dibu martinez

Copa America 2024: My Prediction For The Final

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment
Will this be Argentina’s record-setting sixteenth win?
Or Colombia’s second?

Back on my talk about the Euro final, I talked about how people shouldn’t see continental tournaments as joke tournaments. Same with the Copa America. Especially knowing that all the teams of the CONMEBOL are as capable of losing to each other as they are winning. Argentina may be the World Cup holder but that doesn’t guarantee they’ll win every game in their wake. Most likely, they’ll face defeat at the hands of a South American team. In fact, Argentina’s only loss since their World Cup win was to Uruguay this past November!

Here in the Copa America, the final is down to two teams from the CONMEBOL, as I feel it should be. One team is tied with Uruguay for fifteen previous wins while one won it only once back in 2001. So the big question is which team will win the Copa America on Sunday? Here’s my look:

Head-To-Head Stats: The two teams have played each other 42 times before. Argentina has won 25 times before, Colombia has won nine times before, and eight games were draws.

Team-By-Team Analysis:

ARGENTINA: Coming to this tournament as the reigning World Cup holders, it’s easy to assume they would become the favorites to win. Added to the fact they are the reigning Copa holders from their 2021 win. Very often, many World Cup winning teams start feeling immediate changes after their win. That hasn’t been the case for the Albiceleste. Lionel Scaloni is still the team’s head manager as he’s been since after the 2018 World Cup. Many anticipated Lionel Messi would retire after the win in Qatar 2022 but he’s still part of the team and still captain. Also remaining with the team are star players like Angel di Maria, Julian Alvarez, Lautaro Martinez and goalkeeper Dibu Martinez. Their play in the US has been consistent with their reputation as they won all three of their Group Stage games and made it through both of their knockout matches.

Despite their great play, they have shown vulnerability. As anticipated, it’s come at the hands of South American teams. Recently it was in their quarterfinal against Ecuador that went to a 1-1 draw. It was after penalty kicks that they won. I know I talked about Argentina’s only loss since their World Cup win being to Uruguay. It’s possible Colombia could expose their vulnerability in the final. The last time they met back in February 2022, Argentina won 1-0. If Argentina is not overconfident and they take their rivalry against Colombia seriously, they can become repeat Copa winners.

COLOMBIA: It hasn’t been an easy time for Los Cafeteros. Right after they learned they would not qualify for the 2022 World Cup, they dropped their coach for Argentine coach Nestor Lorenzo. Since then, they have not lost a game. Actually their 1-0 loss to Argentina in February 2022 in a World Cup qualifier is their last loss. James Rodriguez is the captain with David Ospina being the head goalkeeper. Here at the Copa, Colombia delivered the best results in their group, delivered the only win in regulation time in their quarterfinal against Panama and delivered another win against Uruguay 1-0.

Other than Argentina, Colombia has delivered the best consistency in play. They’ve been scoring well and delivering strongly against their opponents. I know I talked about possible vulnerability of Argentina. Colombia can be just as vulnerable and Argentina could take full advantage of it. In the final, neither team can afford to give anything away. If Colombia want to upset the current World Cup Holder, they will have to be on the ball from the start and give nothing away.

My Final Verdict: We should remember that the Copa America and the World Cup are two different tournaments and both have their own challenges. Winning either trophy is not easy at all. My prediction is Argentina to take it 2-0.

And there you have it! That’s my look at the 2024 Copa America final and my prediction for the win. Interesting how both the Euro final and the Copa America final are happening on the same day! Aren’t you relieved of the time difference?

2024 Copa America: My Semifinals Predictions

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment
Just four teams are left in the running for the Copa America.

Some of you may wonder why I didn’t do a Copa America blog for the groups with a game to go or a quarterfinals prediction blog. Firstly, blogs are too tiring. I like the Copa America but my hands can only take so much typing and I can only have so much inspiration. I’m not a professional blogger. Secondly, I was on vacation in my city of birth. So naturally, I will embrace my rest and relaxation while I have it.

Now that my vacation is near ending, it’s time to focus on the semifinals of Copa America 2024. The group play has been something. Argentina was great as expected, but Canada progressed even though they scored just a single goal in group play! Also Canada’s more lauded CONCACAF rivals of the USA and Mexico didn’t qualify for the quarterfinals! Even Panama qualified thanks to their 2-1 win over the USA! Venezuela, who has never won a Copa or even qualified for a World Cup, topped Group B with straight wins! The tight rivalry of Colombia and Brazil was expected to pour over into group play and it did!

