brazil vs chile Copa América LIVE Football Score 3 Jul 2021
Start date | 03. Jul 2021, 00:00 |
Referee | Patricio Loustau, Argentina |
Avg. cards | 5.41 0.50 |
Location | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
Venue | Estádio Nilton Santos |
The Copa America quarterfinals begin on Friday, and the day closes out with a big one as Brazil face Chile in Rio. Brazil are undefeated with a 3-1-0 record, winning Group B and looking like the clear-cut favorites to win it all. Chile went 1-2-1 in Group A to finish in fourth but are averaging under a goal per game ahead of this massive test. The winner will face either Paraguay or Peru in the semifinals, while the loser is eliminated.
Storylines
Brazil: This isn’t the Chile of five or 10 years ago, and this is probably the best Brazil we’ve seen in over a decade, so this has a chance to get out of hand early, even though Brazil can sometimes take a while to get going. The size of Brazil in defense could lead them to some success on corner kicks, so keep an eye on somebody like Marquinhos. Chile will likely get next to nothing in attack due to this dominant backline, but being over aggressive could give the underdogs the chance to do something on a set piece. Expect Brazil to win comfortably.
Chile: They produced just a shot on goal against Paraguay in their last group stage game and enter struggling big time in attack. So, when looking at Brazil’s defense, how in the world do they find a path towards victory? Chile will have to emphasize defense or this could get out of hand, and they are going to need a fortunate call, a lucky bounce or some type of big error to go their way to sniff a victory. Expect them to struggle to see the ball in the attacking third and for the chances to be few. It’s not impossible, but this is the tallest task for any team in the quarters.
Prediction
The hosts take a while to get going against an ultra defensive Chile, but in the end Brazil have too much. Pick: Brazil 2, Chile 0
Brazil and Chile face off on Friday, July 2 at 8 p.m. ET in the 2021 Copa América quarterfinals. The match will air on FS1 and take place in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil is a -590 favorite to advance at DraftKings Sportsbook, while Chile is a +400 underdog.
Brazil finished first place in Group B, going unbeaten in all four games in group play logging three wins and a draw. Neymar, only featuring in three games, leads the team with two goals and two assists while eight different players trail him with one goal each. The Brazilians scored the most goals out of any team throughout the group stage, with 10 goals through four games. That’s most notably due to their back-to-back 3-0 and 4-0 wins against Venezuela and Peru, respectively.
Chile finished fourth place in Group A and qualified over last-place Bolivia, who didn’t earn a single point. The Chilean side only won one of their matches — a 1-0 result over Bolivia — while they logged 1-1 draws with Argentina and Uruguay, and finished up with a 2-0 loss to Paraguay.
The fact that Brazil is so heavily favored to advance is a surprise to nobody, as they easily cruised through the group stage and will be expected to do the same in the knockouts until they potentially clash with another formidable side such as Argentina or Uruguay. Brazil and Chile have met 72 times in all competitions with Brazil winning an overwhelming 51 of those meetings. Chile has logged only eight wins while 13 of those matches have ended in draws. It’s a no-brainer to pick Brazil as the clear winners in this one as Neymar, Roberto Firmino, and Gabriel Jesus will be set to put as many in the back of the net as possible, and should be enough to overwhelm the Chilean defense in 90 minutes. If they win, Brazil will go on to meet the winner of Peru-Paraguay in the semifinals.