Copa America: Chile will be Far Too Hot for Bolivia

Chile vs Bolivia

Chile aim to make a move on the 2021 Copa America Group A when they face Bolivia in their second match on Friday night; it’s a game La Roja should win; and we think they’ll do it in style.

They come into the game on the back of a 1-1 draw with Argentina and that made it three 1-1s on the bounce for Martin Lasarte’s team. But a game against Bolivia, bottom of the group after Round One and hampered by illness and suspensions, is an ideal opportunity for Chile to get their first competition victory in the bag.

Talking Points

Sanchez out for Chile

Lasarte doesn’t have it all his own way though, as Inter Milan star Alexis Sanchez is out of the group stages having suffered a muscle injury in training last week, so the head coach may give a fifth cap to 20 year old striker Carlos Palacios. As part of Inter Milan’s Scudetto winning side Sanchez is a key player with a wealth of experience, and with 46 international goals he’s a hard act to follow.

But La Roja coped okay in their opening match against one of the tournament favourites, Argentina. Lionel Messi opened the scoring in Rio with a spectacular free-kick which keeper Claudio Bravo got a hand to but couldn’t keep out. Chile came back early in the second half and soon had a penalty chance. Arturo Vidal’s spot kick was saved but Eduardo Vargas headed the rebound home to grab an impressive point. In the absence of Sanchez, Vidal has the most experience. The Inter midfielder has earned 120 caps over 14 years, weighing in with 32 goals and three of the last seven goals in Chile’s World Cup qualifiers.

Vidal is the perfect midfielder, tough in the tackle, comfortable on the ball and dangerous in attack, and if he plays to his best, Chile will be a force to be reckoned with.

The Copa America 2021 betting odds have La Roja in a group of three teams, alongside Colombia and Uruguay, who can threaten the dominance of Brazil and Argentina; but if they are to do just that, then a match against Bolivia is a must win.

Cuellar out for Bolivia

While Chile are missing their main striker, Bolivia also have problems with their forward men. Jaume Cuellar is sidelined after receiving a sending off in Bolivia’s 3-1 defeat to Paraguay. At 19 years of age, he’s at the opposite end of his career to Sanchez, but Cuellar will hope this red card doesn’t stall his progress. It was a bad moment for La Verde who had gone ahead through Erwin Saavedra, but when faced with just ten men Paraguay roared back and scored three second half goals through Alejandro Romero and a brace from Angel Romero.

Can Bolivia sway the Copa America odds against match favourites Chile? — Bolivia’s Jairo Quinteros looks dejected after their match against Paraguay

La Verde will find it hard to climb away from the foot of Group A and their task has been made even harder by a COVID crisis which hit the squad in the days before the Copa America kicked off. Three players are isolating, among them captain and top scorer Marcelo Moreno. The rest of the squad will be aiming to stay in the competition for long enough for Moreno to play some part. In the meantime, 23 year old attacking midfielder Henry Vaca could make his mark, if Vidal allows!

Bolivia’s Copa America 2021 results will have to improve quickly if they are to avoid a winless tournament, but these are early days and a positive result against Chile would make things look very different.

History

Not so long ago Chile were the Kings of the Copa America, winning back to back titles in 2015 and 2016, beating favourites Argentina on both occasions. They slipped a little in the following years and picked up a fourth placed finish in 2019.

La Verde won the tournament back in 1963 and reached the final in 1997, but those successes were isolated among a regular flow of early exits.

The two teams have met twice recently, the first game ending in a 2-1 win for Chile and the second, a World Cup qualifier, was a draw after Moreno scored a late penalty to equalise Erick Pulgar’s second half strike.

Betting tip

	Chile vs Bolivia	Chile Asian Handicap -1.75 @ 1.89
	June 19, 05:00 (GMT+8)

Chile are red hot favourites at SBOTOP odds of 1.19 to win this game, with the draw at 6.19 and Bolivia out at 10.60. The underdogs have only managed a single win since the start of 2020, a 3-1 triumph over Venezuela, and it’s difficult to see another Verde victory on Friday.

A 2-0 win for Chile is as low as 4.74, but for an alternative bet I’d lean towards 3-0 to La Roja at 6.18.