Uwak stuns Sweden with late equalizer

Soccer Betting Lines

09/11/2007 - Chengdu, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cynthia Uwak scored in the 82nd minute as Nigeria earned a surprising 1-1 tie with Sweden in the World Cup on Tuesday.

After going winless and being outscored 11-0 in the 2003 World Cup, Nigeria was considered a longshot to escape Group B, labeled the "Group of Death."

But Uwak, a FIFA Player of the Year nominee and the reigning African Woman Footballer of the Year, took advantage of one of her few touches, drilling home a left-footed shot late in the match.

Victoria Svensson scored in the 50th minute for Sweden.

Sweden, the 2003 World Cup runners-up, missed a golden opportunity to move to the top of the group. The United States, ranked No. 1 in the world, and North Korea, ranked fifth, tied 2-2 on Tuesday in the group's other game.

Nigeria will try to build on its performance against North Korea on Friday. Sweden plays the United States on Friday.

Sweden was dangerous from the opening whistle and had a shot in the second minute deflect off the fingertips of Nigeria goalie Precious Dede before hitting the crossbar.

Svensson had Sweden's next opportunity in the 17th minute when her shot went between a Nigeria defender's legs, taking a slight deflection that forced Dede to make an off-balance, diving save.

Sweden hit the crossbar again in the 31st minute when Svensson's shot rattled off the bar, came straight down on the line and bounced away from the goal.

Dede played well in the first half, making a few diving stops and coming off her line numerous times to prevent Sweden from getting more chances on goal.

Sweden finally broke through in the 50th minute when Hanna Ljungberg sent a pass to the top of the box to Svensson. She scored into the right side of the net for her sixth career World Cup goal.

Svensson had two in the 1999 Cup and three in the 2003 tournament.

Sweden looked comfortable with the 1-0 edge, but after Ljungberg was taken off in the 69th minute, the team struggled offensively.

Nigeria failed to create many great chances, but after being silent for nearly the entire game, Uwak finally got the opportunity she was waiting for.

The 21-year-old striker ran onto a failed clearance by Sweden's defense and blasted the ball into the left corner with just eight minutes remaining.

Uwak nearly scored again in the 85th minute when she was in one-on-one with Sweden goalie Hedvig Lindahl, but her shot went wide right.

Nigeria lost its two previous meetings with Sweden, including a 3-0 loss at the 2003 World Cup.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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