Copa America 2024 is on the horizon, and that means reigning champions Argentina will be tasked with defending their title this summer in the United States.
On the surface, Group A seems pretty straightforward for Argentina and eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi against Canada, Chile and Peru. There’s a very high probability that Argentina top their group with three wins and nine points on the board, but don’t rule out the other three sides just yet.
Canada, Chile and Peru all have their own key players that can make things happen. Sure, they may not have a Messi replica, but there will still be another team that will join Argentina in qualifying for the quarter-finals — meaning the head-to-head games between the three countries will be interesting to watch.
Here’s 90min’s preview of Group A in this summer’s Copa America.
Argentina’s projected star-studded squad will no doubt place them alongside Brazil as the favorites to take home the Copa America trophy for the second straight time. Messi made it his mission to bring an international trophy to his home country a few years back, and he has since added another in the form of the 2022 World Cup to cement himself as the greatest player to ever grace a pitch.
La Albiceleste should have no problems getting out of Group A unscathed in their bid to repeat as champions. The likes of Messi, Julian Alvarez, Lautaro Martinez will man the attack, while Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez take up shop in the middle of the park and Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez shore up the backline. While the final squads for the competition won’t be finalized until June 12, you can expect these players to feature for Argentina should they steer clear of injuries.
Alphonso Davies leads Canada into their first-ever Copa America appearance after playing a key role to the team reaching the 2022 World Cup for the first time in nearly four decades.
There’s no simple way to put it: Canada will be the underdogs in Group A and will more than likely battle it out with Peru to avoid finishing in the bottom of the group. While they do have talented players like the above-mentioned Davies, Jonathan David and Tajon Buchanan, they face a tough task of making out of a competitive Group A that contains the reigning World Cup winners.
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