Copa America Preview: Brazil v Paraguay

Brazil will face Paraguay in the last quarter-final of the Copa América in a game where both teams aim to qualify for the semi-final.

The Copa América is about to reach to the climax of the competition and as every big event, this one is just becoming more and more exciting. Every step the teams make towards the final, the competition becomes more and more important and emotional. Brazil and Paraguay both aim to become member of the top 4.

Brazil are main candidates for the title

Brazil has always been a great favourite in all the recent editions of the Copa América as they are one of the biggest footballing nation in the world, according to Brazilian gambling news. They are the most successful side in the history of the FIFA World Cup, however they are only the third best team at Copa América, as both Uruguay and Argentina won the tournament more times than the Selecao.

• Brazil won their group
• Paraguay are still undefeated
• The Selecao are favourites

They started the competition as not only the clear favourites for their group, but also as one of the main candidates for the title victory. Their first match was against Peru, who were regarded as underdogs, yet they took the lead already in the second minute. However, Neymar equalized only two minutes later, and assisted Douglas Costa in the last second of the game, winning the match by 2–1.

In the second round they played against their greatest rival in the group, Colombia, who lost their first match against Venezuela. Brazil, however, failed to prove that they were in better form as they suffered through the entire game, and in addition, Neymar was banned for the entire competition after the end of the game. Brazil not only lost the game, but their best player as well.

In the last game of the group stage, Brazil faced Venezuela, and took the lead by Thiago Silva’s early goal in the ninth minute. Roberto Firmino doubled Brazil’s advantage at the beginning of the second half and basically decided the match. Miku scored in the 85th minute so the match ended with Brazil’s 2–1 success, which meant they won their group.

Paraguay are not favourites, yet they perform well

Online gambling sites in Paraguay reported that their team has never been among the top favourites, yet they are always full of surprises. Paraguay is not among the most successful sides of the Copa América, yet they reached the final 8 teams, although they only managed to claim the trophy twice.

Paraguay were huge underdogs against Argentina, as the Albiceleste is full of world class football players while Paraguay’s biggest star is probably the 33-year-old Roque Santa Cruz. Also, Argentina led by two goals thanks to Agüero and Messi in the first half, yet Nelson Valdez decorated the result to 2–1 in the 59th minute, while Barrios equalized in the 89th minute, saving a point for his side.

After the incredible result, Paraguay was about to face an easier clash in the group stage. Their next opponent was going to be Jamaica, supposedly the weakest side of the entire competition. La Albirroja managed to defeat the Central-American side as Benítez scored the only goal in the match.

In the last round, they were going to face the most successful side of the Copa América, Uruguay. Giménez took the lead in the 28th minute, but Barrios equalized at the end of the first half. No more goals were scored during the game, which meant that Paraguay qualified in second position from Group B, causing a major surprise for online sportsbooks and internet casinos.

Paraguay are tough yet Brazil are favourites

Paraguay have qualified to the quarter-final from Group B, an incredibly strong group, participating with two of the most successful sides in the entire history of the Copa América. Yet they went on without even losing a single game, and they showed incredible skills, concentration, discipline and determination.

Even though the fact that they were regarded as underdogs against both Argentina and Uruguay, both of the big teams failed to win against the smaller side. Moreover, Argentina even took a 2-goal lead against them and Paraguay managed to come back from the hell and save a point.

Brazil will have the chance to prove themselves to be a better team than both Argentina and Uruguay upon defeating the second placed team of Group B in the quarter-final. However, it definitely won’t be an easy task for Dunga’s men, especially without their best attacker, Neymar.

Mobile betting sites, however, still belive Brazil are a far superior team and will win the match in 90 minutes. Bet365 has set the odds for the Selecao’s success at 1.7 (7/10) while that of Paraguay are 6.25 (21/4). This means that Brazil are clear favourites, yet the match will probably be harder than what the odds say.