Colombia v Argentina betting tips: Form guide points to Argentina

Colombia were heavily fancied coming into the tournament, but underwhelmed in the group phase. After an opening 1-0 win over Ecuador, they drew 0-0 with Venezuela and finished third in their group following 2-1 defeats at the hands of Peru and Brazil.

Their lack of goals has been surprising and Reinaldo Rueda’s side had goalkeeper David Ospina to thank for saving two penalties in a shootout to overcome Uruguay, following a goalless quarter-final.

Colombia, who have drawn two and won one of the last three against Argentina, are 17/4 to win in 90 minutes, and are 2/1 to progress to the final.

Seven of the last 10 meetings have yielded fewer than three total goals and six of the last 10 saw fewer than two goals scored.

Given Colombia’s recent lack of goals, under 2.5 goals can be added to Colombia v Argentina betting tips at 8/15, while at least one team failing to score is available at 8/13.

Colombia v Argentina head-to-head

The teams have faced each other 40 times across all competitions since 1945, with Argentina recording 23 wins.

Colombia have beaten La Albiceleste on nine occasions, the last of those a 2-0 success in the opening game of the 2019 Copa America group phase.

Their last clash, a World Cup qualifier on June 8, resulted in a 2-2 draw, with Colombia coming from 2-0 down inside eight minutes to square it.

Eight of their previous 40 meetings have resulted in draws. It is 12/5 that this clash ends in a draw after 90 minutes and 18/1 for another 2-2 draw.

Previous XI

Colombia: Ospina, Tesillo, D Sánchez, Mina, Muñoz, Díaz, Cuéllar, Barrios, Borré, Zapata, Muriel.

Argentina: Martínez, Acuña, Otamendi, Pezzella, Molina, Lo Celso, Paredes, de Paul, González, Martínez, Messi.

Team news

Argentina could be without Atalanta centre-back Cristian Romero, who is nursing an injury. Barcelona’s Sergio Aguero, Paris Saint-Germain’s Angel Di Maria and Ajax’s Nicolas Tagliafico, who were all on the bench against Ecuador, could be involved.

Everton’s James Rodriguez was controversially left out of the Colombia squad, and Rueda now has a headache with Porto midfielder Mateus Uribe and Pachuca midfielder Yairo Moreno both out injured.

Key battles

Colombia’s lack of goals stems from a lack of creativity in midfield and their suspect depth in that area means they could find themselves over-run, particularly as the game wears on.

Messi scored his 76th goal for Argentina in the quarter-final and is now one shy of Pelé’s record for the most goals by an international South American player. Colombia will do well to shackle Messi, who is 13/10 to score at any time and 14/5 to score the first goal.

View the latest Copa America odds

All odds and markets correct as of date of publication