Uruguay vs Panama prediction: SOUTH AMERICA: Copa América betting tips on match 2024-06-23 01:00.
[p]Uruguay are looking to exorcise the demons of penalty shootout heartbreak at the quarter-final stage of the last two Copa Américas and will hope to make a winning start at this year’s tournament against Panama. La Celeste arrive in Florida in strong form on the back of only two defeats from their last 14 fixtures (W9, D3), with clean sheets in five of their last six including the two warm-up matches earlier this month against Mexico and Costa Rica.[/p]
[p]H2H history suggests this could be a gentle opener for Marcelo Bielsa’s side given Uruguay have won all four of the previous meetings, not conceding in the last three and thrashing the Canal Men 5-0 when they last met two years ago. This will actually be their first competitive meeting since the 1952 Panamerican Championship, and having ran out 6-1 winners then, Uruguay will hope for a repeat of history.[/p]
[p]But Panama will prefer to focus on their recent upward march in the FIFA rankings which has seen them climb from 81st in June 2020 to 43rd ahead of this tournament. This has all taken place under the tutelage of Danish manager Thomas Christiansen who took on the role one month later in July 2020 and led the side all the way to the final of the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup where they narrowly lost to Mexico.[/p]
[p]Panama got off to a winning start against Bolivia during their Copa América debut in 2016, but finished third in the group and did not progress after defeats against Argentina and Chile. They have been drawn in a group with Bolivia again in this edition but it looks like another uphill task to finish in the top two with Uruguay and USA the clear favourites to advance.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Striker Darwin Núñez hit a hat-trick inside 50 minutes against Mexico in Uruguay’s last game and he’s expected to take to the field in Florida having scored in each of his last five international appearances. Winger Puma found the net in victories over Guyana and Montserrat earlier this month and he has contributed to goals (G4, A2) across four of his last eight internationals.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Panama have kept a clean sheet in only one of their last six matches.[/p]