A low scoring USMNT-Bolivia game is among best bets for this weekend’s Copa América action

The summer of soccer really hits a fever pitch this weekend as Copa America hits its stride with five matches across the next three days, including USA vs. Bolivia on Sunday evening.

Group B is wide open and both of these teams will fancy their chances to finish atop the table, which is essential because the second-place finisher will likely get a date with Argentina in the quarterfinals.

In theory, that would mean both Ecuador and Venezuela will give this a real go and try to grab the game, but I wouldn’t be so sure that this will be a back-and-forth encounter.

For the most part, CONMEBOL games are physical, low-scoring and reliant on individual moments of magic rather than free-flowing movements and passing combinations. That should make the margins for a match like this one pretty thin and that’s always good news for the underdog.

Ecuador is a trendy sleeper in this tournament, but with Enner Valencia banged up you have to wonder if they’ll be clinical enough in front of goal.

In short, I just don’t think there’s enough of a gap between these two sides to justify these prices.

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The United States Men’s National Team will begin their much anticipated Copa America campaign with a showdown with Bolivia on Sunday night.

And while it is the first match of the tournament for the USMNT, it is still a must-win situation considering they’re going up against the worst team in Group C.

Anything other than three points would potentially setup a scenario in which the Yanks needs a win against Uruguay, the third-favorite to win the Copa America, in their last match of the group stage.

Fans can at least take solace in the fact that the bookies are quite bullish on the Stars & Stripes to get the job done on Sunday. The USMNT is a prohibitive -500 favorite on the three-way moneyline for Sunday’s contest and you’d have to pay -180 to back the Americans to cover the 1.5-goal spread.

It may be a bit of a surprise to see the USMNT as such a chalky favorite considering their inconsistent form over the last calendar year, but Bolivia is perhaps the weakest team in this field.

La Verde is known for its ability to pull some big upsets in CONMEBOL competition, but almost all of their best performances come at their home stadium, which just happens to sit at nearly 12,000 feet above sea level.

Without that home-field advantage to rely on Bolivia will need to focus on being physical and defensively sound, as they have no chance of outplaying the Yanks. That should set up a stodgy contest, as we’ve seen the USMNT struggle to break down sides that sit deep and defend all night. This looks like an Under 2.5 to me.

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