Draw(+355)
Argentina vs. Ecuador Copa America 2021 Quarterfinals Picks and Odds Analysis (Archive)
Argentina and Ecuador will battle for a spot in the Copa America semi-finals on Saturday and sports betting markets are heating up as kick-off nears. Argentina are not surprising the heavy favorites in the betting after clinching top spot in group action, while Ecuador are the predictable underdogs seeing as they’ve yet to win a fixture in the tournament and have squeezed into the last eight by clinching fourth place in group play.
Will Argentina come through for their backers and advance into the final four or will Ecuador orchestrate the massive upset? We preview the matchup and serve up choice soccer picks.
Argentina vs. Ecuador
Saturday, July 3, 2021 – 9:00 PM ET
Argentina Unbeaten in Group Action
Although the Albiceleste got off to a slow start in the tournament after settling on a 1-1 with Chile on matchday 1, they’ve grown into their own as the tournament progressed in the group stage. Immediately after drawing Chile, Argentina went on to beat Uruguay and Paraguay by a score of 1-0 respectively before capping off group play with a 4-1 drumming of Bolivia.
That Argentina is riding a three-game winning streak into the knockouts will stand them in good stead. Manager Lionel Scaloni should be pleased about his team’s performance and confidence, in general, should be high amongst the players on the back of their solid form.
Argentina – along with Brazil – boast an enviable, star-studded cast and that understandably raises their profile and expectations in the broad spectrum of the tournament. Whether they’ll deliver on those remains to be seen because recent history stands against Argentina. Since Lionel Messi answered Argentina’s call to duty almost 15 years ago, the Albiceleste have failed to win a major title.
If there’s a knockback on Argentina’s campaign thus far, it’s the fact that they’ve been playing it awfully fine – the only exception being the 4-1 beatdown of Bolivia. Argentina’s goals came early against both Uruguay and Paraguay, leaving the rest of the 90-minute game consumed with nervous tension and trepidation. They weren’t so fortunate on match day 1 as Chile’s Eduardo Vargas pounded on a saved penalty to level the game late and thus force the draw.
Ecuador Looking For First Win
Ecuador are winless in the tournament thus far, but that’s a moot point in the knockout stage where it’s really a whole new ball game. Anything can happen in the knockouts, including the unthinkable upset. As such, Ecuador may well fancy their chances even if the soccer odds are stacked heavily against them.
Ecuador opened their tournament with a 1-0 defeat to Colombia, but they bounced back with three consecutive draws to advance into the knockouts. In the final group game, Ecuador surprised all and sundry by forcing a 1-1 draw on Brazil – albeit a watered down side as Tite rested some of his stars for Brazil’s quarterfinals. Angel Mena levelled the game in the 53rd minute after Eder Militao’s headed the opener for the Selecao and La Tricolor held on to clinch the pivotal point.
While Ecuador settled on 2-2 draws with Venezuela and Peru, it’s worth pointing out the fact they were both times in the lead before losing the advantage. Venezuela hit an equaliser in the 91st minute to snatch the victory away from Ecuador while Peru rallied from a 0-2 deficit early in the second half with goals from Gianluca Lapadula and Andre Carrillo.
Soccer Predictions and Picks:
Although Ecuador is winless in the competition, they’ll be buoyed by their final result against heavyweights Brazil and progressing into the quarterfinals. Their reward might be a daunting matchup against Argentina – well, daunting at least on paper – but that shouldn’t deter La Tricolor from attempting the upset. Go big or go home as they say.
Argentina’s attacking potential is often lauded before competitions such as these, but time and time again Messi and Co. flatter to deceive. Messi’s inability to deliver for his country is something that weighs heavily on the Barcelona FC star and he’s well aware of the fact that time isn’t on his side and opportunities such as these are going to dwindle eventually.
One area of concern is in fact Argentina’s lauded attacking potential which has a tendency to go MIA on the big stage. Not until the final game of the group action did Argentina’s hyped up offense materialize, but prior to that it was nowhere to be seen. All too often La Albiceleste seemed content to score one goal and then defend the slim lead. That won’t wash in the knockouts, surely where winning can sometimes be more about luck rather than the sum total of the talent.
It might be a longshot to bet on Ecuador to win outright – certainly not for the fainthearted. However, a draw in regular time is well worth considering as a reasonable soccer pick for this match based on the fact that Ecuador seems to have a penchant for the draw and Argentina seems to enjoy flying by the seat of its pants.
Soccer Pick: Draw +355 at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
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