LFR Sports

1>>>ITALY 7 points. Despite a likely first round winner, Italian calcio is in hot water right now. The gambling and match-fixing scandal is reaching the very top, including Juventus and quite possibly the Italy manager Marcelo Lippi. The man in goal, Gianluigi Buffon has spoken to authorities just this week. The house of card may be falling making this predication the most iffy of the tournament.

2>>>UNITED STATES 5 pts. The world is about to give the U.S. an increasing amount of respect with another trip to the knockout stage. Make no bones about it, many in Europe already respect Bruce Arena and the squad and find their ability to hide discretly in the huge American sports scene.

3>>>Czech Republic 3 pts. In the World Cup, the host usually tank in the opener, the host always advances and the dark horse contender always tanks. Portugal was the consensus last time around; the Czechs are this tournament's recipient of the whammy.

4>>>Ghana 2 pts. The Ghanaians have speed that will cause some fits for the Italians and, definitely, the Americans. They will be Africa's best entry in this World Cup.

Pivotal Match: Jun 12th. USA 3-2 CZE. The U.S. exploits the injured Czechs and minimize the 6-8 giant Jan Koller with a linebacker posing as a central defender, Uguchi Onyewu.