GROUP A
USA
VS. COLOMBIA, Friday, 7:30 p.m. MT, Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.
VS. COSTA RICA, Tuesday, 6 p.m. MT, Soldier Field, Chicago
VS. PARAGUAY, June 11, 5 p.m. MT, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
The Americans are hitting their stride, at least in terms of results. They have won six of seven matches this year, although, in the only outings that mattered, they split two World Cup qualifiers with lowly Guatemala. A 4-0 victory over Bolivia on Saturday in the final pre-Copa test offered encouragement.
As hosts, the Americans are almost obligated to advance out of group play. Drawn into the tournament’s most-balanced quartet, they are neither clear favorites nor heavy underdogs in any single match. Goal differential could become a deciding factor in determining the group’s two quarterfinalists.
Klinsmann has retained the core of a squad that escaped the World Cup’s so-called Group of Death two years ago. But his positional deployment and tactics have come under constant scrutiny and critics have questioned whether the program is making progress.
Change has come in goal, where Brad Guzan supplanted 2014 hero Tim Howard. Geoff Cameron and John Brooks must function in a central defensive partnership. Fabian Johnson, the team’s most complete player, will probably fill a glaring void at left back instead of operating on the wing.
Striker Jozy Altidore is sidelined again by a hamstring injury, but Bobby Wood, Gyasi Zardes, Darlington Nagbe and Christian Pulisic, 17, supply fresh attacking options.
Player to watch
Clint Dempsey
Big events call for big performances by big names. Across an 11-year international career, the east Texan has provided: goals in three consecutive World Cups, second-most goals on the U.S. all-time list and most goals in U.S. World Cup qualifying history. At 33, he is facing possibly his last major go-round. For experience and perhaps a few goals, “Deuce” is the one.
Coach
Jurgen Klinsmann
The German-born, California-living boss is approaching his fifth anniversary of not only guiding the national team but attempting to reshape American soccer. His methods have met some resistance and results have been mixed. Failure to advance to the Copa’s knockout stage would renew calls for a coaching change before World Cup qualifying resumes in September.
COLOMBIA
VS. U.S., Friday, 7:30 p.m. MT, Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.
VS. PARAGUAY, Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. MT, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.
VS.COSTA RICA, June 11, 7 p.m. MT, NRG Stadium, Houston
For opponents of Los Cafeteros, there is both fear and optimism. For decades, Colombia has threatened to join the continental titans (Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay) on a permanent basis. It roared through 1994 World Cup qualifying with force and grace to become the darling pick to win the global title. It won Copa America at home in 2001 without conceding a goal and rushed to the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Cup.
But there is also an unsatisfying side: the collapse under enormous expectations in 1994 in the United States and failure to qualify for three consecutive World Cups between 2002 and 2010. In the current qualifying effort, Colombia sits fifth with 10 points from six matches.
Jose Pekerman has a mix of players from leagues in Europe, South America and Mexico. While Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez is the glamorous centerpiece, capable of changing and winning matches on his own from a withdrawn forward role, striker Carlos Bacca is in the best form: 77 league goals over four seasons with Club Brugge, Sevilla and AC Milan. Juan Cuadrado, a versatile right-side player, was a regular with Juventus this season, on loan from Chelsea, and contributed to Serie A and Italian Cup titles.
Player to watch
James Rodriguez
The dynamic 24-year-old attacker won the Golden Boot as the 2014 World Cup’s leading scorer, but his $90 million transfer to Real Madrid from Monaco has fallen short of expectation. This season, he started just 17 of 38 league matches and three games during the trophy-winning Champions League campaig
Coach
Jose Pekerman
The Argentine native has been in charge for more than four years, overseeing the 2014 World Cup quarterfinal run and a subpar Copa display last summer that began with a defeat to Venezuela. His coaching career has also included Argentina’s under-20 and senior national teams and Mexican clubs Toluca and Tigres.
COSTA RICA
VS. PARAGUAY, Saturday, 3 p.m. MT, Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Fla.
VS. U.S., Tuesday, 6 p.m. MT, Soldier Field, Chicago
VS. COLOMBIA, June 11, 9 p.m. EST, NRG Stadium, Houston
For decades, the Ticos played quality soccer and turned out exceptional players while nipping at Mexican and U.S. heels for CONCACAF supremacy. Their underdog image, though, was retired forever after their World Cup quarterfinal run in 2014. After winning a group that included Uruguay, Italy and England (seven combined world titles), Costa Rica edged Greece on penalty kicks in the round of 16 before losing in the same manner to the Netherlands.
