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09/14/2007 - Wuhan, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - China opened its World Cup with a dramatic win over Denmark and would all but lock up a spot in the quarterfinals with a win or a tie against Brazil on Saturday.
China built a two-goal lead against Denmark in the second half Wednesday, but the Danes rallied to tie the game before Xiaoli Song scored in the 88th minute of a 3-2 win.
Brazil also opened with a win Wednesday, defeating New Zealand 5-0.
"It will be a tough match... (China is) also a powerful team," Brazil coach Jorge Barcellos told FIFA's website.
Playing in front of a large crowd in Wuhan on Wednesday, Jie Li and Yan Bi had goals as China jumped out to the two-goal lead. After Denmark equalized in the 87th minute, Song struck less than a minute later.
It was a surprising start from the Chinese, who were expected to struggle in the World Cup, even though they are the hosts.
"I couldn't be happier with the result because it was a must-win match. It was a real slog, but winning has really lifted us," China forward Han Duan said on FIFA's website.
China proved again it is capable of being a force on the world stage, even if repeating its run to the 1999 final is unlikely. A win over Brazil would all but assure the Chinese the top spot in Group D, and put them just three wins from a title.
In addition to being runners-up in 1999, when it lost to the United States on penalty kicks, China finished fourth in 1995 and fifth in 1991. The Chinese were knocked out in the quarterfinals in 2003.
Brazil only led its opener against New Zealand 1-0 at halftime, but there was no doubt which side was better and it was obvious in the second half.
Reigning FIFA Player of the Year Marta scored twice after the break, picking up where she left off in the 2003 Cup when she scored three goals in four games as a 17-year-old.
"The win belongs to the whole team, it wasn't just down to my contribution," Marta told FIFA's website. "Now we're looking to push on for the next game."
Brazil needs a result against China because it plays Denmark, ranked sixth in the world, in its last game on Wednesday.
Even if the Chinese can't solve the Brazilians, they play New Zealand in their last game on Wednesday, and that gives the hosts a great shot to advance.
<< Denmark's Group D climb must start with New Zealand
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
<< Canada aims to rebound against Ghana
Hangzhou, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Canada and Ghana are both coming off
losses in their opening match, and a win is a must for either team if they are
to hold out hope of advancing into the quarterfinals.
Canada took a 1-0 lead int
<< Red Bulls look to cool Fire, improve playoff position
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red Bull New York and the Chicago Fire
square off for the third and final time this season in a Major League Soccer
fixture Saturday at Toyota Park.
The teams just played each other on Sept. 1 -
<< Rams CB Hill to miss Sunday's game against 49ers
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Rams head coach Scott Linehan
announced that starting cornerback Tye Hill will miss Sunday's game against
San Francisco after hurting his lower back in practice on Thursday.
Hill, the 15t
Farfan could make season debut vs. Vitesse >>
Eindhoven, Holland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three-time defending Eredivisie
champions PSV Eindhoven could get a extra boost of energy on Saturday when it
plays Vitesse at Philips Stadium.
Jefferson Farfan, who has missed all season due
Manning, Umenyiora practice >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Giants got a boost
on Friday, as both quarterback Eli Manning and defensive end Osi Umenyiora
practiced in preparation for Sunday's game against Green Bay.
Head coach Tom Coug
Unbeatens Bayern Munich, Schalke clash >>
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich will put its unbeaten mark on
the line on Saturday against Schalke 04, the only other club in the Bundesliga
that hasn't lost this season.
Although the league contenders haven't lost yet, the
Phils' Alfonseca suspended four games >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher
Antonio Alfonseca was suspended for four games and fined an undisclosed amount
for intentionally throwing at Colorado's Todd Helton on Thursday.
With two outs i
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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