Argentina eliminates Mexico again

Soccer Betting Lines

06/27/2010 - Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain scored in a seven-minute stretch midway through the first half, and Argentina beat Mexico, 3-1, on Sunday at Ellis Park Stadium to return to the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup.

Tevez added a second goal early in the second half and Javier Hernandez scored Mexico's lone goal in the 71st minute.

Argentina also defeated Mexico in the round of 16 four years ago, and will try to advance past the quarterfinals for the first time since finishing second in 1990, when it lost in the final to West Germany.

Argentina plays Germany in the quarterfinals Saturday. Germany advanced with a 4-1 win over England on Sunday. Argentina and Germany met in the quarterfinals four years ago, with Germany winning on penalty kicks.

Mexico was eliminated in the round of 16 for the fifth straight time.

The Mexicans enjoyed the better chances early, but Carlos Salcido had his long shot tipped off the crossbar by Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero and Andres Guardado curled a shot just wide of the left post.

Lio Messi forced a save from Mexico goalkeeper Oscar Perez, then Hernandez drilled a long shot wide right before Argentina seized control of the match on a goal that should not have counted in the 26th minute.

Messi and Tevez combined on the initial chance that led to Argentina's opener, as Tevez had the ball taken off his feet by Perez just inside the box. But the ball deflected back to Messi, who played a short chip pass to an open Tevez.

Tevez, who was a few yards offsides when Messi played the ball, headed it into an empty net from a few steps out. Referee Roberto Rosetti consulted his sideline official and players from both teams huddled around, but the goal stood.

Argentina doubled its lead in the 33rd minute when Higuain took advantage of a turnover by Mexico's Ricardo Osorio, who misplayed the ball just outside the area. Higuain took the ball into the box, rounded Perez, and slotted home for his tournament-high fourth goal.

Higuain nearly added another goal before the break, but Osorio got a piece of the ball just before Higuain's header, and the shot went wide left.

Mexico came close to pulling a goal back before halftime, but Hernandez was just inches away from directing a cross on goal from close range.

Tevez handed Argentina a three-goal lead seven minutes into the second half as he struck a 25-yard shot into the top-right corner that left Perez no chance.

Hernandez had a free header in the 63rd minute but fired over the bar and then a cross from Pablo Barrera was sent on goal in the 70th for Mexico but Gabriel Heinze cleared it off the line for Argentina.

Mexico did pull a goal back in the 71st, when Hernandez accepted a pass at the top of the area with his back to goal, made a quick turn toward the left post, drove into the area and then finished well to the near post from 10 yards.

Heinze made another fine defensive play on the line to clear a dangerous ball 10 minutes from time, and Argentina held on over the final 10 minutes for its fourth win in as many games.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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