Copa America 2024 Odds & Picks: Friday (6/28)
The four teams in Group D will take the pitch for their second matches of Copa America. Brazil will look to forget about a 0-0 draw against Costa Rica, as they are heavily favored once again over Paraguay. Meanwhile, Colombia have an excellent chance of recording the biggest win of the tournament as they take on an offensively deficient Costa Rica.
Here are the best bets for Friday, June 28th’s Copa America matches.
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Copa America 2024 Picks: Friday
Copa America 2024 odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
Colombia vs. Costa Rica
Costa Rica may have forced a 0-0 draw with Brazil in the first game of Copa America, but that doesn’t mean they’re a team to watch for in this group. They attempted just two shots, zero of which were on target, allowing Brazil to possess the ball for 73.5% of the game. Brazil finished with 19 shots, three of which were on target, and nine corner kicks. The problem for Brazil is that they weren’t able to capitalize on opportunities.
Colombia will have no such issues tonight. If they dominate the game in all the ways that Brazil did, the Colombians are going to cruise to a convincing victory. But Colombia winning is priced at -370. To make that play worthwhile, you have to parlay it. Thanks to the Costa Rican’s inability to score, we’ll parlay it with “Both Teams to Score: No.â€
Colombia to Win + Both Teams to Score: No (-120)
As we’ve already stated, this is Colombia’s game to lose. We expect them to take care of Costa Rica in dominant fashion. Dating back to last year’s World Cup qualifiers, Colombia have won nine consecutive matches. In four of those matches, they’ve scored at least three goals, and they’ve scored multiple goals in each of their last four.
This is a team that defeated the United States 5-1 on June 8th. That win was sandwiched between two three-goal performances against Romania and Bolivia. Costa Rica have very little ability to control the ball. Colombia will hold possession for a vast majority of the game, and unlike Brazil, they have the finishers needed to blow this game wide open early. This could be as low as +125, and we’d take it, so +162 is too good to pass up.
Colombia Over 2.5 Goals (+162)
Brazil vs. Paraguay
What are we supposed to make of Brazil after their performance against Costa Rica in the opener? They dominated the game, but they failed to score against one of the worst teams in this tournament. Paraguay fell 2-1 to Colombia, but Colombia always had them at arm’s length. With how both of these teams played in their openers, Brazil should dominate possession. But can they put the ball in the back of the net?
During World Cup qualifying, Brazil defeated Paraguay 4-0. However, that match was played on February 1, 2022. Brazil looks like a different side since then. Based on recent play, Brazil is only Brazil in name. If they were any other country, they wouldn’t be favored by as much as they are in this match. They should win, but it won’t be pretty.
Paraguay +1.5 (-124)
Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.