It’s about time that the US of A gets injected with some soccer blood in its Red, White and Blue veins, and the 45th installment of the Copa America Centenario will do just that beginning this Friday. 16 of the sports’ best national clubs this side of the Western Hemisphere will clash in 10 different venues across the United States, and only one team will emerge victorious above all other hopefuls from the Americas.
Who do the soccer pundits predict will hoist the Centenario trophy at the end of this grand spectacle? Let’s find out below. Afterwards, head on over to our complete preview as well as our very own sleeper and long shot picks for this tournament to further aid you with your international soccer betting needs.
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Over at Sports Illustrated, half of their contributors went with tournament favorites Argentina, while the other half sided with dark horse and virtual “home” team Mexico.
It’s hard to believe that Argentina has not won the Copa for 23-straight years already, yet the team that La Albiceleste will trot out this year is about as formidable as they come. Superstar Lionel Messi has yet to win an international title for his country, and this might be the 28-year-old’s best and only shot at delivering the goods for the motherland.
Along with Messi comes standout strikers Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero, so the Argentinians are definitely stacked on the offensive. No wonder they’re the overwhelming +190 favorite to win the tournament.
Meanwhile, SI’s Brian Straus and Grant Wahl believe that fan support is going to be a huge factor in this event, giving Mexico (+1,000) a ton of credit in possibly pulling off a Leicester City-like run this year.
El Tri are entering the Copa with an eight-game win streak (all clean-sheet victories in their last five at that), and will have the benefit of having their three group-stage matches played in Santa Clara, Glendale and Houston – three US cities with large Hispanic Communities and are geographically close to the South of the Border itself.
With prolific scorer Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez (career-high 26 goals this past season with Bayer Leverkusen) leading the charge and the country’s rabid fan base in attendance, Mexico could very well shock the Americas and win its first-ever Copa America title.
Stars and Stripes FC
Expert
Prediction
Roderick MacNeil
Argentina
Tyler Lessard
Argentina
Adnan Ilyas
Chile
Matt Lichtenstadter
Argentina
Adam Whittaker Snavely
Argentina
Rob Usry
Argentina
No surprises here from Stars and Stripes FC – SB Nation’s dedicated page for stateside soccer coverage. Majority of the site’s five-man panel didn’t shy away from picking tourney favorite Argentina, but it’s also worth taking a closer look at Adnan Ilyas’ prediction of Chile successfully defending its Copa America title.
Basically, La Roja are still decked with talent from top to bottom; stellar midfield enforcer Arturo Vidal, cunning forward Alexis Sanchez and shutdown goalie Claudio Bravo will steadily anchor this club from their respective roles on the field.
However, Jorge Sampaoli is no longer the team’s manager, which leaves his successor in Juan Antonio Pizzi with a tall order at becoming back-to-back Copa champions. Still, the oddsmakers appear to have faith that Chile can ultimately pull off such a feat as they are generously priced at +750 in doing so.
Total Sportek
Expert
Prediction
Total Sportek
Argentina
Yes, even Total Sportek chose Messi and Argentina over everybody else. But the site also mentioned that the Argentinians will square off against another true South-American contender, Brazil, in the final stage of the tournament.
With sensational striker Neymar not taking part in the event and Douglas Costa still out due to injury, the team is definitely weaker on the attack. Then again, everybody knows that the Brazilians shine the brightest under the international spotlight. Plus, we should never count out Philippe Coutinho and Chelsea’s Willian (six goals in international play) to find the back of the net just as often as Neymar could have.
With that in mind, banking on Selecao at +450 to win their first Copa America title since 2007 remains one tasty proposition indeed.
