Venezuela to take third at Copa America with Peru win
Published:Venezuela may have been robbed in their Copa America semi-final with Paraguay, but they can take a small measure of revenge by winning their third-place play-off with Peru.
After hitting the woodwork three times against Paraguay and having a goal disallowed, Venezuela were cruelly eliminated via a penalty shoot-out.
Although there is a strong chance that Venezuela will still be deflated because of this defeat, they can still be spurred on by the thought of a best-ever Copa America finish.
Venezuela certainly look the best bet in the Copa America odds at 11/8 to finish third in the tournament and coach Cesar Farias has an important role to play in maintaining morale within the camp.
Meanwhile, alongside their impressive performance against Paraguay, Venezuela have also starred in their opening game of the tournament when holding leading fancies Brazil to a draw.
Furthermore, Farias has the luxury of welcoming back Tomas Rincon, who was suspended for the semi final after a dismissal earlier in the tournament against Chile.
Venezuela may have outdone themselves in reaching the semi finals, but Peru’s progress to the last four is perhaps even more of a shock.
Peru finished rock bottom of the South American section of qualifying for the last World Cup, but have massively improved under Sergio Markarian, which includes Copa America victories over Mexico and Colombia.
It is 13/8 that Peru beat Venezuela, but their task will not be made any easier by the absence of star man Juan Manuel Vargas, who was sent off in the semi-final defeat to Uruguay.
The draw that may result in another penalty shoot-out is available at 23/10, while a repeat of Venezuela’s 2-0 win at the 2007 Copa America is 9/1.
