Slovakia v Italy 2010 World Cup Picks Group F Odds: The two teams will battle it out June 24th at 10:00 AM EST in Johannesburg for what could very well be their final chance at a win in the 2010 World Cup. Ellis Park Stadium was home to the miraculous and shocking win by South Africa’s rugby team against New Zealand for the 1995 Rugby World Cup. We doubt that the 55,000 plus fans will get the same kind of drama and excitement from this match as they did from the 1995 Rugby World Cup match, the winning side might; since the winner will take the final spot in the group and advance to the elimination round. Bodog.com has Italy as a World Cup betting favorite at -200.

Slovakia: Morale in Slovakia’s camp seems to be low after they conceded a game tying goal deep into injury time and lost their second match just five days later against Paraguay 0:2. There will be no surprises for Slovakia as to how the Italians will approach this game. This is Slovakia’s first appearance in the World Cup as an independent nation. The Slovaks have however been an integral part of the great Czechoslovakian teams of the past. FIFA and World Cup predictions rank Slovakia 33rd in the world and have them at 500/1 to win the 2010 World Cup.

Italy: The Italians need to wake the (expletive) up! A team with 16 World Cup appearances, four Titles; with one coming just four years ago should not be tying or losing to teams like New Zealand, Slovakia, even an improved Paraguay team for that matter. We are obviously not the only ones who feel this way. Italy’s striker Alberto Gilardino told his teammates that they better step up their game against Slovakia, or they will deserve to go home from the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Soccer predictions have the Italians highly over-ranked at 5th best in the world. With most of its 2006 World Cup team still intact, World Cup picks experts gave the Italians a 100% chance of advancing to the next round. According to team sources, “the will to win is there, the team just hasn’t capitalized on their opportunities.” Good news for Italy is that playmaker Andrea Pirlo has returned to training after missing the first two games with a muscle injury.

KGB Sports Free Sports Picks: Italy (-200) 3 Units

KGB Sports Free Bonus Sports Picks: Under 2.5 (-160) 1 unit