might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I am picking up on a trend.  6 knockout games, 1 game with 2 goals in regulation time, and three with three goals, one with four goals, and one with five goals.  Sure seems to me that 1 goal inevitably = more goals.

53.  Japan / Paraguay - Japan +.5 -117 (90 minutes) (1 unit) - I have done a 180 on Japan.  If you read my opening writeup before the tournament, I wrote them off as being mostly a bunch of J-League players and I bet them to get 0 points in their group.  But I have since gone to school on them, and am impressed.  They are very organized - especially on defense - as they held the Netherlands to 1, Cameroon to 0, and Denmark to 1.  Im not totally sold on them up front, but their midfield does a nice job possessing the ball and making accurate passes - and Honda has shown flair as a playmaker.  Paraguay have looked good - and man for man has Japan beat on paper.  I am concerned about their lack of scoring - and that NZ game still has me puzzled.  Maybe it was that they were playing for the draw - but I think Japan will see things in that game tape that they can duplicate well against Paraguay to frustrate them.  Japan will play defense and counterattack - and I think they will hold them here for the first 90.  I think Paraguay has the class here - but not enough to be close to an even odds favorite to win in 90 mins.  I think we also see our first under (barring an early goal) of the knockout rounds, but I simply wont bet an under 2, I would be more inclined to bet a 0-0 at +600 or so.....   Final score prediction Paraguay 1 Japan 0 (in extra time)

54.  Portugal / Spain - Portugal +.5 -118 (90 minutes) (2 units) - Who has the best defense so far in the World Cup?  Brazil?  Switzerland?  Spain?  Nope - its amazingly Portugal which has yet to concede a goal - in a group that included the Ivory Coast and Brazil.  And this is not an accident, it is by design.  Portugal might be accused of playing "negative" soccer - but this change in tactics from the "golden age" of Portugeuse soccer was neccesary and could have them overachieving.  We probably will see a single true striker from Portugal - as they defend and counterattack until otherwise necessary.  Obviously, they have the stars to make their chances count - Ronaldo and Simao can singlehandedly take over a game - so they will be fine to defend and counter.  Unfortunately for them, Spain is on the other side of the field - but there is something about Spain that hasnt looked right to me.  It might be a case of having too many all stars on one team - but they have seemed out of synch in all of their games so far including Honduras where they should have scored 10.  Their defense is as solid as they come - and they obviously have players all over the field that can make plays that can take over a game.  But Torres has been pretty bad so far - and it doesnt seem to me that he and Villa play nice together.  Very much like the other game of the day - I just see Portugal hanging around and hanging around - enough to frustrate Spain in to a worse mindset than they already seem to be in - and possibly get a result here.  Opposite to the first game, I think the longer this one goes on the more life Portugal will get - it wont be an issue of being worn down with constant pressure - I see frustration and counterattack - and possibly Spain going home.  Im going to go out on a limb here and say that Portugal gets it done either in extra time or PK's.  Final score prediction Portugal 1 Spain 1 (portugal advances on PK's)

GL all

Thanks all for the compliments.

Very nice.

I am on a very lucky run....