Football, or soccer, is one of the most popular sports in the world, so naturally football betting would be one of the most popular forms of sports betting around. Betting on various aspects of a football game adds an extra dimension of suspense to the game, since you have a very real stake in the outcome, win, lose or draw.

The finalists for the 28th edition of the AFCON are now known after thrilling semi-final fixtures last night. The Ivory Coast will now face Zambia who made it to the final after causing one of the biggest upsets of the entire tournament by knocking out Ghana. The Black Stars however have no one to blame but themselves for their exist after failing to make a host of chances they had count including a missed penalty by Asamoah Gyan.

The finalists for the 28th edition of the AFCON are now known after thrilling semi-final fixtures last night. The Ivory Coast will now face Zambia who made it to the final after causing one of the biggest upsets of the entire tournament by knocking out Ghana. The Black Stars however have no one to blame but themselves for their exist after failing to make a host of chances they had count including a missed penalty by Asamoah Gyan.

They huffed and puffed. And Cote D'Ivoire and Ghana, Africa's two best footballing nations according to Fifa's rankings (so it must be true), are looking good to contest Sunday's African Cup of Nations final, without looking good in getting there. That said, they form half of what was nearly a semi-final line-up that some (i.

By Greg Evans

Ayew do you do guvnor?

After the entertaining, exciting, exuberant and down-right enthralling set of matches that the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations laid on for us in the group stages, surely it could only get better for the last 8?

The U.S. Women's National Team faced a tougher test than expected, but ultimately the Americans proved too tough for underdog Costa Rica and eventually punched their ticket to the Summer Olympics.

A first-half goal by Tobin Heath gave the U.S. women the lead and despite a courageous fight from the Costa Ricans, the United States held that one-goal lead before Carli Lloyd blasted home a long-range blast in the second half to give the Americans a 2-0 victory in the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying semifinals in Vancouver.

Cardiff City, the team from the Welsh capital, are heading to the Carling Cup final. The team defeated Crystal Palace in the first completed Carling Cup semi final. They will now play the winner of the Liverpool vs Manchester City tie which will be completed on Wednesday evening at Anfield.

The time has finally come to play out the reverse fixture of the 8-2 defeat that Arsenal suffered at the hands of Manchester United on that horrific August evening at Old Trafford. The memories of that mauling are fresh on the minds of not only the Gunners fans but also European bookies like Champions League betting, which is why Arsenal have been priced as the underdogs even though this Sunday's match is taking place in the North Londoners' own backyard.

It's been a few weeks since we've had an open thread, but this weekend's Premier League fixtures offers plenty of opportunities for some of the underdogs in the league to register an upset. With no early and no late kick-offs ...
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szólj hozzá: Sunderland v City 1:0 HIGHLIGH

Sunderland continued the theme of the underdogs upsetting the favourites this weekend as they stunned City at the Stadium of Light with as Ji Dong-won's last second goal. Clearly offside. But the Black Cats won't be complaining. And it was a lovely bit of skill by the South Korean as he slalomed around Joe Hart to caress the ball into an open goal.

As we head into Week 17 of the 2011 NFL season, let's take a look at the power rankings. While the top of these NFL power rankings has familiar teams, the bottom is starting to be populated by underdogs who may be able to make a run at the Super Bowl.

Here are the NFL power rankings heading into Week 17:

1.

Surely he's embarrass of his own performance too

It was a good night for Arsenal last night, even though none of the games involved us. Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City all dropped points in their Boxing Day fixtures. A win for us tonight will see us leapfrog over Chelsea and go level on points with Tottenham (depending on the outcomes of their own match against Norwich).

Surely he's embarrass of his own performance too

It was a good night for Arsenal last night, even though none of the games involved us. Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City all dropped points in their Boxing Day fixtures. A win for us tonight will see us leapfrog over Chelsea and go level on points with Tottenham (depending on the outcomes of their own match against Norwich).

It's a simple question isn't it. The reality is that we need our best side out tonight to win this one. We could say a week or so ago that we knew what our best side was based on current form but it's amazing what one poor performance does!
I asked a couple of questions to you all yesterday about the game.