Goalkeeper Keylor Navas parlayed his craftsmanship in Brazil into a transfer to Real Madrid. And last week, when Real won its 11th UEFA Champions League title, Navas was the starter. Yet Navas has been ruled out of the tournament with an Achilles’ tendon injury. Without its star goalkeeper, Costa Rica’s chances of getting out of the group dimmed considerably.
The Ticos are about more than a goalie. Defender Oscar Duarte (Espanyol) and midfielder Celso Borges (Deportivo de La Coruña) also play in Spain’s elite division, and others are with clubs in the English Premier League, French Ligue 1 and Portugal’s top flight. D.C. United forward Alvaro Saborio is the squad’s active scoring leader with 35 goals in 108 appearances.
Player to watch
Joel Campbell
At 20, Campbell made the leap from domestic titan Saprissa to English giant Arsenal. Except he did not find a home with the Gunners until this season, posting three goals in 19 league matches. In between, to foster his development, Arsenal loaned him to French, Spanish and Greek clubs. He scored vs. Uruguay in the World Cup.
Coach
Oscar Ramirez
One of the country’s most treasured soccer figures, Ramirez took charge of the national team last August. He played in the domestic league for 17 years, mostly with famed clubs Alajuelense and Saprissa. His 75 international appearances included the 1990 World Cup. His coaching prospects soared with Alajuelense.
PARAGUAY
VS. COSTA RICA, Saturday, 3 p.m. MT, Camping World Stadium, Orlando , Fla.
VS. COLOMBIA, Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. MT, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.
VS. U.S., June 11, 5 p.m. MT, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Although Los Guaranies lack the championship pedigree of their high-profile brethren, having gone 37 years without a Copa trophy, they almost always find themselves in the knockout-stage mix of both the continental tournament and World Cup. They’ve qualified for the Copa quarterfinals in all but one of the past nine tournaments, reaching the final in 2011 and semis last summer.
Style and grace are not their forte. The 2011 squad was a survival marvel, passing to the final without winning a match in regulation or extra time. It tied all three group matches and bested Brazil and Venezuela on penalty kicks in the quarters and semis respectively before falling to Uruguay in the final, 3-1. The official record: 0-1-5.
Last year’s Copa performance seemed to recalibrate the team after finishing last in the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign with a 3-10-3 record. As part of a generational shift, Coach Ramon Diaz did not select career scoring leader Roque Santa Cruz, 34, for this summer’s festivities. He did take goalkeeper Justo Villar, who turns 39 in June and has served the national team since 1999 with more than 100 appearances. Diaz also chose veteran forward Nelson Valdez, who is in his second MLS season with the Seattle Sounders.
Player to watch
Dario Lezcano
While the 25-year-old striker’s move from Swiss club Luzern to Ingolstadt last winter yielded two goals in 17 Bundesliga appearances, he made a fast impression on the national team with four goals in consecutive World Cup qualifiers against Bolivia, Ecuador and Brazil. Two came in a 21-minute stretch in Ecuador.
Coach
Ramon Diaz
Diaz is best known for his association with River Plate in his native Argentina, serving two stints as a player and three as manager. He coached the famed organization to five league championships and the 1996 Copa Libertadores title, South America’s premier club competition. Paraguay beckoned in late 2014.
GROUP B
BRAZIL
VS. ECUADOR, Saturday, 8 p.m. MT, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.
VS. HAITI, Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. MT, Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Fla.
VS. PERU, June 12, 6:30 p.m. MT, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
Remember the Brazilian team that was humiliated at home by Germany in the 2014 World Cup? This team is not nearly as good, and it’s largely a result. In the aftermath of that loss, the Brazilian federation reappointed Dunga, who had been derided during his previous coaching tenure from 2006 to 2010 for implementing a defensive style that sapped the team of much of its “Jogo Bonito” flair. Sure, Brazil hasn’t given up seven goals since, but Dunga is no more beloved this time around.
His player selections aren’t helping. Paris Saint-Germain’s Thiago Silva, the former captain and a former central-defense mainstay, didn’t even make the preliminary 40-man roster for this competition, nor did his World Cup partner, Dante, nor Real Madrid left back Marcelo – leaving Barcelona’s Dani Alves standing as the only defensive holdover from the 2014 team. The three goalkeepers chosen have a combined 14 appearances.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s brightest star, Neymar, is staying home to play in the Rio Olympics (not buy Dunga’s choice), and one of its next-brightest, Bayern Munich midfielder Douglas Costa, is out injured. This team should still reach the second round without them, but it won’t look much like Brazil either way.
