Uruguay vs Colombia

Estádio Nacional de Brasília is the venue as Uruguay and Colombia battle it out for a place in the Copa America 2021 semi-finals.

The Uruguayans have picked up steam since succumbing to a narrow 1-0 loss to Argentina on Matchday 1, racking up a three-game unbeaten Copa America run (W2, D1). Seeking their first continental success since 2011, ‘La Celeste’ head into proceedings having won their last two tournament fixtures by an aggregate score of 3-0, scoring a first-half opener on each occasion. After getting on the scoresheet in their previous two Copa America outings, Uruguay will be looking to score against continental rivals in three consecutive Copa America games for the first time in over a decade. Low scoring has been a common theme in Uruguay’s recent internationals, as six of their last seven competitive fixtures have seen one or both sides fail to find the net in matches garnering under 2.5 total goals.

Meanwhile, Colombia lost momentum down the final stretch of the group phase, going three consecutive Copa America matches without winning (D2, L1) since beating Ecuador 1-0 in their tournament curtain-raiser. Taking the field as betting outsiders, the Colombians have lost their last two Copa America games by the identical 2-1 scoreline after keeping a clean sheet in seven successive matches in the competition prior. From a historical point of view, we can expect a tight contest here. Each of Colombia’s last four Copa America quarter-final fixtures ended goalless within 90 minutes. Despite reaching the knock-out stages in a fifth consecutive Copa America appearance, ‘Los Cafeteros’ enter this encounter as underdogs, having failed to win any of their last three H2H meetings with Uruguay (D2, L1). Worryingly, they conceded 2+ goals on each occasion during that three-game sequence.