Robert Huth is aware that walking out of Eastlands with a result tomorrow night will be a massive challenge for Stoke City as they visit Premier League leaders Manchester City.

The Potters have won all of their last four league matches while also progressing to the next stage of the Europa League.

The feeling is as sudden as it is long-drawn. One morning, after wiping the Sandman-goo from your bleary eyes, you move towards your study desk to find out which new subject is going to go clickety-click with its pincers in dangerous vicinity of your genital area, when you realize that you've already burnt all books and you have no genital area left to go clickety-click at.

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has admitted he would love to face Liverpool in the Carling Cup final should the Eagles overcome fellow Championship rivals Cardiff.
The South London outfit dumped a second-string Manchester United side out the competition on Wednesday night thanks to a dramatic 2-1 extra-time victory at Old Trafford.

The Los Angeles Galaxy and Houston Dynamo will do battle tonight as they each search for their third MLS Cup titles in tonight's 2011 MLS Cup Final (9pm, ESPN).

The Galaxy come in as the heavy favorites, playing at home in Home Depot Center, where they haven't lost in MLS all season.

By Kirsten Schlewitz / Senior West Coast Beer and Aston Villa Correspondent
In the interest of full disclosure, I must tell you: I'msitting here wearing a "Beat LA" sweatshirt. Sure, it's meant to be ananti-Dodgers sentiment, but it applies to Sunday's match between the LosAngeles Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo.

Croatia, or formerly known as Yugoslavia, have been quite a force in the history of the World Cup and the European Cup respectively. Although they have never quite made it to a final, they still remain to be a team of which other national sides fear. In the qualification group stages Croatia – nicknamed The Blazers – finished 2nd in Group F narrowly missing out on 1st position by a mere 2 points.

There's only one big game left on the domestic calendar and two friendlies scheduled on the international front as we head towards winter. This month''s State of the States focuses on the MLS playoffs, the dampening of Klinsmania, and the coming expansion of the US top flight.

MLS Playoffs - The final is set.

• Kop That: What are the odds Chelsea outscore Arsenal three days on? Derek McGovern's Bets of the Day http://t.co/izXSGHMH 22:45:15, 2011-10-31
• Kop That: D-day dawns over latest Gerrard injury http://t.co/cZwg20bN 22:45:11, 2011-10-31
• Kop That: Tevez 'wants to stay in the Premier League' http://t.

In football, or any other sport for that matter, there is always a brilliant underdog story that fascinates supporters around the world.

Gillette has sponsored a contest that captures the touching stories of many such underdogs who went the extra mile to achieve greatness that sets a strong example.

The sight of Gamba Osaka running out at Expo '70 Stadium tonight is unlikely to fill their fans with hope. It's more likely to fill those in attendance with a sense of trepidation as the team currently leading the J. League standings does battle with defending Nabisco Cup champions Jubilo Iwata for a trophy no one genuinely wants to win.

Tonight there will be held the longest running US soccer tradition, the US Open Cup Final. Almost 100 years of soccer tradition and almost no one knows about it or even cares. I really started thinking about the US open cup because of the fact that a lot of supporters from our hated rival like to point out that they have won the thing twice now and are in the final tonight.

10 Reasons to Feel Optimistic About the North London Derby

1. We have the world's number one goalie, as some of us have been saying for months (ahem, some of us, that is, not including me. I was doubtful whether young Szczesney was ready, but his sheer authority and ability this season has shown that I was in the minority for a good reason: I was wrong).

Wenger is far from finished but he needs the backing of the club and his players to rebuild

Arsene Wenger ­celebrated 15 years in charge of Arsenal this week. Wenger has been a ­revolutionary, transforming not just the Gunners but playing a part in changing the face of English football, too.

"For me, life is just an ongoing learning process." - Jurgen Klinsmann

By John Smith-Ramos, writing from Washington DC

It hasn't been the ideal start for Juergen Klinsmann. A draw against Mexico, followed by a pair of 1-0 losses - home and away - over the past week is not particularly impressive form.

