The Copa America Tournament is set to get underway and best sportsbooks preview the outright winners market before action gets underway.
The Copa America is to South America what the Euros are to the European continent. Simply put, it’s the most prestigious tournament in the region and one that every South American nation aspires to win.
Ten countries representing the CONMEBOL will compete this summer in Copa America and of these Brazil and Argentina, as per usual, emerge as the top faves – albeit the former nudges slightly ahead on the soccer odds board as the top faves. Per Bovada Sportsbook, Brazil is priced at +125 to win outright while Argentina is priced at +225.
As with many sporting events in 2020, Copa America was rescheduled to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Another change that occurred was the tournament moving out of Colombia and Argentina, which were to share hosting duties. Colombia’s civil unrest and Argentina’s serious coronavirus wave are some of the reasons why both these countries were ultimately ruled out.
It’s now reported to be hosted in Brazil where it will run from June 13 to July 10. Indeed, given Brazil’s hosting duties, it’s no wonder they’re installed as the tournament faves. Well, that and they’re a pretty good team to boot. After all, they’re the reigning champions.
Home advantage can be a double-edge sword in a prestigious tournament such as this one. Fan support can propel a team deep into a tournament, but then again the pressure can also unsettle a team in its bid to deliver on the high expectations that typically prevail at a home event.
Brazil will hope to avoid any kind of downfall as it kicks off the tournament against Venezuela on Monday, June 14. They bring a star-studded cast that’s led by Paris St. German’s Neymar Jr. and skippered by an outstanding coach in Tite to defend their Copa America title.
Argentina will open proceedings on Sunday against Chile and Paraguay will close opening day when they take on Bolivia. By the odds, Argentina has the tougher opening match of the two as Chile (+1000) are no slouches. And yet, they begin the tournament as the second-best bet, largely on account of their star-studded cast that includes the effervescent, twinkle-toed Lionel Messi.
However, it’s worth pointing out that there is a lot of pressure on Lionel Messi. Great as the Barcelona forward has been at the club level, he hasn’t transcended the national level successfully. It’s the one blight on his otherwise impressive soccer career – his inability to fly the Argentinian flag and deliver for his most ardent fans. And as he’s fast running out of time to win a major title with his country, one wonders how many more opportunities he’ll have.
Colombia emerges as the third-best bet in sports betting markets, but there’s a feeling they might be slightly overpriced. Colombia is no longer going to enjoy any home advantage in this tournament, Moreover, they’re set to potentially miss James Rodriguez due to injury. These two aspects certainly take the shine off of their soccer odds.
Uruguay are a side that could surprise in this tournament and at +750 they could prove to be a savvy dark horse soccer pick to clinch the Copa America title. There’s no shortage of skill and talent with Oscar Tabarez at the helm and Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez on the roster. Uruguay have been one of the most successful nations in this competition and Cavani and Suarez are likely to be amongst the top contenders for the Copa America golden boot alongside Messi and Neymar Jr. amongst others.
Another couple of dark horses to spot are Chile (+1000) and Peru (+2500), the latter of which finished runner-up to Brazil when they lost 3-1 at Rio de Janeiro. Peru stunned Uruguay and Chile in the knockouts, punching above their weight class as one of the third-best finishers in the round-robin and mounting a Cinderella run into the finals.
Odds courtesy of Bovada sportsbook (visit our Bovada Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.