Copa America: Colombia and Peru Battle For the Best of the Rest

Colombia vs Peru

Colombia and Peru are set to square off anew here in the 2021 Copa America, but this time with the third place up for grabs.

Both nations are fresh from tough losses in the semifinals and they are looking to conclude their campaign on a good note this weekend at Brasilia.

In the semis, Los Cafeteros and Los Incas both pushed their respective opponents to the limit before they were left out of gas in the end.

Reinaldo Rueda’s side took a loaded Argentina squad all the way to the penalty shootout, and it took some heroics from Emiliano Martinez for the latter to secure their epic finals date against Brazil.

On the other hand, Peru held the Samba Boys goalless in long periods. However, Lucas Paqueta came to save the day when he scored the only goal for the defending champions during the 35^th minute.

Without further ado, today, let’s take a look at these two countries here in our SBOTOP preview.

Talking Points

Andre Carrillo will give what Peru were missing

Andre Carrillo missed a game in Copa America after receiving a red card in their game vs Paraguay — Peru’s Andre Carrillo already scored two goals in Copa America 2021

The absence of Andre Carrillo have hurt Peru’s hopes of recreating their 2019 finals run since he is one of their most reliable attacking options with his pace and guile.

The 30-year-old winger is one of their top scorers with two goals, but he had to serve a one-game suspension due to the red card he received in the quarterfinals.

With his ban already over, Carrillo should come straight back into the starting lineup to rekindle his attacking partnership with Sergio Pena, Christian Cueva, and Gianluca Lapadula.

Los Incas implemented an ultra-defencive 5-4-1 formation in the last time out. But with Carrillo returning, they are expected to revert back to their 4-1-4-1 scheme.

Renato Tapia and Yoshimar Yotun have played well in the midfield and they should hold on to their starting spots to make the system work for this third-place battle.

Ricardo Gareca’s side has come a long way since their brutal opener against Brazil. And with the memory of defeating Colombia in the group stages still fresh, they should be able to give Los Cafeteros all they could handle.

Colombia searching for answers out front

Colombia’s attack has been as inconsistent as they come, and that’s the main reason why they weren’t able to progress to the finals.

Los Cafeteros have never scored more than once in this competition, which is quite disappointing considering the quality that they have in their lineup.

Duvan Zapata and Luis Muriel were supposed to light up the competition with multiple Copa America 2021 highlights, but the Atalanta duo was unable to find the back of the net so far.

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Instead, they have been reliant on Luis Diaz to bring in the goals and he was one of their bright spots during their semis loss against La Albiceleste.

His goal in the 61^st minute pushed the match into the penalties but Argentina came out winners in the end.

After five successive scores from both sides, Yerry Mina’s miss ultimately gave Argentina the victory, to which Lionel Messi couldn’t help himself.

Having missed out on what should’ve been their second Copa America championship, finishing the competition at third-place is the perfect consolation for Reinaldo Rueda’s side.

History

This weekend will mark the 22^nd time that Colombia and Peru meet in an international setting.

Colombia have the advantage in the overall head-to-heads with 11 victories, while Peru have only won thrice along with eight draws.

Both sides faced off in the group stage to where Los Incas came away with a pivotal 2-1 win.

Peru drew first blood when Sergio Pena scored at the 17^th minute, but it was cancelled out by Miguel Borja’s penalty kick during the 53^rd minute.

Ricardo Gareca’s men got a huge break 11 minutes later when Yerry Mina scored an own goal to decide the game.

Betting Tip

	Colombia vs Peru	Colombia Asian Handicap -0.25 @ 1.66
	July 10, 08:00 (GMT+8)

The Copa America 2021 odds may be backing Colombia to win in this contest. However, their perceived advantage over Peru isn’t that far off.

Los Cafeteros are installed at 1.92 to win, whereas Los Incas are priced at 3.70 and chances for a draw are at 3.45 in the 1×2 market.

While Peru may have had the better outing considering their modest expectations compared to Colombia, it is hard to deny that Reinaldo Rueda’s side is undoubtedly the stronger and deeper squad on paper.

Colombia are certainly coming out to avenge their earlier defeat in the group stages. And as long as they’ll execute well in their gameplan, they should be able to wrap up the tournament with a third-placed finish.