Colombia vs Peru

Colombia and Peru will lock horns in the Copa America 2021 third-place play-off at the Estádio Nacional de Brasília.

Colombia lost to Argentina on penalties in the semi-finals after holding the South American juggernauts to a 1-1 draw in regulation time. However, it means the Colombians have failed to win any of their last five Copa America fixtures (90 mins only – D3, L2) since beating Ecuador 1-0 in their tournament curtain-raiser. A lack of firepower up front has seen ‘Los Cafeteros’ net under 1.5 goals in each of their six Copa America matches this summer, with three of their four strikes coming before the 60th minute. Reinaldo Rueda’s men have been embroiled in tight, keenly-contested battles at the Copa America 2021, with each of their six games at the tournament yielding a full-time margin of under 1.5 goals. A 2-1 H2H loss in the group stage brought Colombia’s three-game winning streak against Peru to a halt.

Meanwhile, Peru suffered a narrow 1-0 loss to Brazil in the semi-finals, ending a run of four Copa America matches without defeat (W3, D1). It’s been only the second time that the Peruvians failed to trouble the scoreboard at the tournament, though both such affairs came against Brazil. Even though they prevailed in their group stage encounter against Colombia at the Copa America 2021, ‘Los Incas’ have experienced all sorts of problems against this opposition. Indeed, that victory remains Peru’s solitary success in 11 H2H meetings with the Colombians (D3, L7), a sequence that saw them fail to find the net on eight occasions. Getting off the mark first could be vital to Peru’s hopes of claiming a record-equalling ninth Copa America third-place finish, as they have won each of their last three matches after breaking the deadlock.