[This is the final part to my three-part piece on the 2021 Copa América. In the first article I discussed the location, setup, etc. In the second article I discussed the participating teams and who the favorites are. In this article, I will talk about who I think the favorites are, and how I think the tournament will play out.]
When it comes to talking about favorites, I agree that the three listed in my previous article are favored teams (Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia), however I think that Uruguay has the edge over Colombia. I think that Colombia is a great team and a tough opponent for anyone, but they are missing their two main players: Radamel Falcao (Galatasaray, Turkey) out due to facial surgery, and James Rodriguez (Everton, England) out, according to Marca, due to not being “at the optimum level of fitness to compete.” I think that the absence of these two players is going to catch up with Colombia if they make it out of the group and start facing tougher competition.
The three teams that I believe are favored to win are Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. I think that this year the tournament is especially important to Argentina and Uruguay as they both have something in common: the end of a generation. This could be the last major tournament with most of the current stars for each team. This tournament is also important for Brazil but for a different reason. For Brazil, their pride is what is at stake.
Uruguay are looking to add a 16th trophy to their record, meanwhile Luis Suarez (Atlectio Madrid, Spain) and teammate Edinson Cavani (Man United, England) will be looking to add to their trophy collection as this could be their last Copa. The good news for Uruguay is that youngsters Federico Valverde (Real Madrid, Spain) and Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus, Italy) have made their marks in both of their respective leagues as well as the Champions League and are looking to help Uruguay’s chances.
For Argentina, both Messi and Agüero (Man City, England) are now in their 30s and may only have this Copa and possibly the next to bring home a trophy. Neither of the two have won a big international tournament and thus, this could be a defining moment in their careers if they could win. Remember they reached the finals in 2015 and 2016 but lost to Chile on penalties on both occasions and reached the World Cup 2014 final and lost to Germany.
For Brazil, this tournament is one for maintaining their record. When hosting the Copa America Brazil has had a perfect record, having hosted the Copa América 5 times: 1919, 1922, 1949, 1989, and 2019, and won each one. They are now hosting again in 2021, hoping to keep that perfect record intact. Brazil have the advantage that so far accident-prone Neymar is not injured and can captain the team alongside Gabriel Jesus (Man City, England) and Roberto Firmino (Liverpool, Englad). Having won in 2019, Brazil are looking to defend the trophy and win it for a second time in a row, which they have done successfully on two other occasions (97’ – 99’, and again 04’ – 07’).
Here is how I think the tournament will play out:
I think that in Group A, Argentina will come out first, followed by Uruguay, Chile, and Paraguay, with Bolivia being eliminated. I think that in Group B, Brazil will come out first, followed by Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador, with Venezuela being eliminated.
This means that the quarter finals would see: 1) Brazil vs. Paraguay, 2) Uruguay vs. Colombia, 3) Peru vs. Chile, and 4) Argentina vs. Ecuador.
I think the winners of each match would be Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, and Argentina which would mean for the semi-finals it would be: 1) Brazil vs. Uruguay and 2) Chile vs. Argentina.
I think the Winners would be Brazil and Chile. This means that the third-place match will be Uruguay vs. Argentina and the Final will be Brazil vs. Chile.
I think the winner of the third-place match will be Argentina
I think that the Champions of Copa América 2021 will be Brazil.
Stay tuned for my next article. From here on out I will not be covering every single game from the group stage, instead I will be selecting games to cover. From the quarterfinals moving forward, I will cover every game.
Photo: Estádio Nilton Santos, Wikipedia, Creative Commons
