Copa-America-Final-weekend.jpg

After over three weeks of fantastic football and some incredible goals, we’re wrapping up two major continental tournaments - Euro 2024 and Copa America.

In Europe, Spain is gunning for their 4th European Championship as they take on England, who are in the final for the second tournament in a row and seeking their first title. 

Meanwhile, in South America, Argentina is eyeing a record 16th title, aiming to retain it after their 2021 win, but they’ll have to get past a determined Colombia team gunning for their first title since 2001. In this piece, we’ll preview both finals and share some football predictions that could score you big winnings. 

**Our Picks:**  

● Spain vs. England - Over 1.5 Goals + Over 5.5 Shots on Target 

● Spain to Lift The Trophy 

● (Spain vs. England) Both Teams to Score 

● Bet Builder: Argentina to Win + Lautaro Martinez to Score 

● (Argentina vs. Colombia) - Over 1.5 Goals 

● (Argentina vs. Colombia) - Score in the First 30 Minutes (No) 

**Win up 8.5 times your money by betting our BetBuilders for both games. A  ₦10,000 bet gets you a hefty  ₦85,000 reward!**

 

**Spain vs. England**

After 22 long years since his missed penalty against Germany kept England out of the Euro 1996 final, Gareth Southgate now has the chance to poetically lead the Three Lions to a title on German soil. What’s impressive is that this is his second shot at the title after losing to Italy in the final of Euro 2020. 

England hasn’t been all that convincing in this tournament. In fact, their semifinal win over the Netherlands was their only satisfying performance, as they dominated most of the game. However, they conceded first, continuing a troubling pattern in their knockout games. 

So far, Southgate’s team has fallen behind in all three knockout matches and have relied on comebacks. In those games, they’ve only held the lead for a total of 20 minutes: 19 minutes in the extra-time win over Slovakia and just one minute against the Netherlands. This isn’t exactly championship form, but you have to admit, they’re getting results. 

La Roja’s journey to the final has been phenomenal. They’ve won all six of their games, including impressive victories over defending champions Italy, hosts Germany, and two of the top three teams from the last World Cup, France and Croatia. This speaks to the outstanding job Luis de la Fuente has done in a short time, and he could add a second title to his cabinet after leading them to Nations League triumph last year. Tactically, they look very confident. 

They’ve been the most coherent pressers and attackers, and everyone is rightly expecting them to win in Berlin. Unlike Gareth Southgate, who has often tinkered with his tactics, Spain has stuck to a solid plan that has delivered results. While Spain’s golden generation was known for their exceptional possession game built around their deep pool of top tier midfielders, this team is more direct, with young talents Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal leading the charge on the wings. 

Yamal, who has been a key provider throughout the tournament with a joint high three assists, scored one of the goals of the tournament in the France vs. Spain semifinal with a long-range curler that left Mike Maignan so stretched out, you would be forgiven if you thought he was auditioning for the role of Dr. Reed Richards in the new Fantastic Four movie. 

Spain heads into this as the betting favourites, and it’s easy to see why. Besides their stellar form in this tournament, history is on their side. In the past 23 years, Spain or Spanish clubs have reached 26 finals across the World Cup, Euros, Champions League, and Europa League, and they’ve won all 26. All 26 finals. The only times they’ve lost a final was when facing another Spanish team. Obviously!

This incredible statistic puts England at a disadvantage, but it might also benefit them. As the clear underdogs, England has less pressure and could build on their strong performance against the Netherlands. The Spanish have been outperformed in xG in three of their six games (vs France, Germany and Croatia). 

So while they create plenty (they have 13 goals from 96 chances - the most for both categories), they also give up chances. With this in mind, we expect England to get on the scoresheet at some point, especially with the talent they have on the bench. However, we can’t go against a Spain win. 26 wins in 23 years is remarkable.  

● Over 1.5 Goals + Over 5.5 Shots on Target 

● Both Teams to Score

**Argentina vs. Colombia** 

Colombia’s James Rodríguez is playing like it’s 2014 again, when he dazzled at the World Cup in Brazil and landed a big move to Real Madrid. Now with São Paulo, he’s been the main playmaker for his team, with his excellent set-piece deliveries being crucial to their success. In this tournament, he has 1 goal and a record-tying 6 assists in 5 games, earning Man of the Match honours in four games. 

