Copa America
2019-06-29 - Uruguay vs Peru
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: Copa America Quarter Final
Saturday 29th June 2019 - Kick Off 4pm (Local Time)
This game is live on TV
Uruguay
It took a late Edinson Cavani header to decide it, but Uruguay did enough to top Group C and thus be awarded with a match against one of the third placed finishers that have been able to make it through to the Quarter Final. If they hadn't scored the winning goal against Chile, Uruguay would have been facing an awkward looking Quarter Final against Colombia instead of Peru.
They came into the tournament as one of the favourites after reaching the World Cup Quarter Final last summer. There is a real balance to the Uruguay squad who couple a strong defence with two world class strikers, although the side have not been able to make the Copa America Semi Final in the last two editions having won the tournament in 2011. In 2016 Uruguay really disappointed by going out in the Group Stage.
Uruguay opened this tournament with a win over Ecuador, but the 2-2 draw with Japan meant needing to beat Chile to earn top spot in the section. They have now won 5 of their last 6 games which will give Uruguay some momentum, but the Copa America has some quality teams involved and it will be a tough task to go on and win the event.
Peru
Last year Peru made their way to the World Cup Finals for the first time in thirty-six years and there were signs that this was a nation on the up. Tactically there is room for improvement to prevent Peru from becoming a little one-dimensional, but they have made it through to the Copa America Quarter Finals for the ninth time in a row.
A hammering at the hands of Brazil in their final Group game means Peru have had to settle for one of the two best third place finishers spots to earn their Quarter Final berth. It also means they face a really difficult looking tie as they try and reach the Semi Final of the Copa America for the third time from the last four runnings of the tournament.
Peru had a couple of goals ruled out by the VAR technology being used at the Copa America in their opening goalless draw with Venezuela, but the win over Bolivia was enough to take them through to the Quarter Final. A 5-0 beating from hosts Brazil will have dented the confidence ahead of this tie, especially as Peru have now lost 5 of their last 9 games.
Head to Head
Uruguay and Peru both beat the other at home in the last set of World Cup Qualifiers.
Peru actually held a pretty strong record against Uruguay in Copa America action prior to their 0-2 defeat to them in the 2011 Semi Final. In that same tournament these nations drew 1-1 in the Group Stage and Peru had been unbeaten in 4 Copa America games against Uruguay, winning twice, before the Semi Final defeat.
Prediction
The final Quarter Final at the Copa America 2019 has a strong favourite in Uruguay when they take on Peru and I do think the layers have got this one right.
Uruguay have continued to play with plenty of balance and they remain strong defensively while having the probing strikers to take advantage of any mistakes teams make against them. They will likely find chances pretty easy to come by against Peru who have not defended very well and are coming off a heavy defeat to Brazil.
You have to respect the improvements Peru's national team have made over the last few years and they do seem to reserve their best football for the Copa America. In the last couple of runnings of the tournament they have been more successful than Uruguay too which has to be considered a factor, but right now Uruguay look about as strong as any nation in the tournament.
They did beat Peru on the way to winning the Copa America in 2011 and Uruguay also have more momentum with 5 wins from their last 6. Peru have done very well to get out their Group for the ninth Copa America in a row, but they have lost 5 of their last 9 and they tend to fall apart when things go wrong for them.
With that in mind I am going to back Uruguay to win this one and cover the Asian Handicap as they reach the Semi Final of the Copa America for the first time in eight years.
The Pick :
Uruguay 2-0 Peru
