Three weeks ago, Copa America Centenario kicked off with the United States facing off with Colombia. The tournament started as a big disappointment for the Yanks, and the fear is there that they'll end with that same disappointment in the third place match in Glendale. There's a real question as to whether Colombia will be motivated for this fixture though, and opportunity could be striking for the Americans to at least end the tournament it was asked to host on a high.
cSoccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
United States +180
Colombia +150
Draw +230
Over/Under 3 (under -115)
ODDS ANALYSIS
These third place matches tend to be higher scoring affairs, and that's definitely reflected in the total of 3 with -115 vig on the under.
These two teams weren't separated by much in the first match for betting purposes, and there isn't a lot in this one either. The Colombians are the betting favorites at +150 on the moneyline, but the United States isn't far behind at +180.
TOURNAMENT UPDATE
The Americans really looked to be trending in the right direction before losing out to Argentina in an awful 4-0 semifinal on Tuesday night. Now all of a sudden, wins over middling teams like Costa Rica, Paraguay and Ecuador don't seem so impressive.
Jurgen Klinsmann, who was definitively on a very toasty seat at the start of this tournament, is all of a sudden rumored to be frustrated with his post as the head of the USMNT, and he's considering taking a job in the Premier League which just opened up with Southampton. Is this match the swan song for Klinsmann? Or is it perhaps make or break for him?
Colombia has trended in the wrong direction ever since that win against the Americans. It was good against Paraguay in the second match, but it was beaten by Costa Rica with half of a side on the pitch and was pushed to penalties in a scoreless draw by Peru.
Los Cafeteros were blitzed in the opening 15 minutes against Chile falling behind 2-0 in the odd match on Wednesday which included a two-hour weather delay at halftime. Though they looked better in the match, they never did truly recover and never found the back of the net.
LIVE BETTING
The real question here is about motivation, and it should all rest with the Americans. They're hosting this tournament and are coming off of an embarrassing defeat to Argentina, and they should love nothing more than to come out and beat the Colombians to avenge their first loss of Copa America.
Theoretically, Colombia really shouldn't care much. Third place doesn't do anything for a nation ranked No. 3 in the world according to FIFA, especially with valuable World Cup qualifiers coming up in the near future.
However, theory and actuality don't necessarily line up together. Remember that two years ago, Brazil, fresh off of a 7-1 thumping at the hands of Germany, was beaten at home by the Netherlands in the third place match of the World Cup after Louis van Gaal came out and said that third place matches were dumb and shouldn't be played.
QUICK PICK
Lineup selection is going to be crucial here for both of these teams. We can't imagine that Colombia is going to risk the nicked up Carlos Bacca in a third place match, and we also don't know if the clearly visibly frustrated James Rodriguez is going to be on the pitch either after his tirade at the end of the long semifinal against Chile.
The bigger question is what will happen with the Americans. Will we see Christian Pulisic and Darlington Nagbe in the fold for the Stars and Stripes, or will Klinsmann see out this tournament with a de facto senior squad in its entirety, one which already proved it couldn't play with Colombia for our money?
If the young lineup is the one on the field for the U.S., we think it can get the job done here and win this match. We'll forecast that for now and the American win which we think would come with it, but know if both teams go with similar lineups to the ones which met up in the opener three weeks ago, Colombia should take care of business again.
Copa America Odds: United States 3, Colombia 2
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The matchup between the United States and Colombia will kick off on Saturday, June 25, 2016 at 8:00 p.m. ET. This fixture from University of Phoenix Stadium can be seen live on FX.