Then the semifinals! Interesting that the CONMEBOL have it there’s no added extra time and goes straight to penalty kicks. It’s something because that was the case for three of the four quarterfinals! Only Colombia’s 5-0 win over Panama was a decisive game.

Now we have the semifinals. Like the Euro, they will also be contested on the Tuesday and Wednesday. Only one CONCACAF team still stands. Chances are it will again go to a CONMEBOL team. A CONMEBOL team has always won the Copa and that’s how it should be. In the meantime, here’s my look at the two semifinals:

SEMIFINAL #1: ARGENTINA vs. CANADA

Head-To-Head Stuff:

Aside from Argentina’s 2-0 win over Canada in the very first game of this Copa, their only other time meeting was in 2010 where Argentina again won, but the score was 5-0.

Team-By-Team Analysis

ARGENTINA: When you are the current World Cup Holder, a lot is expected from you. The Albiceleste did not disappoint in the Group Stage. They began the Copa with a 2-0 win over Canada, followed it with a 1-0 win over Chile and capped it off with a 2-0 win against Peru. All three games won, nothing conceded. It’s when they got into their quarterfinal against Ecuador that the challenge began. They conceded for the first time at this Copa and drew 1-1. It was after the penalty shootout that they won.

No doubt they intend to repeat as Copa champions. In the past few years, they built up a full top-notch team instead of relying on just Messi. Actually here at the Copa, the top scorer has been 26 year-old Lautaro Martinez! For their semifinal, I can’t really see them having much of a chance of losing. I think the only way they can is if they underestimate their opponent. It’s highly unlikely they will but I have seen big-name teams underestimate opponents and then lose.

CANADA: It’s easy to underestimate The Canucks. Most of the other teams here at this Copa have had bigger renown and are way more lauded. Canada came with something to prove and they did a good job of proving it. They may have opened with a 2-0 loss to Argentina but they came back with a 1-0 win over Peru and a scoreless draw against Chile. It is possible to qualify for the knockout round by scoring a single goal! That’s football for you!

Their quarterfinal win against Venezuela was a game where Canada showed both its strengths at the right time, but also their weaknesses. It’s obvious Canada intends to send a top team to the World Cup when they co-host two years from now. Their first time ever to a Copa America semifinal is a feat all its own. Nevertheless they will need to improve more if they want to go far. As for their upcoming semi, they should not let their group stage loss get to them. Argentina is a tough team but they’re beatable. It’s up to Canada to deliver well.

My Final Verdict: I thought tournaments organize themselves so that teams that play each other in group play don’t meet again until the final. I know the World Cup does it. Despite the two clashing again so soon, I think Argentina will take it 3-0.

SEMIFINAL #1: URUGUAY vs. COLOMBIA

Head-To-Head Stuff:

The two have dueled each other 45 times before. Uruguay won 20 times, Colombia won 14 times, there were 11 draws.

Team-By-Team Analysis:

URUGUAY: Here in the USA, La Céleste have put on quite a show. At a time when one wonders who the successors for Suarez and Cavani will become, in come new stars like Darwin Nunez, Maximiliano Araujo and Mathias Olivera who have dazzled during the Copa. Uruguay opened with a 3-1 win over Panama, followed it up with a 5-0 win over Bolivia and then delivered a 1-0 win over the hosting Americans.

Despite the stellar play in the Group Stage, they followed it with a scoreless draw against Brazil in the quarterfinals that was won on penalty kicks. Many complained it was lacklustre play from two top teams. A team like Uruguay will have to get itself together. Especially since Colombia had a big win in their quarterfinal.

COLOMBIA: Most people originally thought Group D was Brazil’s for topping, but Los Cafeteros had other plans. They began with a 2-1 win over Paraguay, followed it with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica and followed it with a 1-1 draw to Brazil. Their consistency took them to the top of Group D. They also followed it up in the quarterfinal with a 5-0 win over Panama. They were the only team to actually win their quarterfinal match!

The team have it together and they have what it takes to win. It’s a matter of them delivering at the moment. As they face Uruguay, they know it can go either way. They’ve been brilliant this whole tournament. They will have to continue their brilliance to get into the final.

My Final Verdict: They’ve had fierce rivalries before. The winning team is usually the one with the better World Cup chances. I think this will play to a 2-2 draw and Uruguay will win on penalty kicks.

And there you have it! Those are my predictions for the semifinals of the Copa America. Interesting this is while the Euro doesn’t have a third-place game, the Copa America does. I’m undecided if when I do my blog predictions for the final, I should predict the third-place match. Only time will tell.