2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa: Saturday News and Notes

Seems like World Cup soccer betting is providing us with more shock and awe as each day of the group stage passes.

What can we expect in Saturday’s matches? ScoresOddsPicks.com takes a preview.

Holland vs. Japan: 7:30 a.m. ET

Bodog odds: Holland -275, Japan +800, Draw +325

Both teams enter Saturday with three points after their first match ups—but Japan has another major mountain to climb against a team that beat them 3-0 last September.

Even with star winger Arjen Robben absent from their lineup with a hamstring injury, the Dutch cruised past Denmark 2-0 in their opener. Midfielder Wesley Sneijder was instrumental in engineering his team’s attack in that game, and he’ll have a nice target with Robben likely to return (albeit from the bench) on Saturday.

Japan pulled off a nice upset against Cameroon, punctuated by Keisuke Honda’s big goal. Japan was very strong in qualifying, so the victory wasn’t a total fluke.

Ghana vs. Australia: 10:00 a.m. ET

FIFA World Cup South Africa odds: Ghana -110, Australia +300, Draw +225

After Serbia shocked Germany on Friday, three teams have a victory in Group D, meaning it’s totally wide open again. A victory for Australia would produce a four-way tie for first place. The Socceroos were absolutely routed 4-0 in their opener against Germany, but they do have a 4-1-1 record against Ghana in six friendlies.

With Australia’s top defender and best overall player, Tim Cahill, missing Saturday’s match after getting sent off in the Germany game, Ghana is very confident it can produce another victory. However, as Germany learned, no team can underestimate its opponent in this tournament.

Cameroon vs. Denmark: 2:30 p.m. ET

Vegas soccer odds: Cameroon +175, Denmark +145, Draw +220

Both Cameroon and Denmark are feeling the heat entering Saturday after losing their opening games. Who has the betting edge?

Cameroon has to worry that Roger Milla’s criticism of Samuel Eto’o was a self-fulfilling prophecy. In Cameroon’s loss to Japan, Eto’o was pretty much a non-factor. His nation desperately needs him to make an offensive contribution.

Denmark is more of an enigma since it was expected to lose its opener against Holland. It too struggled to muster any offense, so the best betting advice for this match-up may be to expect a draw.