While the Under 21 European Championships are well under way now, the best place for your summer fix of football is still the Copa America, currently being played in Chile. The South American Championships have offered all kinds of twists and turns so far, showing why it’s the toughest continent in international football. We’ve seen all kinds of shocks so far, including Brazil and Argentina showing that they are far from invincible.
The Copa moves into the quarter final stage this week, and that’s when the tournament really gets exciting. The group stages send more teams through than they actually put out, but the knockouts are an unforgiving place. The four quarter finals are played over three days this week, with very late kick off times for UK viewers. Despite that, these should be four very close and intriguing games, and here we have previews of each one for you to take a look at.
Thursday 25th June 2015
Chile v Uruguay (00:30) – Chile to win (3/4 with Sky Bet)
The first game up sees the hosts taking on the holders, and there’s few better ways to start than that. Chile have been great so far in the tournament, topping group A and scoring 10 goals in their three games. With Uruguay up next there will surely be a packed house of supporters for the hosts, as they aim to go all the way and win this trophy for the very first time. While their path to that end looks difficult right now, the team they’re facing haven’t got close to their best in their three group games.
The holders just narrowly edged out Jamaica in their opening game, and after that they suffered a loss and a draw, coming out of group B in third place. They scored just twice in the last round, and now they’re up against a side who score for fun. Chile should be comfortable winners here, given the momentum they’re carrying into this game. The blunt Uruguayans are missing Luis Suarez, while Edinson Cavani hasn’t quite hit top form. Back the hosts to progress here, while a win to nil or both teams not to score also look like good options.
Friday 26h June 2015
Bolivia v Peru (00:30) – Peru to win (Evens with Sky Bet)
With the hosts meeting the holders in the first knockout round, it seems strange that Bolivia and Peru are the next quarter final. These two aren’t what you think of in terms of South American powerhouses, but they’ve both done well so far. Both sides came through in second place, with Bolivia beating out Ecuador and Mexico, to make the last eight. No one expected them to make it out of that group, so they’ve done magnificently just to progress this far.
As for Peru, they got ahead of Colombia, who are in the top five sides in the FIFA rankings, to get this far. They narrowly lost out to Brazil in their opener, while they held the Colombians to a draw. Whichever side gets through here is likely going to meet Chile in the semis, but it’s crazy to think that one of these sides will be in the final four. Our money is going on Peru, given how well they did in the group. They’re priced at evens here, which is pretty good value in our eyes.
Saturday 27th June
Argentina v Colombia (00:30) – Under 1.5 goals (13/8 with Coral)
This game sees two of the favourites for the trophy going head to head much earlier than expected, with both sides disappointing so far. Neither team has hit the heights that they’re capable of, especially going forward. Colombia scored just once in the group stage, while Argentina notched four goals in their three outings. While that doesn’t sound like a bad total, it’s worth remembering that they could only manage a single goal against minnows Jamaica. While they have great players, they’re not a great attacking force.
Before their game with Jamaica, we tipped Argentina to struggle. Under 2.5 goals was our tip at the time, citing how the World Cup runners up seem to struggle in front of goal. Given how Colombia share those struggles, and the fact that both sides keep things tight defensively, the unders market is certainly the way to go again. Under 1.5 goals is our tip here, a bet which would have won on every one of Colombia’s group games. It’s priced at 13/8 ahead of this one, which is worth backing, which means the game probably isn’t worth losing sleep over.
Brazil v Paraguay (22:30) – Both teams to score (5/4 with Coral)
The final game of the round is a slightly earlier kick off, with Brazil looking to claim a semi-final spot. They are desperate to make up for the humiliation they suffered 12 months ago, but they have tough opponents in the Paraguayans. They came from behind to draw with Argentina in the group, going unbeaten over the three games, that’s a feat that Brazil couldn’t match. Paraguay may not have star names that you’d recognise, but they work well as a team, and they should at least give Brazil a scare or two in this game.
Of course, Brazil’s biggest weakness is in defence, and the five times world champions haven’t solved that yet. While they aren’t as bad as they were in the World Cup against Germany, they’ve yet to keep a clean sheet in this competition. Paraguay scored in all three of their games, and we’re backing them to find the net here. Of course you’d expect Brazil to get one back, making both teams to score a very tempting bet at 5/4 with Coral. While you’d expect the game to be tight in a quarter final, it’s hard to see the Brazilians doing anything other than going on the offensive from the off here.