It may only be a year since the Copa America was last held, but this year’s event promises to be special. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of South America’s biggest tournament, the United States are hosting a special centenary version. This bumper edition of the Copa America should be a fantastic few weeks of football, and it’s certainly worth keeping an eye on and another great summer betting opportunity. Here’s our look ahead to Group A, as we look at each side’s chances in the tournament, offering up live betting odds comparison and some cracking tips and predictions.
The tournament can be a punishing one for viewers, with games set to kick off as late as 3.30am in the UK. But, if you’re a fan of late games and want to check out some South American football, this is just the tournament for you. It does contain many sides who are worth watching, loads of top players and there should be a pretty good atmosphere around the stadiums.
The last World Cup saw a surge in interest in football in the United States, and now the action is coming to those fans’ doorstep. This is a perfect time to capitalise on support for the game, especially as the US team is really improving. Things have changed quite a bit since they hosted the World Cup back in 1994.
The States are in Group A, and they kick off the tournament against Colombia on Saturday 4th June. That game should be an early decider for top spot, with the two sides both priced at 6/4 with 888Sport to take first place. That game is tightly poised as well, with the US 7/5 favourites with Betfair, and the Colombians priced at best betting odds of 17/10.
Costa Rica and Paraguay seem some way off the two favourites, so that opening clash is huge. Colombia have a strong side and they’ll be seen as dark horses, but we’re not convinced after their display in Chile last year. They beat Brazil in the group stage in 2015, but they drew with Peru and lost to Venezuela. A penalty shootout defeat to Argentina ended their tournament at the quarter final stage.
They only made the last eight by finishing third in their group. The Colombians do face an easier task this time around, but we’re not sure that’s a good thing for them. They edged their big game against Brazil, but they struggled against smaller sides. It might be worth backing against them at big odds in clashes with Costa Rica and Paraguay, in case they come unstuck again.
Even in their biggest game of the group, we’re going against Colombia. The US will enjoy home advantage, and it could see them go quite far in this tournament. Jurgen Klinsmann knows just how important the crowd can be. His Germany side exceeded expectations at home in 2006, reaching the semis. There’s no doubt that the frenzy within the country helped push on that young side.
There’s a similar excitement for the game in America right now. It may only come at international tournaments, but if this team can tap into that support, who knows how far they could go. Chile won the 2015 tournament at home, while the States could go pretty far themselves.
We’re backing a US victory in the opener, and the hosts to win and both teams to score looks very well priced at odds of 9/2 with Bet365. After that, Paraguay and Costa Rica should be bigger threats for the Colombians than the Americans. We don’t see much in this group that will stop Klinsmann’s side, so we’re backing them to finish top. They’re available at odds of 6/4 with 888Sport to top the pile, and we think they should be favourites to win this group. There may not be many Americans in the Premier League right now, but there are a few class acts within this team.
You could even consider the USA for a run in Copa America as a whole. Should they finish top here, they’d be likely to face either Peru or Ecuador in the quarter finals. You’d have to consider Klinsmann’s side to be dark horses at least. They’re priced at nice odds of 8/1 with Betfair in the outright winner betting and that looks pretty solid.
Regardless of who you’re planning to back, our odds comparison can save you plenty of time by giving you the best available odds. It guarantees you the best price around across a huge variety of markets. From match betting and more on each game up to the outright winner, it’s a huge asset if you’re looking for the biggest returns possible from your bet. It’s incredibly easy to use, and it could make your stake go that little bit further.