Uruguay vs Colombia Prediction and Betting Tips: Three selections for Copa America semi-final

A chance to make history is on the line for Uruguay and Colombia when they meet in the 2024 Copa America semi-final at Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte on Thursday morning.

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Each of these nations have appeared in only one Copa America Final this century, with Colombia claiming their solitary South American title in 2001 and the last of Uruguay’s record-setting 15 continental crowns arriving 10 years later.

Both teams are riding high at the moment, with Uruguay having won 10 and lost only two of their 16 matches under Marcelo Bielsa, while Colombia are on a 27-game unbeaten run that stretches back to February 2022.

Uruguay topped Group C with a 100 per cent record after victories over Panama, Bolivia and the United States.

La Celeste then eliminated Brazil in the quarter-finals on penalties, having held out from the 74th minute until the final whistle with 10 men after Nahitan Nandez was sent off. 

Colombia finished above Brazil after the two nations drew 1-1 in their final Group D encounter.

And in their subsequent quarter-final, Nestor Lorenzo’s side thrashed Panama 5-0 in a James Rodriguez masterclass.

La Tricolor have won 14 of the countries’ 45 previous meetings, with Uruguay prevailing on 20 occasions and 11 draws, including each of the last three match-ups.

Like Uruguay, Colombia have been solid in defence but they appear to have more creativity in attack, and that could be crucial in what is expected to be a tight contest in Charlotte.

Uruguay have been a settled side throughout the tournament, but will now be forced to make two changes to their back four, with right-back Nandez suspended and central defender Ronald Araujo reportedly facing a lay-off of several months.

Rodriguez, who operates behind the lone striker in Colombia’s system and regularly finds pockets of space between opponents’ defensive lines, can exploit the disruption to Uruguay’s defence.

He scored and set up two other goals in the first half of their 5-0 quarter-final win over Panama and it will be interesting to see if Bielsa decides to assign a man-marker to him.

Colombia are also dangerous out wide with Daniel Munoz raiding from deep on the right and Luis Diaz tormenting full-backs on the left.

Nandez’s likely replacement, Guillermo Varela, is solid enough in defence but lacks the attacking thrust that the former Cagliari man has given Uruguay in this tournament.

Wide areas have been the keys to victory for both coaches in this tournament and Colombia appear to have stronger options available to them for this contest.

That is why backing Colombia to come through this tie looks like a sensible play given the available team news.

Uruguay’s emphasis on crossing the ball into their opponents’ penalty area has seen them rack up plenty of corners at the Copa America.

La Celeste’s tally of 22 corners is six more than Colombia have managed at the tournament and, just as crucially when it comes to corner betting, Uruguay have conceded fewer than La Tricolor.

Uruguay will no doubt look to continue their successful tactic of crosses and cut-backs in this contest with Bielsa’s side worthy of favouritism in the Corner Match Bet market.

Bielsa this week bemoaned the direction he feels top-level football is heading in an era of rampant commercialisation, suggesting it is already becoming “less enjoyable”.

The tournament’s average of 2.21 goals per match is the lowest since 2011 and three of the four quarter-finals failed to produce more than two strikes.

El Loco played a part in shutting up shop against Brazil when his side went down to 10 men, although he had tried to change things with attacking substitutions a few minutes before Nandez received the red card.

This game looks like being another low-scoring affair with Colombia having been very solid in defence for some time and Bielsa describing his side as “inherently good at defending” after they kept clean sheets in recent clashes with Mexico, USA and Brazil.

Two of the last three meetings of these nations have finished 0-0, so it may be worth risking a bet on under 1.5 goals being scored.