USA v Colombia – Copa America Betting Preview + Prediction
04 Jun 2016, Levi’s Santa Clara Stadium , 01:30 GMT +0
We got Copa America contest ahead of us, where we will be able to watch 16 teams compete for gold and having their name written in history books. Teams will be split into 4 groups, with 4 teams in each of the group and the top 2 teams from each group advancing to the knockout stage. In relation to this preview I will mention Group A. Group A consists of USA, Columbia, Paraguay and Costa Rica. The opening game of the competition will be located at the Levi’s Santa Clara Stadium, where USA awaits last year’s quarter finalists Columbia. Because neither of the teams had to go through qualifications for Copa America, we will take a look at their form against other teams.
USA has shown us some great performances recently in qualifications for next world cup. Currently they are second in group C of the CONCACAF. In relation to that competition, the Stars and Stripes have won both of their home matches against Guatemala (4:0) and Saint Vincent (6:1), whereas on the road, they only managed do get disappointing 1 point. The only loss that USA suffered at home was against Costa Rica (0:1) in November. But we must mention, tha the USA played with their 2nd team. Prior to this match USA also played 3 friendly matches against Bolivia (4:0), Ecuador (1:0) and Puerto Rico (1:3), winning all of them. With a record of (7-1-1) in last 9 matches, it’s safe to say, that the USA are in great form.
As it stands for Columbia, they have been mainly playing in CONMEBOL competition. With 6 matches behind them, they are in 5th place with 10 points (3-1-2). In recent matches, the Los Cefeteros managed to win 3 in a row against Bolivia (2:3), Ecuador (3:1) and Haiti (3:1). In a match against Haiti, the visitors suffered a red card at the start of the match and it arguably helped Columbia to win that one. Looking at FIFA rankings, Columbia is clearly ahead of USA, but anyone should know we should not blindly follow that ranking. Last time these two teams meet each other was in 2014 on the neutral ground, where the end result showed (1:2) in favour of Columbia. Prior to that they faced each other in 2010 with match ending in a draw (0:0).
As for injuries, neither of the teams have anything to worry about. But we must mention some of the players are being left out of the team. For USA that player is Jozy Altidore, while the Columbia will be without Radamel Falcao, Jackson Martinez and Teofilo Gutierrez. We cannot deny Columbia has better known players, but underestimating Jurgen Klinsmann’s squad would be foolish. USA has shown us they are strong playing at home ground and despite being a young team we believe they have got a good chance to get to the finals, starting their journey with a win today.
Prediction: USA +0.00
Odds: 2.23