Ray Wilkins, now a Skysports Pundit, has spoken of his old club and the fact that all the attention at the moment seems to be on Manchester.
Both sides up there have started the season well and have been impressive with their signings and their form.
However, Wilkins believes that Chelsea's players will be more than happy to not be the focus of attention and the underdogs this term.

Team news, facts and figures ahead of the Champions League play-off first leg between Arsenal and Udinese at Emirates Stadium.

TEAM NEWS

Arsenal will be without suspended duo Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie. Nasri would not have been expected to play as he moves closer to a move away from the Emirates, whileCesc Fabregas has finally completed his protracted transfer to Barcelona.

1. Title candidates stumble and struggle. Good news for the rest of the league: Mario Götze has off-days. Dortmund have a bogey team and are perfectly beatable. The good news for Dortmund: their biggest rivals still have some way to go to be a serious threat. Both Leverkusen and Bayern just about grinded out their first unconvincing wins.

In August the Seattle Sounders are firmly entrenched in three tournaments, and none will be easy. The schedule isn't just rough. It is downright brutal. Within League play the opportunity for points will be rare. While in the CONCACAF Champions League there will either be one more match (against San Fransisco FC of Panama on Wednesday night, tickets still available) or after that knockout match the Group Stage will start and Seattle will have to face Monterrey again.

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- --- QPR Win in Italy! Photos from "QPR, Atalanta, SC Braga - Trofeo Bortolotti"
- Throughout the day, the QPR Report Messageboard has news updates, comments and perspectives - even links to other board comments of interest re QPR matters (on and off the field) along with football (and ONLY football) topics in general.

On the morning of May 9th, 2011 U.S. Soccer released the roster for this year's 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup team in Germany. Who knew that a team so many "sports journalists" felt was in disarray, could seemingly overnight turn things around. Odd that this collection of young women transformed into a team that those same "experts" said they, "Never doubted them for a second.

Udinese star Alexis Sanchez has completed a move to Barcelona having turned down the offers of Chelsea and Manchester City for the Catalan club. The future of Sanchez, who has been far from successful in selling Chile Copa America Shirts after his side crashed out at the Quarter Final stage with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of underdogs Venezuela, has been the subject of much speculation after an excellent season with the Udinese, with some of the biggest names in European football entering the race for his signature.

Let's be honest: not much is expected out of Malaysia from a footballing perspective. Moderately decent refereeing is, however, a basic expectation all across the globe, if rarely achieved.

Especially when it's the Lilliputian underdogs taking on the mighty monstrosity that is Chelsea, who beat the Malaysian All-Star XI on this sham of a goal by Didier Drogba.

By FRANCO PANIZO

If you would've bet before the Copa America that neither Argentina or Brazil would make the final, you likely would have been called delusional.

That will be the case though, as Brazil lost 2-0 on penalty kicks to Paraguay in a quarterfinal match on Sunday.

Christine Sinclair is wearing an awesome face mask, but if it gets loose, it could be hard for her to do those quick turn and shoots.
Players are in the tunnel. The mask does look pretty snug on Sinclair. The camera is finding a lot of Canadian fans in the stands, as compared to the previous game versus Germany.

SOURCE: REPUBLICAKATHMANDU, June 29: Nepal´s national football team coach Graham Roberts on Tuesday said that his side was all ready for the first leg encounter against East Timor in the Asian Qualifiers of 2014 Brazil World Cup to be held on Wednesday. "We are ready to go and the players are 100 percent fit," said the pentagenarian Briton, who turns 52 on Sunday, during a pre-match conference.

Round 2 results were delayed a day thanks to a lightning storm in Madison which forced the Chicago Fire PDL team and the Madison 56ers to replay their match this afternoon. The Fire win continues the trend this tournament of a lack of upsets. The only team that can plausibly claim to have beaten a team in the higher division is USASA's New York Pancyprian Freedoms, who beat the NPSL's Brooklyn Italians in round one.