England advances on Defoe's goal

Soccer Betting Lines

06/23/2010 - Port Elizabeth, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A first-half goal from Jermain Defoe was enough to give England a 1-0 win over Slovenia at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Wednesday in the final match of Group C play for both teams, allowing the Three Lions to advance to the next round.

Defoe volleyed home a James Milner cross in the 23rd minute to help England finish with five points, along with the United States, which got a late goal from Landon Donovan to beat Algeria, 1-0, in the group's other match.

Slovenia finishes the tournament with four points, one short of a place in the knockout round.

The USA wins the group on goal difference, while England finishes second, meaning that England will play the Group D winners on Sunday, while the Americans get the Group D runner-up on Saturday.

England's play was much more positive from the start after two subpar games, but Slovenia had the first real good chance when Andraz Kirm hit a powerful shot at goalkeeper David James, who was able to parry the effort.

But just two minutes later, Milner delivered a good cross to the front of goal for Defoe, who held off his defender and volleyed the ball on target from six yards.

The ball was hit right at goalkeeper Samir Handanovic, but he couldn't react quickly enough to prevent the shot from slipping through his hands.

Frank Lampard could have doubled the lead minutes later when Handanovic parried a cross into his path at the edge of the penalty area, but he fired over the empty net.

Wayne Rooney provided a good set up for Steven Gerrard inside the area and he forced a diving save from the goalie before Defoe wasted a good chance early in the second half when his flick missed the target from seven yards.

England had a goal ruled out for offsides, and John Terry's headed effort at the back post from a corner kick was kept out by Handanovic shortly after.

The keeper did just enough to prevent Rooney from scoring in the 58th minute when he got a hand to the ball and deflected it onto the post after Rooney beat the offsides trap, while a scramble in the England box gave Slovenia a rare chance that Valter Birsa wasted by missing the net from 14 yards.

England was hesitant to commit players forward and nearly paid for it when a loose ball fell to Zlatko Dedic near the penalty spot in stoppage time, but Matthew Upson's last-ditch challenge prevented the Slovenia substitute from getting off a shot as the Three Lions held on to advance.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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