Player to watch
There’s no real substitute for a Neymar, but Willian, for as bad of a season as Chelsea just concluded, can at least help fill the attacking void. The 27-year-old has recorded an assist in three consecutive World Cup qualifiers, including last time out on Dani Alves’s added-time equalizer against the Paraguayans.
Coach
Dunga
There were cries for his job last summer when Brazil lost to Paraguay in the quarterfinals of the Copa. There were cries for his job in March when Brazil tied Paraguay and settled in at sixth, outside of the spots for Russia, in South American qualifying for the World Cup. Reports suggest another setback would be his last.
ECUADOR
VS. BRAZIL, Saturday, 8 p.m. MT, Rose Bowl,Pasadena, Calif.
VS. PERU, Wednesday, 8 p.m. MT, Univ. of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
VS. HAITI, June 12, 4:30 p.m. MT, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
Ecuador will have little time to settle in: Its opens play Saturday against Brazil in the Rose Bowl, a match that will set the tone not only for its own tournament but also for how this group will play out. Win, and it’s all downhill to the knockout stages from there. Lose, and the next match against Peru – which will have presumably dispatched of Haiti – quickly becomes do-or-die.
To avoid that scenario, Ecuador must be better than it was in its lethargic warmup against the United States last week, when it registered just three shots in a 1-0 loss. Manchester United wingback Antonio Valencia, one of the fastest players in the sport, didn’t feature in that one, and his return to the fold should help. Enner Valencia (no relation) of West Ham and Swansea City’s Jefferson Montero provide two more forward-thinking options, as does forward Jaime Ayovi. Captain Walter Ayovi (Jaime’s cousin) of Mexican club Monterrey marshals the back line.
Ecuador has made a bit of a push in recent years, playing in its first World Cup in 2002 and making two of the three since. As far as the Copa goes, though, it’s never finished better than fourth.
Player to watch
Enner Valencia
Out with injuries for much of the Premier League season, Valencia made an impact when healthy, scoring twice in January against Manchester City. He’s only made 24 international appearances, but he’s already scored 14 times – sending him into an early 10th place on Ecuador’s all-time list.
Coach
Gustavo Quinteros
The former Bolivia player and coach has said that he tells his players not to watch television and not to read, producing a single-mindedness that appears to be working: A third of the way through, Ecuador is an unlikely second to Uruguay on goal differential in World Cup qualifying.
HAITI
VS. PERU, Saturday, 5:30 p.m. MT, CenturyLink Field, Seattle
VS. BRAZIL, Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. MT, Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Fla.
VS. ECUADOR, June 12, 4:30 p.m. MT, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
History’s top two Haitian soccer players, as it turned out, each played for the United States: 1950 World Cup hero Joe Gaetjens scored the goal that gave the Americans their famous upset of England, while Jozy Altidore, though out for the Copa with an injury, is the U.S. program’s No. 3 all-time scorer at 26 years of age. Those actually playing for Haiti haven’t had as much luck, but the tiny island nation does have one World Cup berth (in 1974) to its credit.
Haiti punched above its weight in the 2015 Gold Cup, beating out Panama and back-to-back World Cup side Honduras for second place in Group A behind the United States. Captain Johnny Placide, a former France youth international, is a goalie for French second-division club Stade Reims, and he’ll be shielded here by Standard Liege reserve Reginal Goreux and center back Romain Genevois, a part-time starter in Ligue 1 for Nice.
Finishing with a point or more in this tournament would be considered a success, but it could happen. And if it does, Altidore has made sure the country will be able to see it – his foundation is delivering TV broadcasts of all of Haiti’s and United States’ matches, as well as the semifinals and finals.
Player to watch
Duckens Nazo
The Paris-born 22-year-old, a forward for Stade Lavallois, scored last summer’s two Gold Cup goals for Haiti, becoming a national figure in lifting it to the knockout stages. A partnership in the attack with 23-year-old Jeff Louis of Caen in Ligue 1 has interesting potential, both here and going forward.
