It is the final night of group matches in the Copa America on Tuesday as Group D finishes up. At the end of the night we will know the identity of the eight sides going into the quarter finals and the draw will be determined.
First up is a match between Chile and Panama with the winners qualifying and the losers going home. Chile know they only need a draw to make it through while Panama go into the match having to win.
You would be stretching the truth to say that Chile have looked efficient in this tournament but they are still in with every chance of making it into the knockout stages. Chile lost their opening match 2-1 in a game where the scoreline heavily flattered them but they bounced back to see off Bolivia courtesy of Arturo Vidal’s 99th minute penalty.
Chile don’t look like a confident side. They look to lack cohesion in attack and they look very shaky defensively so there will have been plenty to work on since the Bolivia game and it will be interesting to see if the pressure of the match gets to the defending champions.
I’ve enjoyed watching Panama in this tournament. They attacked with gusto and huge numbers in their opening win over Bolivia but were taken apart by Lionel Messi in a crazy spell of action in their second game.
Despite that heavy loss to Argentina and in truth they were always going to get thrashed in that game, they know they still have every chance of making it through if they can produce the performance they showed in the match against Bolivia.
Team News
Chile have a number of players on a booking going into this match but they can’t afford to rest any of them so they will need to be careful. Eduardo Vargas could return to the side having been utilised from the bench against Bolivia.
Panama will be without the suspended Anibal Godoy who was sent off against Argentina while captain Felipe Badoy and top scorer Blaz Perez miss out having been booked twice in the tournament. Luis Tejada can be expected to start the game.
Head to Head
These two sides have met three times in the past. Their first meeting was in 1952 when Chile won 6-1 but their last two matches, much more recent than that one, were much tighter affairs with Chile winning 2-1 and the other finishing goalless.
Betting
I’ve been waiting for this match from a betting point of view because I think Chile are ripe for an upset here. Panama’s suspensions might get the Chileans out of trouble but I certainly don’t think the defending champions will win this match going away. I’ve seen nothing in the tournament so far to suggest that will be the case.
Panama are playing with a freedom which Chile aren’t and that could be important here and while it isn’t ideal that the men from Panama are missing Blaz Perez at least Luis Tejada isn’t the worst replacement in the world.
Chile were exceptionally fortunate to beat Bolivia in their last match and I wouldn’t be surprised if their luck runs out here. If Chile do get over the line I fancy it will be narrowly and in an edgy manner. We shouldn’t forget much like Mexico earlier in the week that Chile only need a draw to go through so with a 1.5 goal start I’m with Panama here.
Tips
Back Panama (+1.5 goals) for a 4/10 stake at 1.98 with Bet365
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