The second semi-final of the Copa America takes place in the early hours of Wednesday morning for us who are in the UK and it does so with Argentina taking on Colombia in what has the makings of an entertaining contest in Brasilia.
Argentina have dominated most of their matches so far while it has been much harder work for Colombia to date. It will be interesting to see if that trend continues here or whether a surprise can be sprung.
Argentina
After they started their campaign with a draw against Chile, it has been a pretty smooth passage for Argentina in this tournament. They have won their next four matches and look to be getting better as they go along. You could argue they haven’t beaten anything in their last two outings but they have scored seven goals in those games regardless of whether they were against Bolivia and Ecuador or not. In a low scoring tournament that shouldn’t go unnoticed.
There is a case to be made that this could be the toughest challenge Argentina have faced since that opening match when they were held by Chile, although Uruguay might have something to say about that. Even so, with the options and the form they have in attacking areas, you would think if their defence can stay tight and resolute that they are going to have more than enough in them to make it through to another Copa America final.
Colombia
This hasn’t been a great campaign for Colombia so far in truth but they are only an upset win here away from turning it into a special one and with no extra time there isn’t even a guarantee they need to win the match. They didn’t win their quarter final against Uruguay but held their nerve when the penalties came and that is all they need to do in this match, albeit they are likely to be tested a lot more throughout the 90 minutes than they were in the last round.
The one area where we need to see so much more from Colombia is in attacking areas. They have been so disappointing with the talent that they have up front so far in this tournament. They have only found the back of the net three times in five matches and that just isn’t good enough. To be fair they’ve shown to be resolute in defence which might serve them well if their plan is to get this to penalties but you’d still like to see their better players stamp their mark on the tournament.
Special Offer
Open up a BetVictor account and bet £5 to get £30 in bonuses! Click the image below for this standout new account offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Responsibly
18+ New Customers only. Deposit, opt in and place a £5 qualifying bet at odds of 2.00 or greater within 7 days of opening a new account; excludes cashed out bets. Receive 2x £10 Free Sports Bets, valid on set events only at odds 2.00 or greater, expires in 7 days. Plus a £10 Game Show Bonus, selected games, wager 40x to withdraw a max of £250. T&Cs Apply. Please Gamble Responsibly.
Team News
Argentina have an avalanche of riches in the forward areas and they will need to decide who will be most effective here. Lionel Messi will be part of the attacking core with Sergio Aguero, potentially his new Barcelona teammate, hoping to start alongside him.
Colombia might also rejig their attacking options for this match. That might see Miguel Borja coming into their side after another disappointing display by those trusted in the quarter final. Juan Cuadrado returns to give them a bit more pep.
Betting
Unless there is a dramatic improvement from Colombia, which can’t be ruled out even though there are no signs of it, I expect Argentina to win this game. I doubt that they will overpower Colombia and I’m not sure running the score up will be part of the plan either. I suspect they will want to preserve some energy for the clash with Brazil in the final on Saturday evening but of these two sides ‘La Albiceleste’ look the more reliable.
There is no doubting the quality of Argentina in attacking areas and more of those forward players have shown something near their best form in the tournament, unlike Colombia who have just struggled throughout the tournament when it comes to finding the net. Argentina are in decent form at the minute and I expect them to make their way through to this final and am a little surprised they can be taken at 10/11. That will do for me.
Tips
Back Argentina to beat Colombia for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Betfair
Back them here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2021
