Colombia hosts Argentina in Copa America final

Colombia vs Argentina

Colombia will host Argentina in the 2024 Copa America final, which will arguably be the most exciting encounter of the World Cup qualifiers in South America. Lionel Messi lifted the trophy for Argentina that day, but an injury sustained on the pitch forced him off the pitch and he has been sidelined ever since.

Colombia are hungry for revenge, they won’t have to face Messi and will face Argentina in the scorching heat of Barranquilla. The match kicks off at 15:30 local time on Tuesday, when temperatures could reach 32°C and humidity 70%. Will the hosts be able to take advantage of the heat?

Both teams are in pretty unbeaten form, and in the Copa America final in Miami, there was no telling for 90 minutes, with Argentina prevailing after extra time. Argentina top the qualifying table, but Colombia remain the only unbeaten team this campaign. A win for either team on Tuesday would be a fantastic statement.

Ecuador vs Peru

In the last meeting, Peru took a crucial point against Colombia while Ecuador lost 1-0 in Brazil. We are still early in this qualifying campaign, so both teams certainly have a chance of reaching the World Cup, but Ecuador have a lot more quality in their ranks and should overcome their visitors in this next match.

Bottom-placed Peru are five points behind sixth-placed Ecuador. Ecuador, of course, started qualifying with a three-point ban. Peru may have drawn their last two games, but a win seems far from imminent due to a real lack of quality up front. Ecuador, on the other hand, have some of the best young attacking talent in South America, and a win for the hosts of ‘La Tri’ would help cement their place in the automatic qualifying places.

Chile vs Bolivia

This encounter offers a great opportunity for one of these two teams to qualify for the World Cup play-offs. Chile are currently ninth in the standings and Bolivia are eighth, but a win for either side could see them move up to seventh.

Chile have scored just one goal in seven qualifying games, a far cry from the previous decade, when they were on the verge of winning back-to-back Copa America titles. Bolivia beat Venezuela 4-0 at home on matchday seven, but they won’t have the advantage of altitude in this trip to Chile.

This match could well be marked as a ‘draw’, which would be a good result for the visitors but another depressing day for the hosts, who lost 3-0 in Argentina last week.

Venezuela vs Uruguay

Venezuela return to action after a crushing defeat in Bolivia but have been fantastic at home this season, winning two and drawing one. The Copa America quarter-finalists won all three of their group games in the United States this summer and are licking their chops at the prospect of hosting a Uruguay side without half their squad due to suspension.

Uruguay are clearly without some of their brightest stars: their last game was a 0-0 draw at home to Paraguay, having scored goals for fun in qualifying up until that point. 2013 was the last time Uruguay won in Venezuela, and rather worryingly for the spectator, the last two meetings in the country ended in goalless draws.

Paraguay vs Brazil

Brazil will cross the border to face neighbours Paraguay with mixed feelings. Despite beating Ecuador 1-0 at home last week, their own fans were not happy with the style of play on show. Paraguay, meanwhile, will be more positive after securing a crucial point in Montevideo. That follows a frustrating Copa America campaign last summer.

At the Copa America, Vinicus Junior was the star of Brazil’s 4-1 win over Paraguay in a one-sided group game. A red card didn’t help Paraguay, but it did allow Brazil to shine through their talent, something that has been missing from the five-time World Cup winners’ recent performances. A similar scoreline may be needed this time around, to appease many frustrated Brazilian fans.

Paraguay lack attack and have failed in their last two big tests of this season, against Argentina and Colombia, so Vinicius and Brazil are clear favourites to take three more points this time around.