While most punters’ attention is very much trained on Euro 2016 right now, it would be foolhardy to ignore Copa America and the riches it can bring.
Some of the world’s finest players will descend on the USA for the ‘Centenario’, which celebrates 100 years of the tournament. Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Aguero and many more will be here, so it really does pay to set the alarm for some early morning calls and some top action!
Chile will be looking to defend the trophy they won for the first time in their history in 2015, but the likes of Argentina and Mexico will have their eye on the continent’s premier prize.
Copa America Tournament Winner
Argentina have been installed as the early tournament favourites with the bookmakers, and even the quickest of glances at their squad reveals why. Any side that has to choose between Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain as its centre forward should do well, and when you factor in Lionel Messi and Angel di Maria on the flanks, Javiers Pastore and Mascherano in midfield and the criminally-underrated Sergio Romero in goal, you really do have a recipe for success.
Those players aren’t just impressive window-dressing either; there is real substance to the style. In fact, they reached the final of the World Cup in 2014 and finished runners up at the Copa America of 2015. Indeed, they have finished second in the Copa America in three of the last four renewals; so surely they are due one.
At 19/10 with Coral, fewer investments will make more sense.
Arguably one of Argentina’s biggest threats are their Group D rivals and reigning champions Chile. Last year’s triumph was their first in a major tournament, and as expected there has been something of a hangover since then – they’ve lost four of their last five matches.
But any side that boasts the talents of Arturo Vidal, Alexis Sanchez and Charles Aranguiz cannot be overlooked, so expect these Chileans to put up a strong defence of their crown. At 8/1 with SkyBet, they’ll have plenty of support.
We can eliminate some of the other key teams from our enquiries at this stage. Brazil are very much still in the rebuilding phase, and without Neymar they look a shadow of their former selves. Uruguay will be without Luis Suarez – certainly for their early matches – and that is a hammer blow. Colombia appear on the verge of something special, but given that their midfield lynchpin plays for Aston Villa you get the idea of where they’re at. The USA may surprise some on home soil, but they can’t be pegged as genuine contenders.
By process of elimination then we’re left with Mexico, and at 10/1 (BetVictor) they deserve a second look. They’ve got goals (Javier Hernandez), midfield dynamism (Andres Guardado, Hector Herrera etc) and a reliable shot-stopper (Claudio Bravo) to fall back on, and while their record in major tournaments isn’t great this is a young side who claimed the Olympics crown in 2012, so perhaps they are maturing at just the right time.
Top Goalscorer Betting Tips
We’re not lacking in options here, and historically it only takes four (2015) or five (2011) goals to win in this market. But thinking logically about it we need to back a player who will go deep into the tournament, and given that we have backed Argentina to win then Sergio Aguero (8/1, 888sport) or Gonzalo Higuain (10/1, SkyBet) can both be backed with confidence.
Elsewhere, Javier Hernandez looks huge value at 20/1 (Paddy Power), while the Golden Boot winner at the last two Copa Americas has been Peru’s Paolo Guerrero (66/1, BetVictor), so surely he’s worthy of a small punt?
