Good Luck To Portgual In South Africa

Sports betting players know to stay far, far away from the "Group Of Death", a pairing that pops up at every major international soccer tournament. Next summer's group doesn't stray from that line of thinking.

Portugal struggled just to make it to the World Cup, needing a playoff win over Bosnia-Herzegovina. For all of their attacking talent, Portugal had a tough time scoring goals, and then Cristiano Ronaldo, who now captains the squad, got hurt. Portugal managed to get in, and they were rewarded with....Brazil, the Ivory Coast, and North Korea.

The North Koreans are at the bottom of the totem pole in this group, which leaves Brazil, the Ivorians and Portugal. Brazil, the top-ranked team in the world, have to be rated as the favorites here with their wealth of talent (Kaka, Robinho, and an rejuvenated Ronaldinho) and an underrated defense. The Ivory Coast will be led by Didier Drogba, who has to be mentioned among the top strikers in the world. Portugal should be led by the likes of Ronaldo and Simao, who lifted the team in Ronaldo's absence. 

So it looks like the group could come down to Portugal's first game against the Ivory Coast, who barely missed the knock-out stages at Germany 2006, where they were also in a "Group of Death" with the Netherlands and Argentina. The Portuguese have more talent throughout the squad, but the Ivory Coast is a tough team that pushed the Netherlands and Argentina to the brink in 2006. Portugal came in third in Germany at 2006, but now, it'll be a struggle just to make it to the round of 16. I know I'm not taking them in my sportsbook....are you?