Argentina vs Paraguay
Argentina and Paraguay are aiming to cement their place in the last eight at the 2021 Copa America when they meet on Tuesday. Four teams will qualify from Group A and a win for Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina will book their place.
The Albiceleste are top of the group with four points from their opening two games, while Paraguay had a great start as they defeated Bolivia 3-1 in the only match they have played so far. Bolivia look the most likely to drop out of the competition, but with three games still to play the Alborroja still have some work to do.
Talking Points
This can be Messi’s year
Lionel Scaloni will surely guide his team into the knockouts, but that is only the beginning for the nation which has suffered almost three decades without a major trophy. That is an unwelcome fact that weighs heavily on the shoulders of Lionel Messi, thought by many to be the best player of his generation with only Cristiano Ronaldo to challenge him.
Messi scored a sublime free-kick in Argentina’s opening match draw with Chile, but the Albiceleste was to regret missing a host of chances to close out the game when Eduardo Vargas levelled for Chile in the second half.
Argentina put that disappointment behind them when Messi put in another man-of-the-match performance in a 1-0 win over their biggest rivals in Group A, Uruguay. The Albiceleste had an unlikely hero as Real Betis midfielder Guido Rodriguez scored his first international goal with a set-up from his captain.
Messi is his country’s top scorer with 73 goals from 146 games, and he has an emerging star alongside him in 23-year-old Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez, who has impressed in his club’s Scudetto season and has already scored 11 international goals.
While Martinez is likely to start alongside Messi, Sergio Aguero will be hoping to play some part. The striker will become a Barcelona player when his contract expires at the end of June so he’ll be a clubmate of Messi’s before they depart the Copa America.
He leaves City as the club’s all-time leading scorer with 260 goals from 390 games.
The Copa America 2021 betting odds place Argentina as second-favourites, behind Brazil. They were desperate for a win over Uruguay and know full well that one more victory will see them through, and they certainly have the firepower to do just that.
Paraguay can punch above their weight
Los Alborroja are currently ranked 35th in world football, some 27 places behind Argentina, but Eduardo Berizzo’s team is no pushover. They pressed Brazil hard in a 2-0 defeat in a recent World Cup qualifier and drew with South American heavyweights Uruguay. And they are in a strong position to emerge from the group stages having come from behind to beat Bolivia 3-1, with striker Angel Romero bagging a second-half brace.
Premier League fans will recognise West Ham’s defender Fabio Balbuena and Newcastle United’s Miguel Almiron, while top scorer Romero plays in Argentina for San Lorenzo. With eight goals from 28 internationals, he is Paraguay’s most productive striker. Meanwhile, Alejandro Gamarra has made an impressive start to his international career with four goals from seven appearances.
The way the competition is formatted, with all but one team making it through each group, the early Copa America 2021 results serve mainly as a guide to the form of the likely winners, and those teams which can challenge the top nations. So this is a chance for Paraguay to make their case.
History
Argentina are 14 times winners of the Copa America and twice world champions, but they are without a major trophy since their last Copa win in 1993, losing the 2014 World Cup final to Germany in extra time.
Paraguay have won the Copa America twice, in 1953 and 1979 and reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 2010.
Recent form favours the Albiceleste. Since the start of 2020 Paraguay have had two wins four draws and the single defeat to Brazil, while Argentina are unbeaten over the same period, winning four and drawing four.
Betting Tip
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Argentina vs Paraguay | Argentina Asian Handicap -1.00 @ 1.95 |
| June 22, 08:00 (GMT+8) |
Argentina are hot favourites to win this clash at SBOTOP odds of 1.52, while Paraguay’s price of 6.60 might tempt their fans, and the draw sits in the middle at 3.70.
A victory for either team will be enough to ensure their progress, but for Argentina this is more about gathering momentum and embarking on a winning run, which their fans, and Messi, will hope to see right through the competition.
I believe they will have too much quality for Paraguay and so I’m backing the Albiceleste to get their three points.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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