It’s been a while since Columbia were held in such high regard among football pundits everywhere, but we are yet to see if Los Cafeteros will be able to justify their reputation. Costa Rica, on the other side, arrive to Copa America following a disappointing showing at the Gold Cup, so everything suggests that Ticos will be fighting with Bolivia for the third place in the group.

Columbia on the rise

Columbia have shown a lot of promise during the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, beating the likes of Argentina, Ecuador and Paraguay, but they eventually fell short of qualifying for the major tournament following some unexpected slip-ups. Nevertheless, the qualifying campaign hinted that Los Cafeteros would soon be able to match the best sides in South America and this tournament is the perfect opportunity for them to prove their worth. With world-class players such as Radamel Falcao Garcia, Cristian Zapata, Fredy Guarin, Luis Perea and Hugo Rodallega in the side, Columbia look like hot favourites in the match against struggling Costa Rica, especially after the convincing win over Senegal in their final warm-up game.

Hugo Rodallega and Radamel Falcao Garcia look set to start up front, meaning that Los Cafeteros will be very dangerous up front, whereas Serie A stalwarts Yepes, Armero and Zapata will make sure keeper Ospina doesn’t have much work to do.

Costa Rica playing with Under-23 side

Costa Rica only arrived to the tournament as a replacement for Japan and the team, therefore, haven’t had enough time to prepare for Copa America. The Ticos have brought Under-23 side which consists entirely of domestic based players to Argentina, so it is little wonder that nobody believes they can even progress from the group, let alone reach the final stages of the tournament. Even the full strength side have had a lot of problems lately, having dropped out of the Gold Cup in the quarter-finals, after narrowly progressing from group stage. The whole Costa Rica camp is in a state of shock after the death of Dennis Marshall, who was with the team at the Gold Cup, and that only adds to the worries.

The squad entirely consists of players plying their trade in weak Costa Rican league, so everything suggests they will have big problems against very experienced Columbians.

Verdict

Columbia arrive to Argentine with a star-studded squad, so it is highly unlikely that they will have problems against what will be Costa Rica Under-23 side. With Falcao, Guarin, Rodallega and Zapata in the side, Los Cafeteros should be able to record a big win.

Our prediction: Columbia with -1.5 Asian handicap

Odds: 2.08 (27/25)

Bookmaker: 188BET