Argentina vs Ecuador Prediction: Lionel Messi and co to keep their winning run in Copa America 2024

The Copa America 2024 quarterfinals are upon us, with defending champions Argentina set to face Ecuador on Thursday. Lionel Messi’s injury has raised concerns for the reigning FIFA World Cup champions, but the expectations remain high for La Albiceleste. Ahead of the Argentina vs Ecuador Copa America 2024 quarterfinals game let us take a look at the prediction.

Argentina vs Ecuador Prediction

Argentina, despite concerns over Messi’s injury, remains the favourite with their impressive form and historical dominance over Ecuador. Meanwhile, Ecuador hopes to break their quarterfinal curse and advance further in the tournament. Historically, Argentina has never lost to Ecuador at the Copa America, boasting 11 wins and five draws. They have only met once in the knockout stages, with Argentina triumphing 3-0 in the 2021 quarterfinals.

The last time against Ecuador in the Copa America… 🏆 🇪🇨 pic.twitter.com/x8s3kXlk52
— All About Argentina 🛎🇦🇷 (@AlbicelesteTalk) July 4, 2024

Opta’s model strongly favours the defending champions to secure a spot in the semifinals. According to the model, Argentina has a 68.4% chance of winning the match within 90 minutes. Ecuador, on the other hand, has a 14.5% chance of causing an upset, while there is a 17.1% probability of the game going into extra time. The supercomputer’s simulations for the tournament suggest that Argentina will progress to the semifinals 76.4% of the time. Insidesport.IN predicts a 2-0 victory for Argentina over Ecuador.

Argentina form in Copa America 2024

Throughout the group stage, Argentina maintained a perfect record, winning all three matches without conceding a single goal. Lautaro Martínez has been instrumental in their success, leading the Golden Boot race with four goals. Statistically, the group stage was nearly flawless for Lionel Scaloni’s team. They won all their matches and did not concede a goal. Impressively, all five of their goals in the group stage came in the second half, and they have not trailed in a Copa America match since their 2-0 loss to Brazil in the 2019 semifinals.

Argentina is on an eight-match winning streak across all competitions, conceding only two goals in that span. Their recent quarterfinal appearances in the Copa America have been dominant, winning by a combined score of 9-1.

Ecuador form in Copa America 2024

Ecuador, despite facing challenges, managed to secure a spot in the knockout phase on goal difference after holding off Mexico. This marks the second consecutive time that La Tri have reached the quarterfinals and their third appearance in the last four Copa Americas. Felix Sanchez’s team aims to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 1993. However, Ecuador has lost three straight quarterfinal matches in this tournament and has been defeated in six of their last seven competitive fixtures against Argentina. Their last victory over Argentina came in 2015 with a 2-0 win.

Ecuador has yet to concede a first-half goal in this competition, though they have only scored once in the opening 45 minutes, which was during their 2-1 loss to Venezuela. The last time Ecuador scored first in a quarterfinal match was in 1997 when they were eventually defeated by Mexico on penalties after a 1-1 draw.