Uruguay v Peru Copa America Semi Final Betting Odds and Preview

Peru v Uruguay Copa America betting has come about all thanks to all four quarter finals being won by the underdogs. Peru were the first to kick things off, after they beat Colombia in extra time. Colombia were one of the better teams in the group stage, comfortably negotiating their way through the group stage ahead of host nation Argentina. Many expected the Colombia side, who actually looked as if they had a lot more to offer in the tournament, were shut out and frustrated by Peru. It was the unfancied underdogs who struck twice in extra time, with Carlos Lobaton and Juan Vargas hitting the crucial strikes for the team who had qualified for the quarter finals as one of the best third place teams. It was not a plain sailing victory for Peru who had to hang on against the Colombians for most of the match. They even rode their luck when Chelsea target Radamel Falcao missed from the penalty spot for Colombia. There was a host of opportunities for Colombia, but Peru just kept on hanging in there, grinding down Colombia and then dealt their killer blows. Peru took a long time to get themselves into the match, carving out a couple of chances from distance. While Peru defended as grittily as they could, it cannot be denied that luck played a huge part in them getting through, as Colombia were very wasteful in front of goal. Peru were also gifted the first goal, when Colombia keeper Martinez failed to collect a cross into the box from a free kick. That was in the 102nd minute, and there was a lot more defending for Peru to do, until they broke free on the counter attack, with Vargas sealing their passage through to the quarter finals.

As for Uruguay, they struck first against host nation Argentina in their quarter final, and we finally saw a better display from them. Uruguay are just superb at strangling the opposition, suffocating space and then striking quickly. After they had gone down to ten men just before the break (with goal scorer Perez being shown a red card), Argentina’s task of breaking them down was made even harder as Uruguay doubled their efforts to counter for being a man short. The Uruguay forwards, Luis Suarez and Diego Forlan get through a huge amount of work to make this system work, and they pounced in the sixth minute with Diego Perez nipping in at the post to scramble the ball home from a Forlan free kick. Uruguay were helped out a lot by keeper Fernando Muslera through the entire match, but a lot of credit is due to them for negating the threat of Argentina. After Lionel Messi had fed Gonzalo Higuain for Argentina’s equaliser, Argentina could not press home any further home advantage. There is still something not quite right with Argentina and their system, as they just cannot exploit the awesome offensive power in their squad. This was another example of them falling well short of their true potential, and they could not get above Uruguay’s typically Uruguayan performance. Argentina’s frustrations were exemplified with Javier Mascherano also being sent off just before the end of ninety minutes. It was ten again ten for extra time, which failed to produce any goals, and so penalties was on the cards. Carlos Tevez was the only one to miss his spot kick, sending Uruguay (who scored some great penalty kicks) through to the semi finals.

Uruguay v Peru Copa America semi final betting now will favour Argentina’s conquerors in the semi finals. That is fair enough because they are the better side out of the two. Uruguay have taken a bit of time to get going, even though their system is the same as it was in their successful 2010 World Cup run, and they play smart football. No, they are not the most expansive or explosive side, but they are a very, very good team. With the favourites Argentina and Brazil falling from the competition, Uruguay are now the favourites to win the 2011 Copa America at a price of 10/11 with Paddy Power. They are well worth a punt from here on out. They have a tighter game plan than Peru, who have hung on at times in this tournament, and Uruguay will carry more of a threat going forward. There have been upsets in the competition, but this may just be a step too far for Peru in the semi final. The experience is all with Uruguay here, so will stick them in your Uruguay v Peru betting.

Peru v Uruguay Copa America Semi Final Betting

Uruguay to win: 11/13 at Unibet
Draw: 12/5 at Bet365
Peru to win: 9/2 at Boylesports

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See full Copa America Results and Schedule here