Angry Swiss ready for group finale against Honduras

Soccer Betting Lines

06/24/2010 - Bloemfontein, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Switzerland defender Steve Von Bergen admitted the team was "angry" after a loss to Chile on Monday, when a red card to Valon Behrami proved too much for the Swiss to overcome.

Switzerland held off Chile until the 75th minute, when Mark Gonzalez snapped the European side's World Cup record streak of 558 minutes without allowing a goal.

The Swiss slumped to a 1-0 loss, but remain in contention for a knockout round berth entering its final Group H game Friday against Honduras. Switzerland got three points in its opener, a 1-0 upset of tournament favorite Spain.

Although Honduras also retains some hope of advancing, Ottmar Hitzfeld's Swiss side has a much more realistic chance. Chile plays Spain in the other match in Group H on Friday.

Switzerland is level on points with Spain, which beat Honduras 2-0 in its next match, and with a win or tie and the right result between Spain and Chile will advance.

"We were completely thrown by the red card. We're angry at the moment," said Von Bergen following the Chile loss, "but we're still in with a great chance."

Switzerland's shutout streak dated back to the 1994 knockout stage, when Txiki Begiristain scored the last goal in Spain's 3-0 win. The Swiss were eliminated four years ago without allowing a goal when they lost to Ukraine in penalties.

Hitzfeld was already without central defender Philippe Senderos due to injury, and now has to field a team with suspended midfielder Behrami.

Striker Alexander Frei did provide a boost against Chile, as the captain made his first appearance of this World Cup despite an ankle injury.

Hitzfeld remains optimistic entering the finale against the Central Americans, as long as his side isn't impacted too much by the loss to Chile.

"I'm upbeat about our meeting with Honduras," Hitzfeld said. "We'll put this defeat behind us and recover as quickly as we can."

Honduras heads to Free State Stadium with a slim chance to advance, but needs a win over Switzerland and for Chile to beat Spain, in addition to overturning a sizable deficit in goal differential.

"If Chile win then we've got a chance. We're going to keep working right until the end to try and make it through," Honduras defender Osman Chavez said.

The Hondurans have failed to score in their first two matches, the first being a 1-0 loss to Chile, and were lucky to avoid a more lopsided loss to Spain.

However, "all is not lost yet," Honduras forward David Suazo said.

Honduras manager Reinaldo Rueda expects a difficult match against Switzerland, but even if his side fails to advance, would like to end the tournament with a positive effort.

"We'll now have to see if the players can bounce back mentally and go out and give their all to end on a high for the good of Honduran football," Rueda said.

Vagescasinoonline Soccer Betting News

<< Thrashers pick Ramsay as coach
ATLANTA (AP) -Craig Ramsay is the fifth coach in Atlanta Thrashers' history.General manager Rick Dudley says the 59-year-old Ramsay has been hired as the team's coach. He replaces John Anderson.Ramsay was an assistant with the Boston Bruins from 200

<< Bedard could make Seattle season debut July 6
SEATTLE (AP) -Left-hander Erik Bedard could make his season debut as early as July 6 if he is able to get through the next week without any injury setbacks.Seattle manager Don Wakamatsu said Thursday that Bedard will throw for the Mariners' team in

<< Kings extend GM Lombardi, head coach Murray
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings have announced two- year contract extensions for a large contingent of its front office personnel, including president and general manager Dean Lombardi and head coach Terry Murray.

<< Thrashers tab Ramsay next head coach
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers are expected to name Craig Ramsay their next head coach at a 4 p.m. press conference Thursday. Ramsay was an assistant coach for Boston the last three seasons and previously served a

<< Bruins extend D Boychuk
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins have signed defenseman Johnny Boychuk to a two-year contract extension. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Boychuk recorded five goals and 10 assists in 51 games this past season

Escudero leaves Villarreal for Boca Juniors >>
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Villarreal has allowed Argentinian midfielder Damian Escudero to move to Boca Juniors in his homeland for an undisclosed transfer fee. The 23-year-old joined the Yellow Submarine from Velez Sa

Serena, Sharapova win second-rounders at Wimbledon >>
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning champion Serena Williams and former champ Maria Sharapova were straight-set second-round victors Thursday, on a day when Queen Elizabeth II visited Wimbledon for the first time in 33 years. T

Shoppach and Garza send Rays past Padres >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kelly Shoppach went 3-for-4 with a solo home run to lead the Tampa Bay Rays to a 5-3 win over the San Diego Padres in the finale of a three-game interleague set. B.J. Upton and Carlos Pena each had a

Dutch take Group E with win over Cameroon >>
Cape Town, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored in the 83rd minute, and the Netherlands defeated Cameroon 2-1 on Thursday at Green Point Stadium to clinch first place in Group E at the FIFA World Cup. Robin Van Per

Japan defeats Denmark to reach knockout stage >>
Rustenburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Japan booked its ticket to the FIFA World Cup knockout round with a 3-1 win over Denmark at Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Thursday. Keisuke Honda and Yasuhito Endo scored first-half free-kick

Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.