It's not all that shocking that both Bolivia and Chile are in big holes after just 90 minutes of play in Copa America. Both were relatively big underdogs in their opening matches, and neither one really put up all that much of a fight. Now, the only shot either one has of advancing in this tournament comes down to Friday night in Boston, and only a win for either team will likely be good enough to realistically keep either side in the hunt in Group D.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Chile -600
Bolivia +1600
Draw +550
Over/Under 2.5 (over -130)
ODDS ANALYSIS
The fact that Chile absolutely has to win this match is what has dictated this spread being so darn high. The Chileans are favored by a whopping -600 margin on the moneyline, translating to laying a full two goals on the Asian Handicap.
Bolivia, largely considered to be the weakest of the South American sides in this tournament outside of maybe Venezuela, is a 16 to 1 longshot to get the three points on Friday night, and anything aside from a convincing victory for the favorites would be a stunning turn of events.
In a tournament which featured so many under matches in the opening days, a total of 2.5 and -130 vig on the over truly is just a necessity of the dominance Chile could show in this one.
TOURNAMENT UPDATE
Chile held its own for 45 minutes against Argentina, but eventually, the pressure just told and wouldn't relent from there. It felt like the mass majority of the counterattacks which the Chileans managed in that match ended in offside situations, and that really killed any potential ebb and flow of the game from there. Alexis Sanchez was really the only offensive threat in the match, and he wasn't good enough to counter what the talented Argentines were bringing to the table.
The good news for Bolivia is that it did score a goal against Panama, and that's more than many expected out of it for this tournament. In fact, the Bolivians darn near stole a point from the match when Juan Arce leveled in the 54th minute from inside of the area. The last half hour was rather touch and go for both sides, but Bolivia always looked like the team which would concede the winner if there was one to be found, and it told with some sloppy defense leading to an open net three minutes from time.
LIVE BETTING
It'll be interesting to see if the Bolivians can mount any offense whatsoever in this match. The team held its own when Rodrigo Ramallo was substituted into the match at halftime, and that's what really setup the opportunity for Arce to find the back of the net.
This Bolivian team isn't known for its scoring prowess, as Arce is the only man with more than two goals for his country in his career on this roster, and the team has scored just one goal in its last three matches overall.
The Chilean defense wasn't particularly good against Argentina, but it's going to be a lot easier going against this defense than it was having to fight with Javier Mascherano, Gonzalo Higuain, Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Gaitan.
QUICK PICK
The common logic here is that Chile will come out and snare the three points it needs to get back in Group D contention setting up a likely winner-take-all match against Panama next week. However, we're not all that sure this is going to be so cut and dry.
This Bolivian team was crippled 5-0 by Chile last year in Copa America, but this is a far different situation with the match being played in Boston instead of in Santiago. We're not suggesting that these two teams are on level terms by any stretch of the imagination, but we'd surely play the under, knowing that goals are going to be really hard to come by on both sides.
All too often, teams like Chile who should be excelling in matches like this end up falling flat when they're tested against lousy teams after losing to really good ones, and we think this could end up being a grittier game than most would figure.
Copa America Odds: Chile 1, Bolivia 0
Need to fund your account before the big game but don’t have your computer? No problem! BookMaker Sportsbook now offers a mobile betting cashier so you can deposit money directly from your smartphone. Don’t miss out on getting paid because you couldn’t bet. Click here and deposit at BookMaker now! The fixture between Chile and Bolivia is scheduled for Friday, June 10, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium. The match will be televised live on FOX.