It’s a feel-good story for a player who hasn’t quite lived up to the high expectations at the club level, and has bounced around from Germany to England, Qatar, Greece, and now Brazil. We wouldn’t be surprised if he got a record setting assist in the final. 

There’s more to Colombia’s incredible tournament run than just James Rodríguez, though. They’ve shown resilience and focus, like in their 1-0 semi-final win over Uruguay, where they played the entire second half with 10 men. Under Nestor Lorenzo, Colombia has the longest active unbeaten streak in men’s football, going 28 games without a loss. 

This is the country’s longest unbeaten run, one more than their previous streak from 1992 to 94, which had an unfortunate ending. Over the last 29 months, Los Cafeteros have beaten teams like Spain, Germany, USA, Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, and Japan. However, the last team to defeat them back in February 2022, Argentina, now stands in their way. 

Argentina hasn’t exactly dazzled in this tournament, but they’ve done enough to reach their third final in four years. Some might say they haven’t even faced a tough team yet, unlike Colombia, who have battled Brazil and Uruguay and head to the final with a tournament-high 12 goals scored. 

Argentina’s strength has been their defense, and they’ve kept four clean sheets in five games. The 91st-minute equalizer by Ecuador’s Kevin Rodríguez in the quarterfinal is the only goal they’ve allowed. In attack, Lionel Messi hasn’t been his usual magical self, with just one goal and one assist all tournament, likely due to his age catching up with him. Lautaro Martinez has been their chief scorer instead, with four goals, making him a top contender for the Golden Boot award. 

It’s important to note he was benched in their 2-0 win over Canada in the semifinals, casting doubts over his place in this game. However, he did get the winning goal when Argentina last defeated Colombia. Our bet of the day is for him to find the net again, and BetKing has the best odds for that.  

This game will see the best attack (Colombia) go up against the best defense (Argentina). Typically, when we have a great attack up against an equally excellent defense, the game leans the way of the defense. We think it will be a slow start with chances scarce especially in the opening half hour. 

However, we can’t see past a win for La Albiceleste and their captain, Lionel Messi who is on the verge of a 4th international trophy. Argentina defeated Colombia on penalties in the last Copa America semifinals and followed up with a 1-0 win in World Cup qualifying. Colombia hasn’t fared well in recent matchups, with just one win in the last 12 encounters.  

● Bet Builder: Argentina to Win + Lautaro Martinez to Score

● Over 1.5 Goals 

● Score in the First 30 Minutes (No) 

**Stand a chance to win 8.5 times your bet using our BetBuilder specials in these two games. Use the code: FBWCX to book your bet.**

 

The Euros and Copa America might be almost over, but BetKing still has you covered for the summer’s best sporting activities. Check out our [Olympics](https://m.betking.com/sports/olympics/competitions) games and the WNBA for lots of sporting activities you can bet on.  

[Join us](https://m.betking.com/account/registration?redirect=/) today to get value for money. Try out the [best betting app](https://m.betking.com/l/mobile-app/) in the market and book a bet today to start your journey towards winning millions.  

With two teams battling for glory this weekend, there's a chance to witness history being made. Enjoy our detailed betting tips and win, along with the winners!

Betting Tips

Preview + Betting Tips For Euro 2024 and Copa America Finals

● Spain vs. England - Over 1.5 Goals + Over 5.5 Shots on Target

● Spain to Lift The Trophy

● (Spain vs. England) Both Teams to Score

● Bet Builder: Argentina to Win + Lautaro Martinez to Score

● (Argentina vs. Colombia) - Over 1.5 Goals

● (Argentina vs. Colombia) - Score in the First 30 Minutes (No)

● Over 1.5 Goals + Over 5.5 Shots on Target

● Spain to Lift The Trophy

● Both Teams to Score

● Bet Builder: Argentina to Win + Lautaro Martinez to Score

● Over 1.5 Goals

● Score in the First 30 Minutes (No)