France vs. Nigeria betting odds, Germany vs. Algeria previews, predictions

Europe vs. Africa highlights World Cup betting odds action Monday as France faces Nigeria and Germany faces Algeria.

Germany and France will take the field as heavy favorites in their round of 16 matchups against the two remaining African sides in the World Cup - Algeria and Nigeria.

Les Bleus are 5-11 moneyline favorites to defeat Nigeria in regulation time on Monday, and have even longer odds of 2-9 in World Cup wagering to advance to the quarterfinals.

After entering the tournament with odds of 20-1 in World Cup futures wagering, France dominated in the group stage, recording decisive wins over Honduras and Switzerland to clinch a berth in the knockout stage, and playing to a scoreless draw against Ecuador to lock up top spot in Group E.

As a result, les Bleus are now a solid 8/1 bet to win their first World Cup since 1998.

Prediction: 3-1 France

The Super Eagles return to the knockout stage for the first time since 1998 after a solid performance as 8-1 World Cup group betting underdogs in Group F, including a hard-fought 1-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina and a gutsy performance in a 3-2 loss against Argentina.

Despite their fine play, Nigeria remain a tournament longshot, improving marginally to 200-1 in World Cup futures betting from the 250-1 odds they sported prior to the tourney.

Oddsmakers expect Germany to continue their march to the World Cup final, pegging Die Mannschaft as strong 2-15 favorites to advance to the quarterfinal in their match against Algeria.

Germany, whose 4-1 odds trail only Brazil in World Cup futures betting, did not disappoint in the group stage. After all but ending Portugal's World Cup hopes with a convincing 4-0 win, the Germans had their hands full in a draw against Ghana, before manhandling the United States in the group stage finale.

Algeria have been one of the surprises of the 2014 World Cup. Pegged as 28-1 longshots in World Cup group betting and 1000-1 in futures betting, many observers expected the Fennec Foxes to struggle to score even one goal.

But after pushing Belgium to the brink in a heartbreaking 1-0 loss and defeating South Korea 4-2, the Algerians cannot be taken lightly. Their four goals against the Koreans were the highest tally ever recorded in a World Cup match by an African side.

However, despite their eye-opening play, Algeria joins Nigeria as World Cup futures wagering underdogs, with odds of 200-1.

Prediction: 2-0 Germany

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World Cup 2014 scores, reaction and analysis: Late goals and penalties ahoy on day 18

Netherlands

2-1 Recap

Mexico

Costa Rica

1-1 (5-3p)Recap

Greece

World Cup Bracket

4 Things

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  Brazil is still magical, even in the knockout rounds
  

  
  by Graham MacAree
  

  Watching a genuinely entertaining World Cup has been a bit of a weird experience. It's pleasant enough, but one can't help waiting for the other shoe to drop. And so while the group stages were busy being generally fantastic -- that the tired 0-0 draw is the rare exception...

  
  

Continue reading…

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NASCAR standings 2014: Positive signs for Joe Gibbs Racing at Kentucky

Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth turned in strong runs for Joe Gibbs Racing Saturday night at Kentucky.

When Denny Hamlin slammed the wall due to a tire failure and later Matt Kenseth experiencing tire issues of his own, Saturday night looked like more of the same for Joe Gibbs Racing.

But when the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway concluded, JGR placed two of its three drivers inside the top five. Kyle Busch was runner-up to Brad Keselowski, while Kenseth rallied to finish fourth.

"We haven't been great this year, so this is certainly a step in the right direction," Busch said. "Feels nice to have a solid run, lead some laps, and although we faded at the end, we gave it a valiant effort, so hopefully we can take some of this and move forward with it."

At a mile-and-a-half in length Kentucky is the size of track JGR has predominantly struggled on this season. The organization's only two victories in 2014 came in March at Auto Club Speedway (Busch), in an attrition-filled race, and then in May at Talladega Superspeedway (Hamlin), a restrictor-plate track. A significant dip in performance for JGR compared to a year ago when Kenseth, Busch and Hamlin combine to win seven races on 1.5-mile tracks.

