Colombia vs Paraguay Prediction & Betting Tips (25 June)

Winner of the Copa America only once in its history in 2001, Colombia has still managed to do well in recent years, as evidenced by its 3rd places obtained in 2016 and 2021. On the other hand, Luis Diaz's partners have disappointed a lot recently by failing to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. After this poor performance, they considerably raised their level. Indeed, the Tricolor has not lost a single match since February 2022, 13 wins and 5 draws. In the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup which began last September, the Cafeteros are currently 3rd with 12 points taken in 6 matches. Last March, they confirmed their current good disposition by winning 2 friendly matches against Spain 1-0 and Romania 3-2 then they literally marched on the United States 1-5 before finishing their preparation in style in slapping Bolivia 3-0. Quarter-finalist in the two previous editions of the Copa America, Paraguay will have a lot to do this time to escape from Group D which includes Colombia, Brazil and Costa Rica. La Albirroja has struggled to perform well in recent years and has notably missed qualifying for the last three World Cups.

The qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup began last September and Daniel Garnero's men only took 5 points in 6 games. They still occupy 7th place in the ranking, which would allow them to compete in a possible inter-continental play-off. Paraguay only won against Bolivia 1-0 and remains on a setback suffered at home against...Colombia 0-1. During his preparation, he obtained a draw against Peru 0-0 but fell back into his mistakes by conceding a volley against Chile 3-0 before beating Panama without really shining 0-1.

For Colombia, we must highlight the withdrawals of defender Borja (Braga, 6 sel) and striker Poveda (Sheffield Wednesday, 0 goals in 2 sel). Furthermore, the left side Cabal (Hellas Verona, 0 sel) was not called up just like the midfielders Barrios (Zenit, 57 sel) and Cuadrado (Inter, 116 sel) as well as the attackers Cassierra (Zenit, 1 goal in 3 sel) and Andres Gomez (Real Salt Lake, 1 goal in 2 sel). The coach can, however, count on his best player Luis Diaz (Liverpool). We also find the experienced Ospina (Al Nassr, 128 sels), Davinson Sanchez (Galatasaray), Yerry Mina (Cagliari), Lerma (Crystal Palace) and James Rodriguez who is now a hundred years old in the selection (Sao Paulo, 27 goals in 100 sels) . The promising Sinisterra (Bournemouth) and Jhon Duran (Aston Villa) are also present.

Paraguay, for its part, can count on its few stars like defenders Alderete (Getafe), Junior Alonso (Krasnodar) and Balbuena (Dinamo Moscow) and, above all, striker Almiron (Newcastle United), author of 7 goals in 55 caps. We can also note the presence of attackers Gonzalez (Olimpia, 51 sels, 9 goals) and Romero (43 sels, 8 goals) as well as that of the promising Enciso (Brighton). Conversely, striker Sanabria (Torino) is injured. The majority of players making up this selection play on the other side of the Atlantic, whether in the country, in MLS, in Argentina or in Brazil.