The 2024 Copa America is set to be a special tournament. Sixteen teams will head to the U.S.A in the hope of ending the tournament as America’s best team.
Argentina will be back to defend the title they won three years ago. In what is expected to be Lionel Messi’s final Copa America tournament, he will hope to wrap up his Copa America with a bang.
With the sixteen participating teams drawn in four groups of four, there are plenty of opportunities for shocks and there should be plenty of fantastic games.
In this article we will look at who hopes to end the month-long tournament in glory.
Argentina
The defending champions and current World Champions, when it comes to International football nobody does it better than this Argentinian side.
No other team in South America has won as many Copa America titles as Argentina and few would bet against it happening again.
With talent across the pitch, Argentina can win games in a variety of different ways and with Lionel Messi in their side, they always can create something out of nothing.
Over the last five years Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni has been able to keep the core of his squad together and his side simply know how to win.
The odds favorites for even more international glory, Argentina will never offer up an easy game. Dogged and determined, if any of the other competing nations are to win this prestigious prize, you feel they will need to go through Argentina to achieve it.
Brazil
Winners of this competition back in 2019, Brazil will travel Stateside in the hope of cementing themselves as one of the best sides in international football.
Unlike Argentina who have been able to keep the bulk of their squad together, Brazil are going through a raft of changes to their squad. Casemiro, Neymar and Thiago Silva will all be giving this summer a miss and there are hopes that their absences will allow others to shine.
Heading into the tournament all eyes will be on the next big Brazilian hope, Endrick.
Set to play in his first international senior tournament, the teenager has already found the back of the net for his country and looks born to play on the biggest stage. Set to head to Real Madrid this summer, he will hope to show the world why many believe he has the talent to become one of the very best players in the world.
Brazil will head into the tournament as second favourites and will be hoping that they can end Argentina’s reign as the best side in South America.
Uruguay
Whilst it is Argentina and Brazil who will dominate the betting ahead of this year’s tournament, it is Uruguay who will start the 2024 Copa America as third favourites.
Winners of this tournament on fifteen different occasions, they last tasted victory in 2011 and will hope to lift a sixteenth title this time around.
Although they don’t have the squad depth of either Argentina or Brazil, they have a host of talented players to call upon.
Darwin Nunez will lead the line and if he has his shooting boots on, he could chip in with vital goals.
Midfield is where the bulk of Uruguay’s strength lies. Fede Valverde will offer plenty of energy, whilst Rodrigo Bentancur is the perfect foil with his ability to dictate the tempo and find a silky pass.
Although they might be friendless in some betting markets, discard Uruguay’s chances at your peril.
Who could provide the shocks?
Throughout the summer there will be plenty of games that attract plenty of betting attention and there could be several surprising results.
Tournaments such as the Copa America provide many different online sports betting sites with betting promotions. These promotions are often great ways to back the underdog with little to no risk. Several teams may currently have long odds but believe that on their day, they could be a match for anyone and could upset the odds.
Once such team could be the USA. Playing in front of a passionate home crowd, they will have the luxury of playing in front of their own fans and in environments that they are used to. Drawn alongside Uruguay, Panama and Bolivia, if the US are to advance to the knockout stages they will need to do it the hard way, but they have the talent to do it.
After having a solid season with Italian Giants AC Milan, Christian Pulisic will once again be the team’s focal point this summer. Able to chip in with vital goals as well as create them, Pulisic has long been regarded as one of America’s finest players and this summer he will hope to live up to the hype.
Thousands of fans will follow Colombia this summer and they will be a side that nobody will want to face. Drawn in the tournament’s Group of Death alongside Paraguay, Brazil and Boliva, qualifying out of the group will be tricky, but if they can qualify, they could be set up for a deep run and could be another side to watch with real interest.
