Argentina vs Ecuador, Copa America 2021, Sunday, 4 July 2021, Kick-off at 2:00 UK/ 3:00 CET and Venue: Estadio Olimpico Pedro Ludovico.
Argentina advanced to the round of 16 as Group B champions, while Ecuador barely reached the quarter-finals, as the fourth team in Group A.
Lionel Scaloni’s men have only one title in mind. Anything less, and they could consider this campaign a failure. After consecutive second places in 2015 and 2016, and a third place in 2019, they believe this year will be theirs.
They now have a very balanced team, led by a calm and collected coach. Furthermore, they also seemed to understand his defense issues as they really made it difficult for opponents to register shots on target with ease.
In fact, in their group stage match against Uruguay, there were no shots on target. Keep in mind that Uruguay boasts of having two of the best forwards in the world.
Meanwhile, Ecuador does not have high hopes for this tournament. They are already considered lucky to have avoided elimination in the first round.
Not only are they in bad shape, but they’ve also had a bad h2h record against this rival over the years.
Argentina vs Ecuador: Head to head (h2h)
- Those last two horns were locked in October 2020, during WC qualifying, and then Scaloni’s men posted a 1-0 win.
- They are on a three game winning streak.
- They had a combined score of 10-2 in those three games.
- In the past 12 years, they have only lost once to this enemy.
Form analysis
La Albiceleste is on a long streak of invincibility. In fact, he hasn’t lost a single game since his 2019 Cup semi-final loss to Brazil. He has always scored goals in matches and has remarkably improved his defense.
In fact, he has only conceded two goals in total in his four group stage matches and one of them has come off a rebound from the penalty spot. Also, captain Lionel Messi seems to be in very good shape. He has been named man of the match in three of the four games played.
Meanwhile, Ecuador failed to win a single game in the 2021 Cup campaign. It also failed to keep a clean sheet in all four games and only reached the quarterfinals. ‘Due to the presence of a worse team in their group: Venezuela.
Argentina vs Ecuador: Prediction
Lionel Messi and company have not lost a single game in the last 24 months and are determined to win the title at all costs. As such, his goal would not be just a victory this Saturday, but an inspiring and dynamic victory.
They have an excellent h2h record against this rival, and they also have the confidence to record a 1-3 win in October 2017, in their last World Cup qualifying match.
Argentina needed a win at all costs to qualify for the World Cup, and had to face Ecuador at home, where opponents often find it difficult to play due to the high altitude.
And immediately, the Tricolores scored too. It seemed that the Albiceleste was not going to the World Cup. However, the whites and the sky blue had a remarkable comeback thanks to a hat-trick from Messi.
So far, Ecuador have not won in their last six matches and have also conceded two or more goals in four of them. He has also conceded a total of ten goals in his last three h2h encounters and has not won against them since 2015.
At first glance, expect Argentina to overcome this challenge on Saturday and advance to the semi-finals.
Betting tips for Argentina vs Ecuador
Argentina win 1.44
Over 1.5 Argentina team goals 1.70