Coach
Patrice Neveu
Haiti represents the fifth national-team job for the Frenchman but, oddly, the first outside of Africa. Neveu only took over for Marc Collat, the Gold Cup coach, in December and faced a big first test in January: winning a playoff over Trinidad and Tobago, 1-0, that secured the Copa entry.
PERU
VS. HAITI, Saturday, 5:30 p.m. MT, CenturyLink Field, Seattle
VS. ECUADOR, Wednesday, 8 p.m. MT, Univ. of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
VS. BRAZIL, June 12, 6:30 p.m. MT, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
Peru hasn’t qualified for a World Cup since 1982, but whenever a Copa calls, something seems to click. The team has finished third in each of the past two iterations, edging World Cup quarterfinalist Colombia for second in last year’s group stage and Paraguay in the tournament’s consolation match.
If it does the same this time around, it will be with a surprising cast: longtime captain Claudio Pizarro of Werder Bremen, former Schalke winger Jefferson Farfan and Wolfsburg center back Carlos Zambrano didn’t even make the preliminary roster. All three started against Venezuela in a World Cup qualifier in March, along with Bursaspor right back Luis Advincula, who also missed the cut.
Peru’s final 23-man group is comprised of a whopping 16 domestic-league players, including 25-year-old forward Raul Ruidiaz, nicknamed the “Peruvian Messi,” and goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, who’s one of only three starters from last year’s third-place squad in the mix. Midfielder Christian Cueva of Toluca in Mexico and Flamengo striker Paolo Guerrero, the top scorer two Copas running, are the others.
Player to watch
Paolo Guerrero
How much Pizarro’s absence will affect his productivity remains to be seen, although Guerrero has certainly proved he can do it alone: In 2015, a year in which he scored four Copa goals, the 32-year-old became the first Peruvian player to be named a Golden Ball nominee.
Coach
Ricardo Gareca
Gareca had only a few months to prepare for last year’s edition after being hired in March, and he certainly made the best of it. Even so, Peru is just eighth in World Cup qualifying, and it would be even lower without the excluded Farfan – whose three goals tie him for second in CONMEBOL
GROUP C
MEXICO
VS. URUGUAY, Sunday, 6 p.m. MT, Univ. of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
VS. JAMAICA, June 9, 8 p.m. MT, Rose Bowl,Pasadena, Calif.
VS. VENEZUELA, June 13, 6 p.m. MT, NRG Stadium, Houston
El Tri hasn’t lost since June 19, in last summer’s Copa America, and it has every reason to think it can win the whole thing this time around. A big part of that is its de facto home field advantage: After opening against Uruguay in Glendale, Arizona, less than 200 miles from the border, Mexico will play the Jamaicans in Pasadena, Calif., where in October its fans outnumbered the Americans’ in its CONCACAF Cup win, then close out the group stage in Houston. It’s no accident that list doesn’t include Seattle or Foxborough.
More optimism should abound on the field itself. The team’s star striker, Javier “Chicarito” Hernandez, has never been better; Diego Reyes, who spent the season on loan at Real Sociedad, has made a case to start in a sturdy defense that still, somehow, looks set to be anchored by 37-year-old Rafa Marquez; and Andres Guardado and Hector Moreno were both key parts of the upstart PSV side that took eventual Champions League finalist Atletico Madrid to penalties in March. But opponents may be counting their blessings anyway – Mexico’s attack would have been even more imposing if the L.A. Galaxy’s Giovani dos Santos hadn’t turned down his call-up.
Player to watch
Javier Hernandez
Chicharito began the season as a Manchester United castoff, and ended it with deserved links to Bayern Munich. His form (17 goals for Bayer Leverkusen, good for fourth in the German Bundesliga) is torrid, and his place in history (four goals from breaking Jared Borgetti’s all-time Mexican record) is in reach.
Coach
Juan Carlos Osorio
Osorio, 54, appointed in October to lead a national team for the first time, is Mexico’s first Colombian coach, its first non-Mexican coach since Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson in 2008-09 – and its 13th overall since 2006. So stability, if it’s to ever come, hasn’t yet.
URUGUAY
VS. MEXICO, Sunday, 6 p.m. MT, Univ. of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
VS. VENEZUELA, June 9, 5:30 p.m. MT, Lincoln Financial Field,Philadelphia
VS. JAMAICA, June 13, 8 p.m. MT, Levi’s Stadium,Santa Clara, Calif.
