Copa America 2024: Uruguay vs. Colombia – Odds, Prediction & Best Bets

The penultimate match of the 2024 Copa America will take place between arguably the two most impressive sides in the tournament thus far. Uruguay and Colombia will face off for the right to punch their ticket to the Final, and the contest will take place on Wednesday, July 10 at Bank of America Stadium, home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, in Charlotte, North Carolina at 8:00PM E.T.

Uruguay have been the most solid and disciplined side so far at this tournament, and have been underestimated by oddsmakers throughout. Colombia has been an offensive juggernaut, scoring in every match so far, and doing so multiple times in three of their four tilts.

Odds provided by Sports Interaction

Uruguay

Uruguay has been very impressive so far in this tournament, but they definitely hit the skids against Brazil in their 0-0 draw, which the Uruguayans won on penalties. Their star man, Darwin Nunez, is now scoreless in two straight after missing a big chance against the Brazilians. If momentum is real, it’s certainly not with the Uruguayans at the moment.

Team news: Nahitan Nandez will miss the match after picking up a red card in the quarter-final. Ronald Araujo will also be unavailable due to a leg injury.

Predicted Lineup: Keeper: Sergio Rochet; Defenders: Guillermo Varela, Jose Maria Gimenez, Mathias Olivera, Matias Vina; Midfielders: Manuel Ugarte, Federico Valverde, Facundo Pellistri, Maximiliano Araujo; Forwards: Nicolas de la Cruz, Darwin Nunez

Colombia

Colombia may have been the forgotten sister at this tournament, with all eyes on Brazil and Argentina as usual, and Uruguay’s pristine group stage performance also turning heads. However, after their 5-0 win over Panama in the quarter-final, Colombia are positively flying.

Team news: Jefferson Lerma will return to the lineup after serving a suspension in the quarter-final..

Predicted Lineup: Keeper: Camilo Vargas; Defenders: Driver Machado, Carlos Cuesta, Davinson Sanchez, Daniel Munoz; Midfielders: Jhon Arias, Jefferson Lerma, Richard Rios; Forwards: Luis Diaz, Jhon Cordoba, James Rodriguez

• H2H: These nations have met twice, and both meetings were won to nil by Argentina.
• Uruguay trend – Uruguay has not won against Colombia in their last 3 fixtures.
• Colombia trend – Colombia is unbeaten in their last 27 straight matches.
• James Rodriguez Player trend – James Rodriguez has recorded 6 goal involvements at the Copa.

After group play, Uruguay genuinely seemed like the team to beat, but after their ugly draw and subsequent penalty shootout win over Brazil in the quarter-finals, they don’t seem so intimidating a foe. Sure, Brazil are always a tough customer, but they didn’t have their best player, Vinicius Junior, who missed the match to suspension.

The way Uruguay played against Brazil was quite different to Colombia, the latter of whom dominated the chances, as they put up 1.45 xG to go with three big chances and five shots on target. Not to mention they actually scored a goal against A Selecao. Uruguay, meanwhile, slugged their way to 90 minutes, picking up a red card late on and managing just 0.89 xG, one big chance, and one shot on target.

This is all before discussing the fact that Uruguay will be without two of its stalwarts defenders, Ronald Araujo (injury) and Nahitan Nandez (suspension), which is far from ideal when going against a side that has put up 11 goals in four matches, including a relentless 5-0 win in the quarter-finals.

While Darwin Nunez has been lethal in recent matches, he seems to have hit one of his skids here, and Colombia has more attacking depth anyhow, with Luis Diaz, Jhon Cordoba, and James Rodriguez all making their presence felt at this tournament. You can’t mess with full-time odds in the knockouts—even if you feel confident—so take Colombia to qualify for the Final at flat -110 odds.

James Rodriguez to Score or Assist (+162) | Sports Interaction

If anyone remembers the 2014 World Cup, you know that James Rodriguez can go supernova at a moment’s notice. He doesn’t do it often, but when he does do it, it’s unmistakable. Thankfully for us, it seems we’ve identified his hot streak before sports betting sites and Ontario sportsbooks have clued in based on the odds they’re offering for a James goal involvement.

In that 2014 run he had eight goal involvements in just five games. In this 2024 Copa, he’s putting up similar numbers, with six in four. What’s fascinating is that James has had 14 goal involvements in the nine matches at those two tournaments, when he was simply in the zone, but in his other 81 caps for Colombia, he’s got just 39. 

When he’s hot, he’s hot, and +162 soccer betting odds on this prop are too enticing to pass up, especially with Uruguay’s defensive absences.