With half of the Chase for the Sprint Cup tracks the same size as Kentucky, Saturday's results provide hope that JGR is returning to its 2013 form.

"I feel like we're gaining on it," Kenseth said. "I felt like overall it was a positive weekend. We were pretty competitive most of the night tonight."

Kentucky was certainly encouraging sign.

Busch was the only non-Team Penske driver to lead laps Saturday, out front for a total of 31 laps, with Kenseth showing enough speed to overcome an unscheduled pit stop. And Hamlin, who escaped injury despite exiting his car slowly, was running well became crashing out on Lap 30.

The challenge is continuing to make gains, as one solid race doesn't ensure JGR's intermediate track woes are solved.

"This is one week," Busch said. "We certainly need to be able to do it weekly on the intermediates."

Said Joe Gibbs: "I think we were off tonight just enough to wind up getting beat, but you've got to give the other guys credit. They've done a good job. We need to catch up, and hopefully tonight is a step in the right direction."

Sprint Cup standings (17 of 26 regular season races complete)

Rank	Driver	Points	Wins
1	Jeff Gordon	618	1
2	Jimmie Johnson	594	3
3	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	594	2
4	Brad Keselowski	560	2
5	Matt Kenseth	555	0
6	Carl Edwards	536	2
7	Joey Logano	519	2
8	Ryan Newman	514	0
9	Kevin Harvick	509	2
10	Kyle Busch	508	1
11	Paul Menard	488	0
12	Kyle Larson	474	0
13	Greg Biffle	474	0
14	Clint Bowyer	473	0
15	Kasey Kahne	465	0
16	Tony Stewart	460	0
17	Denny Hamlin	455	1
18	Austin Dillon	455	0
19	Brian Vickers	442	0
20	Marcos Ambrose	438	0
21	Jamie McMurray	432	0
22	AJ Allmendinger	413	0
23	Aric Almirola	405	0
24	Casey Mears	397	0
25	Martin Truex Jr.	385	0
26	Kurt Busch	379	1
27	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	339	0
28	Danica Patrick	322	0
29	Justin Allgaier	300	0
30	Michael Annett	275	0
31	David Gilliland	246	0
32	Cole Whitt	244	0
33	Reed Sorenson	216	0
34	David Ragan	211	0
35	Alex Bowman	196	0

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MLS Plays of the Week

Vicente Sanchez setting himself up for a bicycle kick, some heady defending by a Red Bulls rookie and Gilberto demanding to take a free kick for Toronto FC highlight this week's top plays.

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Michael Bradley: We want to be here for another few games

USMNT midfielder Michael Bradley emphasized his team's pride in getting out of their group, but also their desire to continue going forward in this tournament.

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Here's James Harden throwing out a first pitch in jorts

GO ASTROS!

The humble jean short isn't just for those of us who can't decide between short and long pants. Now fashion-savvy NBA Supertsars like James Harden are showing off their delight in denim.

These are impressive because they look like some good, honest, home-made jorts. Not some meticulously tailored hipster-chic legwear. Of course Harden is really tall too, which means we can't discount the possibility these are, in fact, capris.

At least he made a new friend at the ballpark.

.@HoustonRockets star @JHarden13 is at the @astros game to celebrate @OrbitAstros birthday. http://ift.tt/1r3ud00

— MLB (@MLB) June 29, 2014

h/t Cut 4

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Costa Rica fans freak out after beating Greece in penalties (as they should)

Costa Rica wasn't supposed to make it to the World Cup quarterfinal, but they did -- and they're partying.

Costa Rica is the Cinderella story of the World Cup: After topping England and Uruguay and Italy to win their group, they held off Greece in penalties being down to 10 men for the entirety of extra time. The Ticos and their fans deserve to celebrate.

And celebrate they did. Look at them go NUTS in San Jose:

We love this guy in the stadium, too:

We love you, Costa Rica. CON-CA-CAF! CON-CA-CAF!

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