The “happy to be here” vibe of last week’s 2024 Copa America debut against Argentina is now officially off the books, and the Canadian Men’s National Team has work to do to solidify their ground in Group A. After all, showing you can be competitive with the world’s best is great, but at a certain point, you’d like to see the team do some real damage in a major tournament. Let’s look at what’s at stake Tuesday as they face their best shot at points against Peru.
6:00 p.m. ET Headliner: Peru vs. Canada
| Peru Win | +270 | Canada Win | +125 | Draw | +225 |
| Over 2.5 Goals | +135 | Under 2.5 Goals | -167 | Broadcast | TSN |
As mentioned above, Canada enters this game after kicking off the tournament with World #1-ranked Argentina in Atlanta. The result was bittersweet in that the Canadians played a competitive game against the global goliaths but landed in that unfortunate sweet spot of exceeding expectations yet coming short of a result that suddenly felt possible.
In actuality, it’s hard to argue that Argentina wasn’t still the better team, with two-thirds of the possession and nine shots on target to Canada’s two. But there were a lot of positive signs to take away. Maxime Crepeau was better than great in goal, breakthrough defender Moise Bombito made strong plays, substitute Jacob Shaffelburg gave Canada some spark in the second half, and the team, on the whole, pressed Argentina to a point where their time with the ball couldn’t be relaxed. Ultimately, though, it wasn’t enough to stop Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez from scoring a pair of second-half goals that ended the game in a 2-0 Argentina victory.
On Peru’s end, they come into this game trying to build on a scoreless draw against Chile – the best possible result for Canada if they want to get a top-two result in the group. Chile dominated the possession game in that one, while Peru landed three more shots on target. Peru’s ball movement, in particular, was a weak point, creating half as many passes as Chile and only showing two-thirds accuracy along the way, opting to attempt big plays rather than build up with simple ones.
If Canada can anticipate and counter that, they’re in a good spot. We also long to see them play with more purpose inside the opposing box – they struggled once they were in a chance position against Argentina, and three games into the Jesse Marsch era on the bench, they’re yet to score a goal.
Game Bets To Consider
- Canada needs to get a goal in this game. It’s pretty non-negotiable at this point. Going three games in a row without one is tough, and a win is important today, so playing for one is a must. It would be really nice to get two (Canada over 1.5 @ +140). If they do convert, Jonathan David’s boot is the most likely culprit – he sits at +187 for an anytime tally on Betano.
- Betano is offering super-enhanced odds on a parlay of both teams scoring and a goals total of over 2.5. That sits at +240, up from +170.
Bet on Canada vs. Peru
CAN +125
PER +270
Other Copa America Matches In Group A
Argentina vs. Chile, 9:00 p.m. ET
On the other side of the matchday, we get the two other teams in Group A, which should give further clarity on Canada’s hopes. As outlined above, Argentina comes in hot off their tougher-than-expected win over Canada, and Chile seeks release after a draw against Peru that could have gone their way.
The best-case scenario for Canada is an Argentina win, keeping Chile from accruing more points and making the second spot attainable. The last match between the two teams was in the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers, where Argentina won 2-1 on the back of two first-half goals.
Game Bet To Consider: All eyes will be on Lionel Messi, as they always are. Canada shut him out in their match against him, including two unconverted breakaways, so you know he’ll be determined today. An anytime goal cashes in at +110.
| Away Team |  | Draw | | Home Team | Time (ET) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peru | +270 | +220 | +125 | Canada | 6:00 PM |
| Chile | +690 | +310 | -189 | Argentina | 9:00 PM |
Latest Copa America Futures Odds
Here are the latest Copa America outright odds heading into the matches on June 25:
| Team | | Last Match | Team | | Last Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | +175 | +180 | USA | +1700 | +1200 |
| Brazil | +260 | +230 | Mexico | +1900 | +1400 |
| Uruguay | +450 | +600 | Chile | +2900 | +4900 |
| Colombia | +800 | +1200 | Canada | +9900 | +9900 |
The CONMEBOL heavyweights have generally seen improvements in their odds through the first round of action, save for Brazil, which dominated control of its match against Costa Rica but came up scoreless. For Canada and our CONCACAF frenemies, hope isn’t lost, but it has been slightly stretched by the totality of outcomes.
