Copa America: Argentina and Uruguay Renew Their Historic Rivalry

Argentina vs Uruguay

Uruguay start the 2021 Copa America campaign by taking on Argentina in what will be a new chapter to their age-old rivalry.

The Clasico del Rio de la Plata is the most played derby in football history. And while so many players have come and gone, the level of excitement from this feud has never changed.

This is a classic matchup in Group A and entering into the win column is the main objective of these two proud countries.

In the said group, Paraguay are on top thanks to their opening day triumph over Bolivia. Meanwhile, Argentina and Chile are placed second and third with one point each after their 1-1 draw two days ago.

Argentina and Uruguay are both approaching this tournament with a huge sense of urgency due to the fact that neither have won the Copa America in quite some time.

The race to the prestigious trophy is now underway. And here at SBOTOP, we take a look on how these countries will fare through our latest match preview.

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Talking Points

Argentina desperate for a win

For Lionel Messi to capture that elusive international trophy, Argentina need to be at their sparkling best in these next few games of the tournament.

La Albiceleste have been held back by three straight draws this year which is a bad sign considering the circumstances in those matches.

Particularly against Chile twice, Argentina would take the lead in the first half courtesy of Lionel Messi’s heroics but they simply couldn’t seal the deal as they’ll be dealt with an equaliser late.

You can see that the Barcelona talisman is frustrated and they need to play up to their full capability moving forward.

Moreover, Lionel Scaloni has the luxury of shuffling his pack as his team is blessed with viable options.

Lautaro Martinez and Nicolas Gonzalez should continue to feature out front with Lionel Messi, but Sergio Aguero is expected to contend for a starting spot.

The midfield trio of Giovani Lo Celso, Leandro Paredes, and Rodrigo De Paul has been an impressive unit, while Scaloni is likely to stick with Nicolas Tagliafico, Nicolas Otamendi, Lucas Martinez Quarta, and Gonzalo Montiel at the back.

Uruguay look to prove doubters wrong

Here in our preview of the tournament, I initially thought that Uruguay might not make it far because of their unconvincing recent form.

La Celeste have only won twice in their last six matches and now they’re in a perilous spot in the CONMEBOL standings as they failed to capitalise on Ecuador’s back-to-back defeats.

Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez will reform their strike partnership as Uruguay play their first game in Copa America — Edinson Cavani warms up during their World Cup qualifiers against Brazil

However, their fortunes are about to change since they’ll get a major lineup boost. After serving an international suspension in the World Cup qualifiers, Edinson Cavani is now ready to go to reform his potent attack partnership with Luis Suarez.

Suarez and Cavani should give us our share of Copa America 2021 highlights and they’ll be flanked by the midfield duo of Lucas Torreira and Fede Valverde.

Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin will be at the heart of Uruguay’s defence and they are going to face the challenge of having to slow down Argentina’s attackers this weekend.

History

Argentina have been a massive thorn on Uruguay’s side when looking at their overall head-to-heads.

In their 189 games between the two countries, Argentina hold the major edge with 87 wins while Uruguay have won 57 times along with 45 draws.

La Albiceleste and La Celeste last faced each other in an international friendly back in 2019 where it ended in a 2-2 stalemate.

Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez had one goal each, but it was cancelled out by late goals from Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi.

Uruguay have yet to win over Argentina in more than half a decade, with their last victory dating back to October 2013 which was a five-goal thriller.

Betting Tip

	Argentina vs Uruguay	1X2 Draw @ 3.00
	June 19, 8:00 (GMT+8)

The Copa America 2021 odds point to a tight affair at the Estadio Nacional de Brasilia Mane Garrincha this Friday.

Although Argentina are slightly favoured to win at 2.19 and Uruguay are at 3.45 in the 1X2 market, I believe that this should go to the distance and the game will end up in an entertaining draw.

A draw at 3.00 seems like a fair payout given the quality of these two squads and we can expect a couple of goals from their key players.

This is arguably their toughest game of the group stage and neither team will give in easily to the other team.

Points are to be shared by these two sides and they’ll look forward to beating up the weaker sides in the group to book their spots in the final eight.