Copa America Results 2016: Quarterfinal Scores, Semifinal Predictions and Odds

The field has dwindled from 16 to four in the Copa America Centenario.

Argentina and Chile punched their tickets to the semifinal Saturday night, joining the United States and Colombia. From a neutral perspective, the quarterfinals couldn't have played out much better. The three best teams—Argentina, Colombia and Chile—remain, and it's always fun to watch the tournament hosts (United States) make a deep run.

Below are brief preview and predictions for the two semifinal clashes.

Quarterfinal Results

Date	Team	Result	Team
June 16	United States	2-1	Ecuador
June 17	Peru	0-0 (2-4 pen)	Colombia
June 18	Argentina	4-1	Venezuela
June 18	Mexico	0-7	Chile

Semifinal Schedule

Date	Time (ET)	City	Matchup
Tuesday, June 21	9 p.m.	Houston	United States vs. Argentina
Wednesday, June 22	8 p.m.	Chicago	Colombia vs. Chile

Copa America Title Odds

Team	Odds
Argentina	20/23
Colombia	13/2
Chile	8/1
United States	12/1

Semifinal Predictions

United States vs. Argentina

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Even at full strength, the United States would be underdogs on home soil to Argentina. Their chances will be even slimmer if they're without Jermaine Jones and Bobby Wood.

Jones was sent off in the 52nd minute in the United States' 2-1 quarterfinal win over Ecuador after picking up his second yellow card. Wood earned a yellow card in the 53rd minute, and he's due to miss the semifinal on yellow card accumulation.

U.S. Soccer announced Friday they officially filed a protest against both yellow cards, but that won't ensure one or both players are available. Vice Sports' Aaron Gordon isn't exactly optimistic about the United States in the event Wood and Jones are out for the semifinal:

"

I feel great about playing Argentina without Jones or Wood. Just great. Juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuust great.

— Aaron W. Gordon (@A_W_Gordon) June 17, 2016"

Finding the right replacement for Jones will be an important task for U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann since the Colorado Rapids midfielder would've been among those marking Lionel Messi. Instead, Kyle Beckerman will likely be tasked with covering the best player in the world.

The switch would have benefits and drawbacks. Since he's more of a defensive midfielder rather than a box-to-box player, Beckerman wouldn't be caught out of position as much as Jones would. Beckerman is slower, however, so Messi could still end up having a lot of space to roam. As the United States defenders move over to compensate, Messi's teammates could get free to have a shot on goal.

Although taking Messi out of the match will be a team effort, no player will have a bigger part in that task than Beckerman.

At the other end of the pitch, Wood's absence will have a big effect on the attack. Gyasi Zardes will likely move to striker, which means one of Graham Zusi, Christian Pulisic or Darlington Nagbe playing a wide position.

Zusi hasn't been playing very well of late; starting a 17-year-old (Pulisic) in a Copa America semifinal probably isn't a good idea; and Nagbe excels more in a central position. None of the three is an optimal replacement.

Seven years ago, the U.S. shocked the world and defeated Spain in the 2009 Confederations Cup semifinal. Defense has also been one of the United States' biggest strengths in the Copa America Centenario.

Simply put, though, Argentina are the better team, and with Messi back to full fitness, the South American giants should take one step closer to their 15th Copa America title.

Prediction: Argentina 2, United States 1

Colombia vs. Chile

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

No team looked better in the quarterfinals than the reigning champions. Chile scored seven goals in a dominating victory over Mexico.

"Nothing hurts like us conceding seven goals in a tournament like this," said El Tri striker Javier Hernandez, per ESPN FC's Tom Marshall. "I say to all Mexicans all over the world and [those] in the stadium that we try to represent the country in a dignified way and we are very embarrassed."

Mexico had no answer for Eduardo Vargas, per OptaJavier:

The win came at a cost for Chile, though. Arturo Vidal will miss out on the semifinals after picking up a yellow card in the 39th minute against Mexico. Vidal didn't have a great debut season at Bayern Munich, but he returned to form in the Copa America Centenario.

The 29-year-old isn't strictly a defensive midfielder, but he's more than capable of dropping back and thwarting the opponent's attack. Having Vidal would've been a massive asset for Chile as they look to negate James Rodriguez.

La Roja coach Juan Antonio Pizzi will have to find another way to take the Real Madrid midfielder out of the match.

Colombia may be ranked third in the world in the most recent FIFA ranking, but they've yet to hit their full stride in the Copa America Centenario. They lost to Costa Rica in their final group-stage match and struggled to break down Peru's side in the quarterfinals.

Not having Vidal might force Pizzi to play more defensively. Like Peru, Chile could cause problems for the Colombia attack by clogging up their half, but unlike Peru, Chile have the ability to strike quickly and effectively on the counter. Vargas and Alexis Sanchez, who have combined to score nine goals in their last two matches, can expose the Colombian defense if they creep too high up the pitch.

Chile have dominated possession throughout the Copa America, but going with a more pragmatic approach might be the best way to attack Colombia, especially with Vidal out. The longer the Colombians remain scoreless, the more frustrated they'll become, thus opening themselves to a lethal counterattack.

Prediction: Chile 1, Colombia 0

Note: Copa America odds are courtesy of Odds Shark.