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Date :
25th June 2015 |
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Match Preview
Copa America Quarter-Finals, Wednesday 24th to Friday 27th June
2015 |
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With a
dramatic first quarter-final seeing Chile beat Uruguay to reach the final 4,
the remaining 6 teams will battle it out for a place in the Copa American
semi-finals across the end of the week!
A late goal from Mauricio Isla,
the only one of the match, capped off a tense game that saw Uruguay reduced to
9 men and Chile reach the final 4 for the first time since they lost,
ironically, to Uruguay on penalties in their Copa America 99 semi-final.
An aggressiveness that ran rampant throughout the game led to a controversial
second yellow for Edison Cavani after he touched Gonzalo
Jaras face, before Jorge Fucile left the field 6 minutes after
Islas goal and only a few minutes before the final whistle.
This
means the Chileans will face either Bolivia or Peru in the semi-finals,
dependant on who wins Thursday nights game. Bolivia only just scraped
through the easiest of the 3 groups, coming second behind Chile on 4 points,
just ahead of Ecuador on 3 and Mexico on 2. A 0-0 draw against a weakened
Mexico side wasnt a promising start to the tournament for La Verde, but a
3-2 win over Ecuador was a bit livelier, even if Bolivia did put their 3-0 lead
in jeopardy in the second half.
Worryingly for Bolivia, however, they
suffered a heavy defeat to their potential semi-final opponents Chile, who beat
them 5-0 to top Group A, a humiliation completed with an 85th minute own goal
by their captain Ronald Raldes (and, incidentally, making Chile the only side
in the group stages to score over 4 goals in total). This has left Bolivia on a
Copa America Index spread of 13-16, one of the worst of the teams left in the
competition.
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Peru
also finished 2nd in their group on 4 points, but faced much tougher
competition in the process, leaving them with a Copa American Index spread of
17-20. An opening game loss to Brazil was to be expected, but was frustrating
for Peru; they had taken the lead in the 2nd minute, only for Cristian
Cuevas goal to be equalled in the 4th minute by Neymar. An injury time
winner from Douglas Costa cemented Perus first game fate, and left them
with a difficult task in their final 2 games group games.
A goal from
Bayern Munich veteran Claudio Pizarro sealed a victory over Venezuela, before a
tight 0-0 draw against Colombia saw them 2nd in the group over Los Cafeteros on
amount of goals scored (shockingly Perus 2 goals overcame Colombias
dismal 1). Given their escape from a difficult group, and the fact they came
3rd in 2011s tournament (even if most of the bigger sides had disappeared
by the semis) means Los Incas have the advantage at a Peru/Bolivia Goal
Supremacy spread of 0.5-0.7 with a Total Goals spread of 2-2.2.
Friday
then sees the pick of the quarter-finals, as tournament favourites Argentina
take on fan favourites Colombia. With the pressure on, Argentina almost fluffed
their lines in their opening game against Paraguay, with a 2-0 first half lead
being lost in the second half, as a 89th minute goal from Lucas Barrios added
to Valdezs goal half an hour earlier to see the points shared.
Despite their manager being sent off in the first half, Argentina
dispatched of Uruguay 1-0, with a second tournament goal from Sergio Aguero,
before an early strike from Gonzalo Higuain secured a win against Jamaica.
Hardly exciting stuff but enough to see the Argies top the group, putting them
at a Copa America Index spread of 26-29, second only to Chiles 27.5-30.5
(who of course have the advantage of already being in the semis), and at 9/4
fixed odds to win the whole thing. |
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Annoyingly
for Argentina, topping the group wasnt enough to avoid a tough
quarter-final draw, as Colombias surprising inability to secure 2nd place
saw them enter the knockout stages as one of the two top 3rd place sides along
with Uruguay. Considered by many one of the favourites for the tournament,
Colombia limply lost their opening game to Venezuela, before beating Brazil 1-0
in a game that saw Neymar and Carlos Bacca sent off after the final whistle.
A final 0-0 draw against Peru left them 3rd in Group C after only
scoring 1 goal in their first 3 games; considering this is a side that contains
World Cup Golden Boot James Rodriguez and the sporadically brilliant Falcao,
their lack of goals in a tournament that has been light on them as a whole is
very disappointing. This has left Colombia with a Copa America Index spread of
15.5-18.5, and going into the quarters Los Gauchos have the advantage at a
narrow Argentina/Colombia Goal Supremacy spread of 0.55-0.75.
The final
quarter-final takes place on Saturday, and will likely result in a very tasty
semi-final as Brazil and Paraguay battle it out for a place in the final 4.
Perennial favourites Brazil topped their group but not in the style they are
used to, with a loss to Colombia leaving them with 6 points from 2-1 victories
against both Peru and Venezuela, the former win being a lot more difficult than
the score-line suggests.
Brazil will be without their captain Neymar
after his aforementioned red card against Colombia, and could suffer for his
absence, even if they did manage to overturn Venezuela without the Barcelona
striker. The Canarinho at a Copa America Index spread of 22.5-25.5, behind
Chile and Argentina, and are a 4/1 fixed odds to lift the cup.
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Paraguay performed admirably in a difficult group, finishing in
2nd ahead of the Uruguayan side they lost the final to back in 2011; however,
their knockout stage opponents has left Paraguay with the worst Copa America
Index spread of those left, at 12-15. Yet La Albirroja have proved their mettle
in the tournament so far; an opening game draw against a Messi-led Argentina
set out Paraguays intentions, even if they did leave if late in the game
to get their share of the points.
A narrow win against tournament
debutantes Jamaica (the only side in the group stages to finish on 0 points)
left a quarter-final place in sight, and a 1-1 draw against Uruguay left then
in 2nd place on 5 points to the 2011 champions 4. However, with or
without Neymar Brazil are an imposing threat, and they have the advantage at a
Brazil/Paraguay Goal Supremacy spread of 0.65-0.85 with a Total Goals spread of
2.25-2.45.
With live coverage on Sky Sports,
Spreadex will be
offering a comprehensive in-running service across spread markets and fixed
odds so settle in for what should be a great time!
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