Denmark's Group D climb must start with New Zealand

Soccer Betting Lines

09/14/2007 - Wuhan, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After dropping its opener to China on a late goal, Denmark faces an uphill battle to advance out of Group D.

Denmark is ranked sixth in the world - the highest in the group - but already trails China and Brazil by three points. The Danes can take the "first step against New Zealand" on Saturday, coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller told FIFA.com.

A step that has to result in a win with Brazil awaiting in its final game of the group stage.

"The result aside, we played a great game against China and our confidence is still intact," Heiner-Moller said.

Denmark erased a two-goal deficit in the second half against the Chinese as Dot Eggers Nielsen and Cathrine Paaske Sorensen scored. China escaped with all three points thanks to a goal in the 88th minute.

Denmark should be able to put the disappointing loss behind it Saturday. New Zealand was completely dominated in a 5-0 loss to Brazil on Wednesday.

New Zealand rarely had possession of the ball in the first half, and rarely had more than one touch at a time in the second half when Brazil scored four of its goals.

Denmark proved its offense was solid in the loss to China, and that was with its top striker on the bench for the first 75 minutes of the match.

All-time leading scorer Merete Pedersen is nursing an injury, and her status for the match is questionable, but she may just get more rest and hope to be fit for the crucial Brazil match on Wednesday.

"We know that Denmark are a very well-organized side who move the ball around well and work hard up front. They will be tough opponents for sure, but we'll (be) doing everything we can to get something out of this game," New Zealand coach John Herdman told FIFA.com.

New Zealand fell to 0-4 all time in the World Cup with its loss to Brazil. The team was making its first appearance since the inaugural event in 1991.

But it's a game New Zealand has to forget. The team created almost no offense, and looked overmatched. If New Zealand is going to shed the label of the worst team in the tournament - and have any hopes of advancing - it needs a result against Denmark.

"To stay in the tournament we simply have to win and that means we'll be more attack-minded than in our first game," Herdman said.

Denmark and New Zealand have played one other time in the World Cup, a 3-0 win by the Danes in 1991.

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NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

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