The United States’ hopes in Copa América hang in the balance on Monday night.
As the USA prepares to take on Uruguay in the final match of group play, “Bear Bets” returned to discuss the pivotal matchup. Chris “The Bear” Fallica and Geoff Schwartz shared their thoughts, which way they’re leaning and their favorite wagers for Monday’s match.
As the “Summer of Stars” continues on the FOX family of networks, “Bear Bets” also discussed other matches in Copa América 2024 and gave some early thoughts on a pair of matches in the quarterfinals of Euro 2024.
Let’s dive into the fun.
How are you feeling about the United States’ chances to win the match?
The Bear: Like United States chances to win
“We don’t know the lineups yet. We don’t know as of right now, when we’re recording, if Matt Turner, the U.S. goalkeeper, is going to be able to play. However, there have been some Uruguay starting XI’s floated out there on Twitter and none of them have Darwin Nunez, Nicolas De La Cruz and Federico Valverde. But when you’re expecting a lot of the stars and some of the people on yellows to not be in the lineup, it would certainly help the U.S.”
Schwartz: Not feeling it for the United States
“I’d love for them to win, obviously. It’d be good for us, the country, the fans and this team. But I don’t know how confident I feel they’re going to do other than just saying they’re gonna make lineup changes, and they’re just gonna play better because they can’t play any worse.”
Are there any totals you like for the match?
The Bear: Lean toward Under 2.5
“If you look at the three times the U.S. has played a Marcelo Bielsa-coached team, all of them have gone Under 2.5. So it’s like they’ve been lower-scoring, closer games. So I think that might give the U.S. some hope.”
How about goalscorer props?
The Bear: Eyeing Luis Suárez anytime goalscorer (+240)
“He’s rumored to be in the 11. He’s a guy who is going to be out there, and he’s going to want to score.”
The Bear: Folarin Balogun to score first goal (+550)
“In both games, he scored in the first half. So he is +550 to be the first goalscorer and +225 to score anytime.”
Any other plays related to this game you like?
The Bear: Potentially play USA to draw and draw in Panama-Bolivia match (+1200)
“Panama is down some guys there, too. Bolivia isn’t very good but Panama is expected to win that game to be able to get through.”
COPA AMÉRICA 2024
The Bear: Colombia to win the tournament seems a bit underpriced (+650)
“Columbia still seems to be a little underrated in this tournament, like they are still a significantly bigger price to win the competition than Brazil. I know Brazil finally erupted the other night in an easy win over Paraguay … but if you’re Colombia, you may have to beat Brazil potentially twice. There’s a benefit to winning this match and playing either the USA or Panama, so you don’t have to beat Uruguay and [Brazil] again.”
EURO 2024
Schwartz: Leaning Switzerland to win match in 90 minutes (+275)
“In about the 84th minute [of England’s match against Slovakia], Ian Darke on the call said something like, ‘England’s playing with a lot of fire now. I wish they played like this all game.’ That’s a problem! When you say that about a favorite, that you wish they played harder for the first 84 minutes, that’s a problem and why they’re not trustworthy against Switzerland.”
The Bear: Eyeing Switzerland to win match in 90 minutes
“There is nothing that we’ve seen in this competition so far to suggest that they should be favored over Switzerland in the quarterfinal. Put aside all of the ‘It’s coming home’ stuff, the name England, the Three Lions and all the hype, that’s it. Put what happens on the pitch and Switzerland have by far been the better team.
“If you look at the way Switzerland are constructed, and how sound they are, Granit Xhaka has been fantastic in this tournament. I was stunned when I saw Switzerland was +275 to win in 90 minutes.”
The Bear: Winner of the tournament and Player of the Tournament will come from this match
“For Player of the Tournament, I think you’re looking at maybe Rodri on Spain, who is someone we talked about before the tournament, at 30-1, or Fabian Ruiz, who’s been great. On the German side, you’re looking at either Jamal Musiala and Toni Kroos, who might get some of the emotional-type vote because of his pending retirement.”
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