This is a bunch with a strong spine, if not much meat on its bones. Galatasaray’s Fernando Muslera mans the net, the Atletico Madrid pairing of Diego Godin and Jose Maria Gimenez anchors the center of defense, and the mercurial Luis Suarez leads the line alongside Paris-St. Germain’s Edinson Cavani. In between the front and back, however, is a relative weak point, with five of Uruguay’s eight listed midfielders age 30 or older, including Egidio Arevalo Rios, still relied upon at 34.
Last year’s Copa saw Uruguay go out in the quarterfinals, but a look at the larger picture should quiet any alarms. Suarez, after all, was out – serving his suspension for his World Cup assault on Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini – and the country’s 1-0 elimination loss came at the hands of tournament host Chile, which went on to take the title. These days, sitting atop South America in 2018 World Cup qualifying, Uruguay is doing just fine.
Suarez, who injured his hamstring in the Copa del Rey final, can’t quite say the same. Should he miss the first couple games as reported, Cavani, Diego Rolan and winger Cristian Rodriguez would be further counted on to spark the offense.
Player to watch
Luis Suarez
He might get a hat trick. He might bite someone. He might, if we’re lucky, do both. One thing’s for sure, though: If Suarez overcomes his injury to play, he won’t be boring. In 35 league matches with Barcelona this season, he scored 40 times with 16 assists. Uruguay can’t afford another edition without him.
Coach
Oscar Tabarez
Tabarez, in charge since 2006, is an anomaly, one of the longest-tenured managers in international soccer history. The former defender, who’s actually in his second stint coaching Uruguay (he first did so from 1988 to 1990), led Los Charruas to the World Cup semifinals in 2010 and the Copa crown in 2011.
JAMAICA
VS. VENEZUELA, Sunday, 3 p.m. MT, Soldier Field, Chicago
VS. MEXICO, June 9, 8 p.m. MT, Rose Bowl,Pasadena, Calif.
VS. URUGUAY, June 13, 8 p.m. MT, Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.
If you can’t decide between watching Copa America and the Euros, start here: The Jamaicans have nine English-born players on their 23-man roster recruited through family heritage, including Wes Morgan, also the captain of Premier League champion Leicester City. A few others, notably Crystal Palace’s Adrian Mariappa, Leyton Orient’s Jobi McAnuff and Reading’s Garath McCleary, have likewise spent time in the Premier League, although the contingent largely comprises journeymen who have cut their teeth in England’s lower tiers. Forward Giles Barnes, who played extensively for England at the under-19 level, is now with the Houston Dynamo and one of six MLS players on the Jamaican roster, second most in the tournament behind the United States.
Rodolph Austin, a hardy central midfielder for Brondby in Denmark, was in Morgan’s position as captain in last summer’s Copa, where Jamaica lost all three of its games by 1-0 and finished last out of 12 teams. The next month’s Gold Cup went far better, as it became the first Caribbean team to reach the final. Now, having qualified for this year’s Copa through winning the 2014 Caribbean Cup, the Jamaicans should enter the competition with plenty of confidence after a 2-1 tuneup win Friday at Chile.
Player to watch
Wes Morgan
Given 150-to-1 odds to claim the trophy, the Reggae Boyz aren’t expected to do much damage. But if you’re Morgan, that might as well be favorite status, having just captained his other team to a 5,000-to-1 Premier League title. He can’t lock down entire front lines on his own, but there’s nothing the 32-year-old hasn’t seen.
Coach
Winfried Schafer
Since reaching the 1994 UEFA Cup semifinals with Karlsruher SC, Jamaica’s coach has spent the bulk of his career in world soccer’s more remote outposts. The 66-year-old won an African Cup of Nations with Cameroon in 2002, a United Arab Emirates league title in 2006 and few fans in his prior stint as the short-lived boss for Thailand.
VENEZUELA
VS. JAMAICA, Sunday, 3 p.m. MT, Soldier Field, Chicago
VS. URUGUAY, June 9, 5:30 p.m. MT, Lincoln Financial Field,Philadelphia
VS. MEXICO, June 13, 6 p.m. MT, NRG Stadium, Houston
Venezuela has a few nice pieces, particularly Genoa midfielder Tomas Rincon and West Bromwich Albion striker Jose Alomon Rondon. Juanpi and Roberto Rosales, both at Malaga in Spain, are a promising 22-year-old attacking midfielder and an attacking-minded right back, respectively. It also has a recent history of surprising, reaching the Copa America semifinal round in 2011 after unexpectedly taking second place in a group that featured Brazil, Paraguay and Ecuador.
