The last place in the 2019 Copa America final will be awarded on Thursday night (European time), when title holders Chile face surprise package Peru at Arena do Gremio in Porto Alegre. The two sides have met in a friendly match last year, and underdogs Peru clinched a surprising 3-0 victory. That result came after four consecutive wins for Chile over Peru, including a 2-1 victory in the Copa America semi-finals in 2015.
Chile have won the last two editions of the Copa America and they are looking to become the second team in history to win it three times in a row after Argentina had achieved this feat in 1945, 1946 and 1947. At this year's tournament Chile didn't seem as strong as they were last time out, they finished second in their group behind Uruguay, but in the quarter-finals they pushed favourites Colombia to the penalty shoot-out and eventually won after netting five of five penalties. Chile head coach Reinaldo Rueda is expected to employ his usual starting eleven for this match as he doesn't have any injury concerns or suspensions.
Peru barely made it past the group stage, they finished third in Group A behind Brazil and Venezuela and suffered the heaviest defeat of the tournament, 5-0 against the host nation. However, they were the best third-placed team and advanced to the quarter-finals, where they managed to stun Group C winners Uruguay. Peru didn't manage to record any shots on goal during their 90 minutes against Uruguay, but they held out for a goalless draw and then prevailed on penalties.
Probable line-ups:
Chile: Arias - Isla, Medel, Maripan, Beausejour - Aranguiz, Pulgar, Vidal - Fuenzalida, Vargas, Sanchez
Peru: Gallese - Advincula, Zambrano, Abram, Trauco - Yotun, Tapia - Carrillo, Farfan, Cueva - Guerrero
My prediction:
Chile to win 2-0, Peru will try to frustrate the title holders but I doubt they will be able to keep a clean sheet again.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Chile win - 1.90
Draw - 3.20
Peru win - 4.50
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