Football Analysis
Copa America 2021: The Story So Far
Now in it’s 47th edition, the Copa America is back with the best in South American football taking on each other. We ask FC Mangalore’s Technical team of Biby Thomas and Shailesh Karkera to give us the basics.
FC Mangalore Media asked our very own team of Technical Experts Biby Thomas and Shailesh Karkera to pick the top performers of the opening round of matches and here’s what they had to say.
The 10 South American teams have been divided into two groups of five each following the withdrawal of the two guest teams namely Australia and Qatar.
Group A: Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, Chile and Paraguay.
Group B: Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru.
With most of the teams now having three rounds of games each, the top contenders to the crown are gradually making their presence.
Brazil
The current holders and tournament hosts have made a perfect start to the tournament with two wins out of two and seven goals to their name.
In the opening game, close range finishes from Marquinhos, Gabriel Barbosa plus a Neymar penalty meant Brazil were able to take all three points against a spirited Venezuelan side.
After several changes to the side ahead of the second match Thiago Silva, Fabinho, Everton Cebolinha and Gabriel Barbosa were new additions to Tite’s starting side. In the end, it was Alex Sandro, Neymar, Éverton Ribeiro and second half substitute Richarlison who scored the goals to give Brazil a comfortable win against Peru which takes them to the top of Group B with 6 points.
BT: “Brazil is a powerhouse as far as the Copa America is concerned and have dominated the competition since the late 90s. Coach Tite will be pleased with the performances thus far and the fact that this bunch of players are very spirited and hardworking. Neymar has been an influential figure in this team and despite all of the media hype surrounding him, his presence is vital in this setup. As it stands, Brazil are front runners to retain their title.”
SK: “They are the favourites. Famous for their attacking prowess and in the early rounds, we are going to see a lot of flair and goals. The true challenge will arise when their defence is tested by stronger teams. Having said that, my pick of the players key to their success is Casemiro, one of the best defensive midfielders in the business who provides adequate protection to the two centre backs while allowing the attackers to thrive”
Argentina
Argentina are the most successful side in the tournament’s history and yet have now gone 28 years without lifting the famous trophy, suffering some traumatic narrow defeats in recent editions. More recently, they were beaten in consecutive finals by Chile. On both occasions the game finished 0-0 and Argentina lost the subsequent penalty shootout.
Currently, Argentina are Group A leaders thanks to an unbeaten start to the tournament. After an opening round 1-1 draw against Chile, they secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory against a perennial rivals Urugay , thanks to an early goal from Guido Rodriguez.
The Albiceleste then ensured their place in the quarterfinals after a 1-0 win over a gritty Paraguay side with Papu Gomez scoring the all-important winner in the first half.
Argentina are now unbeaten in their last 16 games in all competitions (9 wins, 7 draws). They have not lost since a 0-2 defeat to Brazil in the Copa América 2019.
“The Copa America has been the Achilles Heel for Argentina in the recent past and they have always started strong but somehow stumbled at the final hurdle. This particular squad is a mix of experience and youth and know how to grind out results. They play with a lot of width and with Messi running the show they can be very exciting to watch.”
SK: “Argentina bounced back well following their opening day draw against Chile where they looked far from their best and raised the bar against Uruguay. While Brazil will continue to hog the limelight, Argentina will be hot on their heels and will be potential opponents in the finale.”
Chile
In their opening game against Argentina, Lionel Messi opened the scoring with a spectacular free-kick but Chile equalized thanks to a close range header from Eduardo Vargas to make it 1-1 at full-time. La Roja picked up their first win of the tournament in their subsequent game against Bolivia. English born Ben Brereton scored the only goal of the game at the Estadio Arena Pantanal, his first for Chile on his full debut.
In a tense third game against Uruguay, Eduardo Vargas put La Roja in the lead only for Luis Suarez to find the equalise. Vargas now has 14 goals in the CONMEBOL Copa América, bringing him in sight of all-time top scrorers Zizinho.
BT: “Chile have been champions in two of the last three editions of the tournament and they still have the experience and players who have seen them through in 2016 and can be very worthy foes on their day.”
SK: “Chile’s golden generation delivered two back-to-back Copas and they have proven to be a team that can hold their own in this competition. With Vargas and Vidal leading from the front, they will prove to be a difficult team to beat in the knock-out phase for certain.”
Paraguay
The surprise package of the tournament, Paraguay have started off strong with a 3-1 come-from behind victory against Bolivia in the opening round. Erwin Saavedra gave Bolivia the lead from the penalty spot but a goal from Alejandro Romero Gamarra and two from Ángel Romero helped Paraguay to the win
In the second game, up against Argentina, despite a strong defensive performance Paraguay succumbed to a 1-0 loss.
BT: “Paraguay were unlucky against Argentina and could have easily have ended up with a point from that game. Considering that they are the dark horses of the competition, they don’t have the pressure riding on them unlike Brazil and Argentina.”
SK: “Paraguay gave a great performance against Bolivia where they showcased their attacking prowess and it was all about defensive organisation against Argentina. Even though they have qualified for the second round, the game against Uruguay will be interesting to watch considering the final positions which will decide the seeding in the Quarterfinals “
Columbia
Colombia started off their campaign with a 1-0 victory against Ecuador thanks to a Cardona goal in the first half.
In the second game against Venzuela, Columbia conjured 23 shots throughout the 90 minutes but were unable to find the net thanks to a combination of poor finishing and a heroic performance by Venezuela ‘keeper Wuilker Fariñez.
FInally, a surprise loss to Peru followed in the third game and they still have to face in-form Brazil in the last and final game.
BT : “Like Chile, Columbia are the dark horses and have some excellent players who have the capacity to deliver at the highest level. They love to attack and if they can sort out their finishing woes in training, this is another dangerous team that can go far in the competition.”
SK: “The partnership of Zapata and Muriel upfront is a lethal one both for club and country and the duo have been excellent for Atalanta in Serie A and the fans will be hoping that they can deliver the goods at the international level as well. The loss to Peru was disappointing but this is another team with a lot of potential.”
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
