2024 Copa America QF Picks: Brazil vs. Uruguay

The 2024 Copa America Group Stage is over, setting the stage for an eight-team race to the cup in the coveted Knockout round.

Lionel Messi’s Argentina remains the favorite to win the tournament for the second time running, while several other contenders are lining up for a shot to steal the hardware. Here are our best Copa America Knockout picks, odds and bets:

The field of 16 teams is down to eight. Every team has an equal chance to win the 2024 Copa America but must first navigate a single-elimination bracket featuring a few of the best teams in the world.

Argentina’s +110 odds make them the clear-cut favorites to come out on top, followed by Brazil (+300), Uruguay (+500) and Colombia (+600). Below are our 2024 Copa America quarterfinal best bets:

The Argentinians are up to their not-so-old tricks, using their experience winning the 2021 Copa America and 2022 World Cup to power them to a 3-0 finish in the Group Stage. They have quality and chemistry all over the pitch with the ace in the hole of Messi in attack.

On the other side are the Ecuadorians, who handled themselves well in the Group Stage. They took down Jamaica and drew with Mexico to surprisingly eliminate the latter despite an early loss to Venezuela. They’ve been solid in defense and quick on the counter-attack, recording lots of shot attempts despite losing the possession battle in all three matches.

The Ecuadorian style can frustrate opponents, particularly if they find success bombing down the flanks. Midfielders Kendy Paez and Moises Caicedo have stood out thus far, but they don’t have the overall quality, particularly off the bench, that Argentina does.

That game kicks off at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Venezuela is the surprise of the tournament thus far, having won all three of its matches with an overall +5 goal differential. They took down Mexico and Ecuador despite failing to register a win in their finals five matches before Copa America.

Canada only needed four points to advance out of its group thanks to a win over Peru and a draw with Chile. They fell to Argentina (no shame in that) and have looked ponderous in attack while also seeming to lack dominance in the midfield, which puts them at serious risk of a loss in the quarter or semifinal.

The Venezuelan team tends to rely on solid defense, having conceded just times in its last 14 outings during and before the Copa America. Canada’s lack of potency in the attacking third is a serious concern, even if they have a quality player in Jonathan David (19 goals, four assists in 30 starts for LOSC Lille).

Colombia scored six times and at least once in every match during the Group Stage, finishing with seven points and unexpectedly topping Brazil, Costa Rica and Paraguay in Group D. They outplayed Brazil in their most recent outing and are committed to attacking play with an aggressive 4-3-3 headlined by Liverpool’s Luis Diaz.

On the other side, Paraguay both scored and conceded at least once in all of its Copa America matches. They picked up six points during the Group Stage with wins against Bolivia and the USA and still snuck a goal past Uruguay despite being outmatched on paper. Don’t be fooled by their defensive 5-4-1, they will commit bodies forward when they can.

The two teams combined went over this line in four of six matches during the Group Stage, including all three for Panama. Both teams take their chances in attack and lack pristine defenses, which sets the stage for goals, goals and more goals in this quarterfinal showdown.

Uruguay was arguably the best team in the group stage, winning all of its matches by a combined score of 9-1. Numerous players in their lineup are in great form including Darwin Nunez, who scored at least once in seven of his last eight international matches, and they have a tremendous all-around assembly of talent.

Brazilian legends Ronaldo and Ronaldinho both said this Brazil team is one of the least inspiring squads they had in recent years. They only won one match during the Group Stage and drew four of their last six matches dating back to pre-tournament friendlies. They’ll also be down Vinicius Junior, who picked up his second yellow card of the tournament in the draw with Colombia.

Uruguay only lost one of its last 10 international matches and has been excellent in the 2024 Copa America. Brazil is nowhere near as sharp as expected and should struggle without its best player on the pitch.

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