Copa America: Chile on the Cusp of Another Final

Chile vs Peru

Chile are closing in on a third consecutive trip to the Copa America final. The two-time defending champions had a tough quarter-final draw against Colombia, but they held their own and eventually went through on penalties.

Standing in their way are neighbours Peru, who are back in the semi-finals for the third time in four Copa Americas as they pulled off the upset of the quarter-final round by knocking out Uruguay in another penalty shootout.

After being the underdogs against Colombia according to the Copa America 2019 betting odds, Chile will be the ones favoured to beat Peru and reach the final. But the Peruvians have proven they are no pushovers in this tournament and will give the champions all they can handle.

Talking Points

Chile continue to find ways to win

The narrative surrounding Chile heading into this year’s tournament was that they were likely past their best. They had an ageing squad which failed to qualify for last year’s World Cup and could no longer play the intense pressing style which helped them win back-to-back Copa America titles.

However, manager Reinaldo Rueda has done a masterful job of adjusting and has crafted a system to best suit a team of veteran stars such as Alexis Sanchez, Arturo Vidal, Gary Medel, and Charles Aranguiz. They haven’t provided too many Copa America 2019 highlights, but they’ve gotten the job done.

Chile have defended deeper than in past years, which has seen them concede just one goal in open play thus far in the tournament. They kept Uruguay’s dynamic duo of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani in check for over 80 minutes, and they did the same against Colombia’s dangerous strikers, Falcao and Duvan Zapata.

Peru don’t possess an attack nearly as talented as those sides; 35-year-old Paolo Guerrero remains the team’s top forward. The Chile defence should have an easier job of keying in on him and preventing the Peruvians from posing much of a threat.

And on the other end, the partnership of Alexis Sanchez and Eduardo Vargas appears much more likely to produce a moment of class that might prove to be the difference in what could be another tight contest.

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2019 Copa America

Peru far from impressive

Peru should consider themselves quite fortunate to be back in the semi-finals. They were clearly second-best in their quarter-final matchup against Uruguay, who saw three goals ruled out due to offside.

But La Celeste had themselves to blame for a lack of precision in attack, while the Peruvians rode their luck all the way to penalties, where they came out on top.

It’s been a major struggle for Peru to produce goalscoring opportunities all tournament. They’ve scored in just one of their four games: a 3-1 win against Bolivia, who were the only team in the tournament not to pick up a single point.

And with veteran striker Jefferson Farfan ruled out for the rest of the Copa due to a knee injury, there’s even more pressure on captain Paolo Guerrero to lead the line and provide any sort of threat on goal.

Meanwhile, their defence has hardly been airtight in this tournament. Uruguay had their fair share of chances which they were just unable to take, while Brazil smashed five past the Peruvians in the final group game.

But it’s highly unlikely that Peru will risk exposing themselves against a Chile attack with the quality to take advantage of any opportunity. Instead, they will likely adopt a conservative approach similar to what they did against Uruguay and hope to take the game into extra-time and penalties.

Can Peru make their way to the Copa America Final when they play against Chile? — Pedro Gallese denied Luis Suarez penalty shot during the match between Peru and Uruguay

History

Chile hold the overwhelming edge over Peru in their all-time head-to-head. La Roja have won 45 of their 81 meetings, while Peru have won 22. The Chileans have been especially dominant over the last 13 years, where they’ve won 12 of the last 14 meetings.

Chile and Peru also met at the semi-final stage of the Copa back in 2015. Eduardo Vargas bagged a brace to lead Chile to a 2-1 win as they went on to win their first of two Copa America championships.

Betting Tip

	Chile vs Peru	Chile Asian Handicap -0.50 @ 1.93
	July 04, 08:30 (GMT+8)

Unsurprisingly, Chile are favoured to reach their third straight final. SBOBET odds have them priced at 1.91 on the 1X2 market, while Peru are 3.90. Meanwhile, the draw is intriguingly priced at 3.35.

However, Chile should be able to come out on top in 90 minutes. They have the superior quality, particularly in attack, and should be able to find a way past a Peru side which, despite reaching the semi-finals, hasn’t been particularly impressive.