But Venezuela is sitting last in 2018 World Cup qualifying for a reason. It’s lost to middling Paraguay and Ecuador at home, was hammered by Brazil and Chile, and even got smacked around at lowly Bolivia, yielding 17 total goals on its way to an 0-5-1 record.
Juan Arango, Venezuela’s all-time goals and appearances leader who captained the team at last summer’s Copa, retired from international play in September, taking away an extra bit of scoring punch. That his goals record sits at just 23, however, tells you just about all you need to know about the country’s soccer clout historically.
Player to watch
Tomas Rincon
He started as a ballboy for Venezuela in his home town of San Cristobal, made his debut in 2008 and was named by Adidas as 2011 Copa America’s best player (even though Luis Suarez took home the official Golden Ball). Now, having succeeded his childhood idol Arango as captain, this team belongs to him.
Coach
Rafael Dudamel
A former nationalteam goalkeeper, Dudamel compiled 56 caps for Venezuela with, oddly, one goal – a 1996 free-kick strike in a World Cup qualifier against Argentina. The 43-year-old has only been in charge since early April, replacing Cesar Farias after his resignation over the team’s dismal qualifying start.
GROUP D
ARGENTINA
VS. CHILE, Monday, 8 p.m. MT, Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.
VS. PANAMA, June 10, 7:30 p.m. MT, Soldier Field, Chicago
VS. BOLIVIA, June 14, 8 p.m. MT, CenturyLink Field, Seattle
Having the best player in the world is one thing. Surrounding him with a supporting cast that features Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Angel Di Maria, Erik Lamela, Ever Banega and Gonzalo Higuain is another. Argentina’s attack is, in short, an embarrassment of riches – yet, somehow, it hasn’t paid off in trophies.
La Albiceleste have reached the Copa America final three times in the Lionel Messi era, including last summer, with three runner-up finishes to show for it. They reached the World Cup final once, too, in Brazil in 2014, only to lose to Germany in extra time. And so for all of his club success Messi’s biggest international achievement to date remains a 2008 Olympic gold medal.
Messi’s window to fill that blank spot on his résumé is far from closed, to be sure, but it’s beginning to inch toward the sill. Said Manager Gerardo Martino to Goal in February: “It’s clear that not having won with Argentina weighs on him.”
Player to watch
Lionel Messi
As if you’d be able to take your eyes off him. Argentina’s captain, a five-time world player of the year, is a ball-control magician with an uncanny ability to make defenders’ ankles disappear. With Manchester City’s Nicholas Otamendi leading a sturdier back line, this might be his best chance to get over the hump.
Coach
Gerardo Martino
“Tata” briefly managed Messi and Javier Mascherano at Barcelona in 2013-14, a tenure he later deemed “a total failure.” More successful has been his time with Argentina, which after an October loss to Ecuador in Buenos Aires has corrected its World Cup course with wins at Colombia and Chile.
CHILE
VS. ARGENTINA, Monday, 8 p.m. MT, Levi’s Stadium,Santa Clara, Calif.
VS. BOLIVIA, June 10, 5 p.m. MT, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
VS. PANAMA, June 14, 6 p.m. MT, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
There’s a lot to like from Chile: It’s the defending champion in the event, ranked No. 3 in the world and fronted by big names such as Alexis Sanchez of Arsenal and Arturo Vidal of Bayern Munich.
Then there’s the red-flag-raising rest: Its triumph last time came not coincidentally on home soil, the alternative Elo ranking system has Chile considerably farther down at No. 9, and none of those big names could do much against Jamaica’s considerably smaller ones in a shocking warmup defeat at home last week.
Backstopped and captained by Barcelona’s Claudio Bravo, the nation’s all-time caps leader, Chile stands fourth in World Cup qualifying, having won just one of its past four matches after a fast start. Sanchez, Vidal and Hoffenheim winger Eduardo Vargas make up three parts of a seven-way tie for second in South America with three goals apiece, but the problem is that there’s little in front of Bravo to make opposing offenses wary.
A weak group means Chile should still reach the knockout stage, but beyond that its potential is unclear. A second-place finish would yield a quarterfinal matchup with the winner of Group C, likely Uruguay or Mexico. Neither would be favorable.
