Copa America 2024: Best Bets & Parlay | July 1

Group C has gone as expected at the top and bottom, with Uruguay dominating and Bolivia flailing, but an early red card stopped us from really seeing what USA and Panama are made of. Either way, USA needs to get a result against Uruguay on Matchday 3 to squeak in, and Panama needs to defeat Bolivia to beat the Americans to the second Group C spot.

Uruguay Double Chance (-196) | Betway

These nations have only met seven times in history, with one competitive match at the 1993 Copa America, which is Uruguay’s only win in this fixture. The rest were all friendlies, two won by the USA and four draws.

History notwithstanding, Uruguay has also looked unstoppable so far in this tournament, dominating a Panama team that looked like a lot for the USA to handle even before the red card. Uruguay has also lost just thrice since the start of the 2022 World Cup.

That run includes their last four matches, all wins or draws over teams that qualified for this Copa during which they’ve given up a combined one goal. It’s also worth noting that Uruguay has won or drawn 14 straight matches against CONCACAF nations, dating all the way back to the 2016 Copa, when a red card expedited a loss to Mexico.

America had a real chance to get through if they’d beaten Panama, but Uruguay just seems in a different class, so we’re thankful that we’re getting the USMNT tax and sports betting sites are giving us Uruguay’s double chance at surprisingly reasonable -196 odds. The USA will have to hope for a Bolivian miracle.

Darwin Nunez Anytime Scorer (+195) | Betway

It’s not just Betway, there are tons of Ontario sportsbooks, and surely outfits elsewhere, that have similar odds for Darwin Nunez to score anytime against America, which just seems like it has to be an oversight.

This is a man that just had his best season ever as a pro, and is on an insane goalscoring run for his nation. The Liverpool striker has now scored in seven straight international matches, notching 10 total goals during that time frame, including one apiece in each game of this tourney.

Against Bolivia, he scored, but even still had three big chances missed and racked up 0.76 xG. The game before, against Panama, he was even better, putting three shots on target, piling up 0.87 xG, scoring, and still missing two big chances.

The USA has also allowed a goal in six of their last eight matches, so this isn’t exactly an elite defense, so +195 odds are like a gift from the betting gods.

Panama to Win (-159) | Betway

There’s not really much to say here. Bolivia has seemed simply outmatched so far in this tournament, and it won’t get any easier against Panama, who will be desperate for all three points, as their inferior goal difference means if both they and the USA draw, the Stars and Stripes are going through.

Bolivia won’t be sitting back either, as they have the slimmest of hopes of getting in if they can beat Panama and Uruguay beats the Americans by four or five goals. We expect this to be an open game that likely ends in a multi-goal win for Panama. To boot, Panama has also beaten Bolivia four times in a row.