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Ivory Coast has one of the most celebrated fans in the world coming into the nation's "Group of Death" showdown against Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal. Gambling911.com sexy Senior International Correspondent, Jenny Woo, will be backing her home team Ivory Coast.
"Everyone is talking about how Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest players in the world, so too is Didier Drogba of Côte d'Ivoire so Ronaldo can kiss my Ivory Coast a**," blasted Woo.
Ms. Woo (pictured below), who was born in South Korea and spent much of her childhood growing up in the Ivory Coast before being transplanted to her current US home of Pensacola, Florida, has placed a small bet on Côte d'Ivoire to beat Portugal on Tuesday.
Portugal was getting the most action over at Bookmaker.com, which is a good sign for the Ivory Coast since the pros betting into Bookmaker have been wrong with nearly every matchup thus far.
The oldest established sports betting shop online in the North American/South American corridor had Portugal as the +120 favorite, promising a payout of US$12 for every US$10 bet. Ivory Coast offered terrific value at +235, which would pay US$23.50 for every US$10 bet. The draw would pay out around US$21.
Odds on Ivory might be slashed further should it be determined that Drogba can play after fracturing an elbow last week.
The Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba will decide if he has recovered sufficiently from the injury to play against Portugal in their World Cup Group G opener on Tuesday, said coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.
The winner will likely advance since neither team is expected to beat heavily favored Brazil, a team that takes on North Korea as an unprecedented -1200 favorite.
Dressed in multiple layers, Drogba took the field for training at a chilly Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium late on Monday as team staff met with match officials to see if he would be given the green light to play with a cast on his arm.
With a staggering 37 goals in all competitions last season, Drogba's participation against Portugal is crucial to his team's hopes of advancing from the competition's toughest group.
Portugal is led by Cristiano Ronaldo, a player ESPN.com calls the second best in this year's FIFA World Cup after Argentina's Lionel Messi.
The site referred to Ronaldo as "Explosive, pacy and an astonishingly prolific goal scorer for a winger".
Portugal, however, is in the midst of a goal drought.
In competitive matches, he has not found the net for Portugal since the 2008 European Championship.
"It's not a problem," the Real Madrid player said before the tournament. "I'm saving myself for the World Cup."
Injuries, though, have unsettled Ronaldo's international career. He played in just seven of Portugal's 12 World Cup qualifying matches and in some games was still recovering from injury.
In 73 appearances since his 2003 debut, Ronaldo has scored 22 goals.
(one of the Ivory Coast's biggest fans, Gambling911.com Senior International Correspondent Jenny Woo gets dipped in chocolate for charitable cause)
Bookmaker.com was offering odds on Cristiano Ronaldo's goal scoring as well as Drogba betting props.
Woo will be cheering on her Ivory Coast team from her office in Pensacola along with her dad who protected the US embassy in Côte d'Ivoire while based there.
Payton O'Brien, Gambling911.com Senior Editor
