There is a triple header of action in the Copa America on Saturday evening through into the early hours of Sunday morning and it all begins with the second match in Group A as Costa Rica take on Paraguay.
The first match in this group saw a convincing win for Colombia against a disappointing USA side so if there is a winner here whoever it is will immediately be in a nice position to make it into the quarter final.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica grew in profile and standard at the 2014 World Cup when they made it through the quarter final only to lose in agonising style on penalties to the Dutch. They were organised in that tournament but played with flair and if they can reproduce that they’ll soon have the public behind them again.
This Costa Rica squad contains many more household names in this tournament than it did back in 2014. The biggest name is the Arsenal forward Joel Campbell while the former Fulham playmaker Bryan Ruiz can still do it at this level. Everton defender Bryan Oviedo and West Brom’s Cristian Gamboa are both in the squad.
Paraguay
The South Americans probably aren’t as good as their halcyon days in the early 90s but it shouldn’t be forgotten that they were finalists in this competition as recently as 2011 when they lost to Uruguay in the final. They saw off Brazil in the quarter finals in the tournament last year before getting thrashed by Argentina in the final.
Bournemouth forward Juan Iturbe is the only English based player in the Paraguay squad but Seattle’s Nelson Valdez and former Sunderland defender Paulo da Silva are recognisable names. Watch out for Dario Lezcano, the Ingolstadt forward who has begun his international career strongly.
Team news
Costa Rica were dealt a significant blow in the lead up to the tournament when Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas was ruled out of the tournament so they are going to be weaker in that department. DC United forward Alvaro Saborio is expected to lead the line.
Paraguay will need to decide whether to go with the more experienced Valdez to lead the line in this match or whether youth is going to get the edge. If they go with youth then Lezcano should get the nod. They have no major injury issues.
Betting
When the draw was made and I heard this was the first game for both sides I was anticipating a tight match and nothing has changed my mind since. Costa Rica are very efficient defensively. You have to go back almost a year for the last time they conceded more than two goals in a match and while they’ve not always played the strongest opposition if we think back to the World Cup they were very tight there against much more established nations.
Paraguay are historically known as being able to keep things tight. They tend to pack the midfield and defence and just rely on a sole leader of the line and so they aren’t likely to take too many risks so we could have a bit of a stalemate form at some point.
These two sides met in a friendly in San Jose last year and it was a goalless draw and in the heat of Florida in late afternoon you wouldn’t think this one is going to be played at breakneck speed so everything to me points to a tight and low scoring encounter and maybe even another goalless draw.
Tips
WON – Back Under 2 goals for a 4/10 stake at 1.86 with 188bet
Back it here:
