Our prediction for this Copa America match:
Colombia
Match Time & Date:
25/06/2024
00:00
Prediction: 2-1
Paraguay
Colombia will look to make a flying start to their 2024 Copa America campaign when they take on Paraguay at NRG Stadium. Los Cafeteros have big ambitions for the showpiece tournament in USA and their eight-game winning run in all competitions is surely fuelling fans with optimism ahead of the Group D opener. A man to watch in the home team will be pacey Liverpool winger Luis Diaz, who found the net in a 3-0 win over Bolivia, while Matheus Uribe misses out with injury.
La Albirroja, on the other hand, aim to build on a hard-fought 1-0 win over Panama. Colombia, though, are more of a team than Paraguay and we predict that the nominal hosts are going to prove their worth on the field. Julio Enciso (Brighton) and Miguel Almiron (Newcastle United) are the most notable players in the away team, while Diego Gomez has been ruled out with injury.
Highlighted Player (James Rodriguez):
James Rodriguez is an attacking midfielder who plays for Spanish giants Real Madrid. The Colombian superstar played for the likes of Envigado and Banfield at the start of his career and he moved to Europe in 2010, joining Portuguese side Porto for a fee of €5.1 million.
James scored 25 goals in 63 league appearances with the Dragons and in 2013 he joined Monaco. His transfer to the Ligue 1 side was the second most expensive in the history of Portuguese Primeira Liga (€45 million) and he signed a five-year contract with les Rouges et Blancs. The Colombian ace impressed at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and, as a result, Real Madrid chiefs signed him on 22 July, 2014 for an undisclosed fee.
However, reports in Spain suggested that the fee was approximately €80 million. Rodriguez scored 13 goals in 29 league appearances for Real Madrid in the 2014/2015 Primera Division campaign and he was in Gareth Bale’s shadow in the 2015/2016 season. James is well known for his technical skills, his vision and the ability to create goal-scoring opportunities for his teammates.
Highlighted Team (Paraguay):
Los Guaranies are the part of CONMEBOL confederation vying for glory at the international scene since 1919 and their debut loss to Argentina 5-1. Paraguay are regular participants at the Copa America winning the tournament on two occasions thus far, most recently in 1979.
They came close to glory in recent editions of the tournament as they fell short in the final of 2011 to Uruguay, while they finished fourth in 2015. The most successful period of the Paraguay national team came under Argentine coach Gerardo Martino, who took Paraguay to the quarter-finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup for the first time in history. Following the 2010 success, Paraguay failed to qualify for their fourth successive FIFA World Cup finals as they have also missed out on the third consecutive global championship held inside their own continent.
Toluca FC centre back Paulo da Silva is the most capped player of the Paraguay national team, while former Bayern Munich and Manchester City striker Roque Santa Cruz is the team’s top scorer with 32 goals to his name.
Chelsea 
Aston Villa 
Manchester United 
Everton
Tottenham
Fulham
Real Madrid 
Getafe
Liverpool
Man City 
Lecce 
Juventus 