Player to watch
Arturo Vidal
The midfielder wasn’t himself following his summer move from Juventus to Bayern, leaving many to question his price tag. Then he reinvented what “himself” means, recognizing his new physical limits at 29 and adopting a slower, more cerebral game – which, if not as flashy, may make him even more influential.
Coach
Juan Antonio Pizzi
Pizzi was appointed in January and not the first choice, and it’s easy to understand why others may have declined. The man he replaced, Jorge Sampaoli, beat Spain en route to the 2014 World Cup’s round of 16, guided Chile to its first Copa title and, after all that, was poorly treated by the federation.
PANAMA
VS. BOLIVIA, Monday, 5 p.m. MT, Camping World Stadium, Orlando
VS. ARGENTINA, June 10, 7:30 p.m. MT, Soldier Field, Chicago
VS. CHILE, June 14, 6 p.m. MT, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Panama doesn’t have history (no World Cups, no Gold Cup titles), or youth (five players 34 or over), or players in high-level leagues (two in Colombia, two in Mexico, none in Europe), but it gets results. Last summer it was a whistle away from the Gold Cup final, only to have the referee award Mexico a game-tying penalty in a 10th minute of added time; another awarded penalty cost Panama the game in the subsequent extra session. It later beat the host United States in a shootout to claim third place.
Former L.A. Galaxy goalie Jaime Penedo and captain Felipe Baloy of Club Atlas direct a defensive-minded unit that has a tendency to bunker, while the Vancouver Whitecaps’ Blas Perez – who recently won MLS goal of the week for a spectacular game-winning bicycle kick against Chicago – supplies the muscle up top and on the counter.
Los Canaleros stand in second in their CONCACAF World Cup qualifying group, three points ahead of Jamaica, which they defeated, 2-0, in Kingston in October. Narrowly pushed out of a playoff for a spot in Brazil two years ago, Panama reached the Copa by virtue of a 4-0 win over Cuba in January.
Player to watch
Blas Perez
Evergreen at 35, the Vancouver bruiser continues to score big goals at an astounding rate, including against the United States at last summer’s Gold Cup. He bagged 10 in 2014 World Cup qualifying, good for second in the region; Panama will need his trademark bullhorns celebration to make more appearances here.
Coach
Hernan Dario Gomez
The man known as “El Bolillo” has had success and controversy in nearly equal measures. Having led both Colombia (1998) and Ecuador (2002) to World Cups, Gomez resigned from a second stint with the former after allegedly punching a woman outside of a Bogota bar in 2011.
BOLIVIA
VS. PANAMA, June 6, 5 p.m. MT, Camping World Stadium, Orlando
VS. CHILE, June 10, 5 p.m. MT, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
VS. ARGENTINA, June 14, 8 p.m. MT, CenturyLink Field, Seattle
This is the lowest-ranked team in the competition, and its 4-0 defeat to the United States on Friday suggested that’s about right. Bolivia has qualified for just one World Cup since 1950, that coming in 1994, when future D.C. United midfielder Marco Etcheverry – perhaps the country’s greatest player – was red-carded three minutes into the first match against Germany after coming on as a substitute. (Another United player-to-be, Jaime Moreno, had entered the game 13 minutes earlier.) Bolivia has never been higher than seventh in 10-team South American qualifying since.
The current Bolivian outfit is in transition, having lost top striker Marcelo Martins and former captain Ronald Raldes to international retirement in September. Forward Juan Carlos Arce of the domestic league is now the team’s most-capped player, with 50, while nine on the 23-man roster have four appearances or fewer.
If you’re still looking for optimism, Bolivia did reach the quarterfinals in last summer’s Copa America, beating Ecuador and drawing a watered-down Mexican side to finish second behind Chile in Group A. After five consecutive group-stage exits, and in spite of an ensuing 3-1 loss to Peru, that qualifies as a definite success.
Player to watch
Bruno Miranda
Miranda is at the forefront of that “four-caps-or-fewer” category, with his first coming in a second-half run-out against the Americans on Saturday. The attacker is one of the youngest players in the tournament at just 18 and only made his professional debut in Chile in March, but early indications are promising.
Coach
Julio Cesar Baldivieso
Tied for the third-most goals in Bolivian history, Baldivieso played 85 times for La Verde between 1991 and 2005, starting two of the three matches at the 1994 World Cup. But for all his national-team success as a player, Baldivieso perhaps hasn’t quite figured out the other side: He was the reason Martins and Raldes quit.
