Argentina are atop Copa America Group A with seven points from nine possible. On Monday night (Tuesday European time), Argentina play Bolivia with the chance to top Group A to finish off Copa America group play.
Bolivia have been eliminated from qualification from Copa America group stage play. They have nothing to play for, but coach Cesar Farias will hope the team can take a significant scalp to motivate the team with CONMEBOL World Cup 2020 qualifying games coming up once more.
Argentina and Bolivia have met 40 times dating back to 1926. The Sky Blues have dominated their series of games versus Bolivia with a record of 28W-5D-7L. The teams last played in October 2020 with the Argentines winning 2-1.
The Argentines have been good, but unspectacular in the group stage. They drew 1-1 with Chile prior to a 1-0 against Uruguay and a 1-0 victory over Paraguay. The team have scored just three times with Lionel Messi bagging one of those goals.
Sergio Aguero, Lautaro Martinez, and Angel Di Maria have all failed to score goals at the Copa America 2021. Manager Lionel Scaloni’s team are collecting points but not making the most of the high-quality of players available.
Bolivia manager Farias goes into the final group stage game with captain and all-time leading goalscorer Marcelo Moreno back in the squad. Moreno missed the first two matches following a coronavirus positive test. He should start after beginning on the bench versus Uruguay.
Henry Vaca is in line to start following a coronavirus negative test. Rodrigo Ramallo could retain to the team to play.
Scaloni has no new injury worries ahead of the game. He is expected to rotate the side in preparation for the knockout stage.
A loss or draw and Paraguay or Uruguay win could see Argentina drop to second place. However, based on the quality on offer, Argentina should defeat Bolivia.
Messi, Aguero, and Di Maria are all three likely to start on the bench. Each of the players are over 30 and sitting out the game will get them ready for the quick-fire matches of the knockout stage.
Even with Argentina being weakened due to Scaloni rotate the squad, they are far stronger than Bolivia across the pitch. The Argentines should not only finish off the groups stage with a win, but they should top Group A with a victory over Bolivia.
Bolivia have scored just once at the tournament. Expect Argentina to keep a clean sheet with under 2.5 goals scored on Monday night.