Chile opens its doors to the upper crust of South American football this week as the 2015 Copa America officially gets underway following a long four-year wait. A host of continental titans will vie for one of the biggest honours in international football, with hosts Chile among those looking to clinch the crown along with Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and reigning champions Uruguay. The next three weeks promise to lay on a feast of football and some of the sport's elite are sure not to disappoint in what's shaping up to be a hotly contested tournament. With mere days remaining until the competition gets underway, read on for an analysis of the group line-ups and which teams we might see emerge for the knockout stages.Tournament hosts Chile were handed a fairly favourable pool draw as Mexico look to be the most challenging of their Group A opponents, more so than Ecuador or Bolivia. However, even El Tri may not pose too much of a threat for La Roja, with ESPN FC's Tom Marshall confirming manager Miguel Herrera has set his priorities with the Gold Cup instead: That stroke of fortune could prove a huge blessing for Chile as they seek to tie up top spot following a mixed bag of recent results, winning three and losing three of their last six.
The saving grace, perhaps, is that Ecuador and Bolivia have looked even more disappointing and after neither managed to qualify for last year's World Cup, improvements have been scarce.While Los Amarillos have won just twice in their last seven outings, Mauricio Soria's Bolivia have been even worse, winning just two games since the beginning of 2013 and failing to score in four of their last seven matches. Jorge Sampaoli has given Chile a structure in the past even the world's best have struggled to conquer; should they come through with a clean bill of health, Group A can be theirs for the taking. Predicted Winner: Chile. Predicted Runner-Up: Mexico One might be inclined to think an Argentina side without Lionel Messi may find itself dumbfounded, but a Sergio Aguero hat-trick against Bolivia on Sunday showed there's more to La Albiceleste than Barca's talisman. As the official tournament Twitter account confirmed, coach Gerardo Martino can still look forward to the return of Messi, too, on a high after claiming this season's Champions League and rounding off his Treble:By all means, Argentina look to once again be among the favourites to claim silverware in Chile and deservedly so. Martino's appointment at their helm has given the squad a clear vision and a record of just two defeats in his eight games in charge has been decent enough.
Unfortunately for Uruguay, they won't be able to call upon their own Barcelona star as Luis Suarez is still banned from international action, per Sky Sports correspondent Paulo Freitas: Paris Saint-Germain's Edinson Cavani is still a terrifying spearhead for the squad and Paraguay could be a dark horse to look out for, but several of those 2011 winners remain in La Celeste's squad and give them a slight edge. On paper, Jamaica sit as the undoubted outsiders and would require something of a miracle to make it into the knockout stages. Predicted Winner: Argentina. Predicted Runner-Up: Uruguay Having had almost a full year to dust themselves off after the 7-1 dismantling at German hands last year, Brazil are on a mission for redemption at the 2015 Copa America. Claiming the title in Chile would go a long way to absolving the sins of that shocking home demolition at the 2014 World Cup, with Brazilian football writer Robbie Blakeley attesting to the new ethos under re-appointed manager Dunga:Since taking over the squad once more, Dunga has led the Selecao to a gleaming record of nine wins from nine, leaking just two goals in that period, but the Group C threat of Colombia could be vast.
Radamel Falcao may have endured a bothersome loan at Manchester United, but when donning the colours of his nation, the striker has been back in electric form, according to ESPN FC's Carl Worswick: Jose Pekerman's star train of course doesn't stop there, though and this Colombia side will be far more familiar with one another than the emerging setup in Brazil's camp. Peru and Venezuela will both consider themselves unfortunate after being drawn against two such strong contenders for the Copa America crown and will be looking at one another to pinch points in the hope of taking third. Predicted Winner: Brazil. Predicted Runner-Up: Colombia.
Article Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2489115-copa-america-2015-dates-schedule-top-groups-and-prediction
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