Canada vs Uruguay Prediction: Bronzed look for La Celeste in Charlotte

After painful semi-final defeats in midweek, Canada and Uruguay must pick themselves off the floor for Sunday’s Copa America third-place play-off at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte (01:00, Premier Sports 1).

Read below for my Canada vs Uruguay prediction and all the latest team news and match odds heading into this North Carolina clash.

Copa America Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Copa America page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this competition.

Team News

Tajon Buchanan has been out of action since the group stage through injury and isn’t expected to return for Canada on Sunday.

Head coach Jesse Marsch could name an unchanged starting XI from the one that lost 2-0 to Argentina in the semi-finals, but with his forwards misfiring, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a few changes.

Liam Millar, Jonathan Osorio and Tanitoluwa Oluwaseyo are among those who will hope to have earned starts after substitute appearances on Wednesday.

Nahitan Nandez will return for Uruguay after serving a one-game suspension against Colombia for a red card received against Brazil, but Rodrigo Bentancur is set to miss out after hobbling off in the first half of Thursday’s defeat.

The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder could be replaced by Giorgian de Arrascaeta, while it remains to be seen whether CONMEBOL take action against Darwin Nunez after some unsavoury post-match scenes in the aftermath of Uruguay’s semi-final.

Luis Suarez could step in if Nunez is banned.

Canada vs Uruguay Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Argentina vs Colombia page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Canada can be backed at 5/1 to win in regulation time and clinch third place on their first-ever appearance at the tournament. Those odds give Les Rouges an implied win probability of 16.7%, while Uruguay’s 1/2 price suggests a 66.7% chance of success.

The draw, which would send the tie straight to penalties, is available at 11/4, while both teams to score is 5/6.

Uruguay to win & over 2.5 goals @ 13/10

It was a tough slog for both teams in the semi-finals – for different reasons – but there should be a more relaxed approach to this game, which should signal more goals than we saw earlier in the week.

Canada have been solid throughout the tournament, conceding just five times in as many matches – four of those coming across two games with Argentina.

However, I expect them to show a slightly different side on Sunday, with a greater emphasis on attack given there is less importance attached to the fixture.

The greater expectation will be on Uruguay, who will have had the semi-finals in mind as a bare minimum.

La Celeste suffered disappointment against Colombia on Thursday and I think they will be fired up to achieve third place.

The goals have dried up for them in the last couple of weeks as they scored just once in their final group game against the USA and blanked against Brazil and Uruguay in the knockouts, but before that they had stuck three past Panama and five past Bolivia.

Bet Builder – Luis Suarez anytime scorer, Federico Valverde 2+ shots, Alphonso Davies 1+ shots @ 5/1

It remains to be seen whether Nunez starts, or even plays, on Sunday, though the indications are that he could escape punishment until at least after the conclusion of the 2024 Copa America.

Regardless, I’m backing Suarez to potentially bow out of international football with a goal on Sunday.

The former Liverpool and Barcelona star had to fight his way back into the set-up under Bielsa, having initially been left out by the Argentine and has barely featured at this summer’s tournament.

With another two years to go until the 2026 World Cup, Suarez may call it quits on the international front after this weekend, so he will want to go out in style.

I wouldn’t rule out him starting on Sunday, but even off the bench, he can show his quality. Suarez appeared as a second-half substitute against Colombia and hit the post within four minutes of his introduction with his only shot of the match.

I’m also backing La Celeste captain Federico Valverde to keep up the shot count in Charlotte, having averaged 2.66 shots per game so far in the USA.

The Real Madrid midfielder has taken at least one shot in every match of the tournament so far, only failing to strike multiple against Colombia last time out, and he will be looking to inspire his side to a third-place finish on Sunday.

The third and final leg of this bet builder features the star of Canadian football, Alphonso Davies, who features in a variety of positions for his country.

Davies averages a shot per game at this summer’s Copa America and had one against Argentina in the semi-final to add to the three he registered against La Albiceleste in the tournament’s opening game.

Offers

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