Prediction: Uruguay vs Bolivia

Verdict: Uruguay scores over 2.75 goals

Best odds: 47/50

Bookmaker: ZetBet

Looking for more glory at the Copa America, Uruguay can book their tickets for the knockout phase with a win against Bolivia. The match will be played at MetLife Stadium representing Bolivia’s last hopes of progressing further in the competition.

Uruguay

Being the joint most successful team in Copa America’s history alongside World Champions Argentina with 15 trophies, Uruguay are looking for further glory in the most prestigious Southern Emishpere national tournament. Appointing legendary manager Marcelo Bielsa as head coach, had an instant impact on Uuruguays international results, since taking over the job in May 2023.

Although the retirement of legends Edinson Cavani and Diego Godin from the national team was expected to weaken the team, Marcelo Bielsa has a lot of talent at disposition to win trophies. The former Leeds United manager has implemented his high-paced attacking football that yielded e excellent results the World Cup qualifying games.

Defeating Brazil and Argentina in the battle to reach the 2026 World Cup was the most impressive result for Uruguay under the lead of the Argentinian boss. Claiming these two famous scalps, Uruguay emerged as a top contender to win Copa America.

However, despite flying in the World Cup qualifiers, La Celeste suffered a drop in the friendly games before starting Copa America. Although Uruguay failed to win any game against Basque Country, Ivory Coast and Puerto Rico, a 2-0 final test won against Mexico was the perfect result before travelling to the USA for the Copa America tournament.

More so, winning against Panama (3-1) in their opening game shows that Marcelo Bielsa has his sight on the big trophy and is eager to break a new record by winning the Copa America and positioning Uruguay as the sole trophy record holder. With an expected win against Bolivia, the Argentinian manager will have the luxury to rest some of his players in the last group match against the USA.

Team News

Darwin Nunez will look to increase his goals scored tally in the tournament to become the top goalscorer of Copa America 2024. Although the Liverpool striker faces fierce competition for this title, having top teammates alongside him can help to reach his goal.

Barcelona defender Maximilian Araujo had a great impact against Panama by leading the defence and scoring the opening goal. Real Madrid superstar, Federico Valverde will be again the midfield engine with his incredible capacity and stamina plus his quality passing and finishing.

Bolivia

While not considered a top team in the Southern Hemisphere, Bolivia won Copa America in 1963 when they hosted the tournament. With the likes of powerhouses Brazil and Argentina now dominating Continental and World football, the visitors repeating the 2015 performance of reaching the Copa America knock-out phase would be considered a major achievement.

However, the latest 2026 World Cup qualifier results and being seeded in a tricky group alongside Uurguay, the USA and Panama make it very unlikely for Bolivia to progress in the knockout phase. Furthermore, following a sloppy start with a 2-0 defeat against the USA, the visitors have minimal chances to be in the tournament following the Uruguay match.

More so, winning a pair of games from their last 12 (including friendlies) left Bolivia with low confidence before facing in-form Uruguay. Although the debut game against the USA was their biggest chance of progressing further, a 3rd-minute goal scored by Cristian Pulisic followed by a lethal strike from Florian Balogun, just before the break, shattered The Greens’ hopes.

Also, Bolivia has to improve their game to avoid a repeat of the 2026 World Cup qualifier game lost against Uruguay (3-0) that positioned the visitors second to last with three points from six games.

Team News

Antonio Carlos is expected to change the lineup from a 3-1-4-2 to a more defensive setup considering Uruguay’s firepower and explore counterattacking opportunities. Despite conceding two goals against the USA, the defensive line alongside the goalkeeper was Bolivia’s strongest line blocking other 18 chances to concede.

Key factors to consider

• Uruguay impressed under manager Marcelo Bielsa losing a single competitive game (2-1 against Ecuador)
• The hosts are favourites to win Copa America alongside Argentina and Brazil
• La Celeste can progress in the knockout phase by defeating Bolivia
• Bolivia lost 5 of their last 6 games played against Uruguay
• The visitors face an early exit from Copa America if they lose against La Celeste

Conclusion

While there aren’t many doubts about the winner, the only question remaining is how many goals Uruguay will score. Considering Marcelo Bielsa’s team firepower we expect 3 or more goals to be scored in Bolivia’s net.

Verdict: Uruguay scores over 2.75 goals 

Best odds: 47/50

Bookmaker: ZetBet