With the position of the current South American champion, Argentina will surely be very determined to make a favorable start to the battle to defend the Copa America championship. The first obstacle in the tournament is Canada, which is very difficult to stop Messi and his teammates from continuing their excellent form.
First half odds for the match Argentina vs Canada
With an impressive level and squad, it’s not surprising that Argentina is rated much higher than Canada. Moreover, the victory at the 2022 World Cup has added more prestige to Albiceleste, making any opponent face them with fear. However, don’t forget that in Copa America, Argentina is also the defending champion. The goal of Lionel Scaloni’s team in the US is nothing but to successfully defend the title they had to wait 28 years to achieve. The squad that once won the title in 2021 is still there, and despite a slight decline in form, they are still a top-quality team in Copa America. Especially, in the 2 years since the World Cup final, the Tango team has won 13 out of 14 matches.
Facing the current king of the region, Canada looks really small. However, don’t underestimate the team with the red maple leaf, who recently drew 0-0 against France just before Copa America. Although it was just a friendly match, playing like that against a strong team like France clearly shows that Canada is not simple at all. According to many experts’ predictions, the first half of the opening match of Copa America will witness an overwhelming attack from Argentina and a defensive counter-attack from Canada. With the majority of the ball in the opponent’s half, Argentina is expected to score with their dangerous attacks. Guide to participating in betting for viewers alongside the Argentina handicap for the first half and the over for the first half, corner kick over or Argentina handicap corner kick is also a very reasonable choice due to the expected pressure from the Tango team, which will create many set-piece situations in Canada’s half. Prediction: Argentina -0.5 HT, Over goals HT, Argentina handicap corner kick HT
Full match odds for the Argentina vs Canada showdown
With the freedom and artistic flair of the Tango land, it is rare to see Argentina retreat and play slowly after scoring. Instead, the team in blue and white stripes always maintains a high pressing frequency for most of the match to seek more goals. This playing style opens up opportunities to score for themselves and even for the opponent Canada. Despite not having an impressive squad quality, Canada possesses some stars with the speed of an F1 race car like Alphoso Davies, Jonathan David, and David Hoilett. This is suitable material for coach Jesse Marsch to use a defensive counter-attacking style against Argentina, especially when the defenders of Albiceleste are not highly rated for their speed. Another reason for fans to believe in Argentina’s scoring ability and motivation is Lionel Messi. The 37-year-old captain has scored in 4 out of 7 opening matches of the Copa America he has played in, and Messi is only 4 goals away from the all-time scoring record at the tournament held by Norberto Mendez (Messi currently has 13 goals).
In all full match odds provided by bookmakers, the over/under goal total for the entire match will be the first choice. In the last 5 matches, Argentina has had 3 matches with 3 or more goals, and Canada has had a similar number of 3/5. The champion of Copa America 2021 is highly rated in attacking ability but does not have a very secure defense, which is a characteristic of teams that frequently have over/under goal total odds. In addition, we cannot ignore the full-time handicap odds for Argentina when the bookmakers offer a -1.5 odds. This is also a relatively high ratio, however, with the class and performance difference of the Tango team with the opponent Canada, winning by a margin of 2 goals or more is within reach. Prediction: Over goal total FT, Argentina -1.5 FT
