Copa América 2024: how the teams are heading towards the quarterfinals
by Tyler Doty | by Tyler Doty
Argentina confirms its strength
The Argentine national team is looking to take the throne for the second consecutive time and has shown a calm superiority over Canada and Chile. Despite much in the way of a true number 9, Lionel Messi has been a little hesitant when it comes to finishing. The team led by coach Scaloni maintains a perfect score after making a final statement against Peru. At the same time, the 'Albiceleste' looks unbeatable, led by 'Dibu' Martínez in goal, 'Licha' and 'Cuti' Romero in the back, always supported by the range of Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernández and Alexis Mac Allister. The team has found a good formula for the tournament. Find out the complete fixtures, results, and all the news on SportyTrader.
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Colombia and Uruguay fine-tune the machine
The burden of being considered title contenders did not weigh on Colombia or Uruguay, as they played their best soccer without pressure. On the one hand, the 'Cafeteros' have already gone 21 games unbeaten since the arrival of Professor Néstor Lorenzo and are going for more. Although the spotlight is on Luis Díaz, the truth is that the quality of James Rodríguez, the performance of Richard Ríos, and the physical power of Daniel Muñoz have been more decisive.
And in the other corner, there are the 'Charrúas', who continue to show weakness when it comes to finishing. Aside from the eight goals scored in two matches, Marcelo Bielsa's team missed many opportunities and had several blank segments of the match: four goals were over 80 minutes. In the highlights, two figures appear: Maximiliano Araújo and Darwin Núñez, each one with two goals.
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Venezuela's Big Surprise
A good Copa tournament is incomplete without a few surprises. This year we've had one in the form of the Venezuelan team, which has already secured its place in the quarterfinals in Group B. After defeating Ecuador and Mexico, the team led by Fernando Batista confirmed that what was done in the Qualifiers was not a product of chance. Furthermore, they've managed to impress without much in the way of an attack, instead, they have a cohesive team who fights hard in the midfield. On defense, Yordan Osorio and Jon Aramburu are key; as well as Salomón Rondón and Eduard Bello up front.
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The Good Side of CONCACAF
In this context, Panama and Costa Rica also have a special value. The 'Canaleros' had already caused problems for the Uruguayans, but this time the result smiled on them and they defeated the local team, the United States (2-1). With a victory over Bolivia, in the final round, they will book their spot in the knockout phase. And the 'Ticos' have grown in the tactical order imposed by coach Gustavo Alfaro: the goalless draw with Brazil opens up a range of options to dream of moving on to the next round.
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Sudden Death: Ecuador or Mexico
Before the start of the Copa América, Ecuador and Mexico were expected to be the teams that lead Group B. However, both fell to the 'Vinotinto' and their continuity in the competition will depend on the clash between them on the following date. For Ecuador, coached by Moisés Caicedo, a draw will be enough, although it is clear that they will not expect to walk over the 'Aztecas', who could make a difference with Santiago Giménez or Julián Quiñones.
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The Biggest Disappointments
The initial stage of the South American gala was very close and the first nations eliminated were Jamaica and Bolivia. In the case of the 'Green', their fall was more resounding after the 0-5 at the hands of Uruguay, showing the lack of competitiveness of the players in their local league. Additionally, Chile, with all its stars, has not been able to hit the net, a problem that continued in their 0-0 draw against Canada. Finally, Brazil lacks a leader and found no way to unbalance history against the Costa Ricans. Vinícius, Rodrygo, and company did not show up. Still, there is room to recover and claim the trophy.
