Heavyweights ready to slug it out for Copa America

With an absence of competitive football for the South American nations finally over, the Copa America is upon us, writes Jacob Bentley-York.

Ushering in a new cycle of international football, this is a tournament with huge significance with qualification for the 2022 World Cup on the horizon.

This year sees all the heavyweights feature with old foes such as Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia and defending champions Chile all looking to do battle in football's oldest continental competition.

With fresh faces Japan and Qatar and a host of smaller nations looking to create an upset, it really is time to get down to business.

Pressure on the hosts

For Brazil it feels like we’ve been here before. On the cusp of another major tournament on home soil the only measure of success is victory, nothing less will do.

Despite winning all Copa’s they have hosted previously (four in total), recent success has been limited for the South American juggernauts.

The humiliation suffered at the hands of Germany five years ago still burns brightly, and last year’s World Cup was not much better after their 2-1 quarter final defeat to Belgium.

Add in the fact that Brazil have not got beyond the quarter-finals in the last three Copa tournaments and you have a situation where the pressure is enormous.

The big team news prior to the tournament was the admission of Neymar who was ruled out through injury after limping out of a friendly against Qatar earlier this month.

Despite the set back, Brazil’s form has picked up in recent weeks and forwards Roberto Firmino and Gabriel Jesus, both of whom are coming off the back of fine seasons with their club, will get the chance to lead the line.

Manager Tite admitted his side were too open last year and will opt for a more pragmatic approach this time around.

This explained the inclusions of new captain Dani Alves and Fernandinho in the final 23, although an array of young attacking talent is still heavily featured in the squad.

On paper, the group stages look like a breeze but, as Brazil know all too well, the knockouts are where it really counts.

The return of Messi and the fate of Argentina

For over a decade, it’s the same question that is posed by the Argentinian media: Why can Messi do it there and not here?

Messi is undoubtedly one of the greatest to have ever graced the game but, despite all the talent and trophies with Barcelona, his experience with the national side has been one of frustration, heartache and misery.

Just three months ago, the future of Messi in an Argentina shirt was unclear and, having announced his international retirement after the Copa America final defeat to Chile in 2016, it certainly wasn’t the first time either.

Despite suffering that very familiar feeling after crashing out to eventual winners France in the round of 16 at last summer’s World Cup, Messi is back once more and fully on board with the cause.

Argentina last won the Copa America in 1993 but, since then, they have lost four Copa America finals and a World Cup final in 2014 - making this tournament all the more important for the morale of the national side.

Despite Messi’s presence this is, on the whole, a rather weak side with only nine remaining from Russia 2018 and 15 of this summer’s 23-man squad holding fewer than 15 international caps.

On the touchline, there will be plenty of eyes on interim boss and managerial newcomer Lionel Scaloni as the side look to transition from the rather turbulent reign of former boss Jorge Sampaoli.

With a home Copa America next year and a World Cup in 2022, this is realistically one of the last opportunities for Messi to make his mark in the light blue and white strips.

Pragmatic Uruguay ready to strike again

Uruguay were statistically the best South American team in last year’s World Cup with four wins from five and they come into the tournament with more Copa titles than anyone else, a staggering 14.

At the age of 72, manager Tabarez is still guiding this team to new heights and, unlike Argentina, this is a squad with stability and a clear identity.

Edinson Cavani, Luis Suarez and Diego Godin are all still around to make the difference and a host of young players coming through the system such as Arsenal’s Lucas Torreira, Juventus’ Rodrigo Bentancur and the bullish West Ham target Maxi Gomez are keeping this team ticking over nicely.

What certainly hasn’t changed during Tabarez’s reign is his approach. Uruguay are dogged and hard to beat and can be impenetrable on their day.

Judging on recent performances, you expect this Uruguay team to go deep in the tournament and have a great chance of causing an upset on Brazilian soil just as they did all those years ago.

The Colombia project

Full of a host of talent that incorporates an exquisite mix of bullish physicality and technical flair, there is a strong argument that Colombia are moving in the right direction.

The appointment of the experienced Carlos Querioz looks a shrewd bit of business with the nation looking to take themselves to the next level.

Captain Falcao aside, this is a young team very much realising their potential and this tournament looks to be a good opportunity to test themselves especially with the knowledge that they will be jointly hosting the Copa America next year alongside Argentina.

One man that will be decisive in that is James Rodriguez. He lit up the World Cup five years ago in Brazil and the team desperately suffered from his absence when they crashed out on penalties last year.

The Real Madrid star has had a frustrating time at club level since then with a varied time both in Spain and Germany, where he is on-loan at Bayern Munich, but he will be eager to show once again just how talented out he is.

The jury may be out as to how far this Colombian team can go, but it’s sure to be entertaining.

An unlikely Chile hat-trick

Chile return to this year’s tournament as defending champions having won the last two Copa America titles, twice beating Argentina on penalties and ending nearly a century’s wait to get their hands on the trophy.

Despite that success, recent form suggests they are on a downward trajectory with some of the influence of key players like Alexis Sánchez and Arturo Vidal on the wane.

Having not even qualified for last year’s World Cup, the team is still relying heavily on veterans and quality replacements seem to be thin on the ground. In fact, 12 of the current squad featured in their last Copa America outing three years ago.

Given that they are a team rebuilding, any sort of pressure to repeat the feat of the last two tournaments would be harsh but, as the current holders, there will inevitably be expectation.

Best of the rest

Aside from the big names, this tournament has a host of vibrant sides willing to make a go of it including two of the invited teams from Asia in Japan and Qatar.

Those who remember their World Cup campaign will know the battle hardened nature of Japan after coming within seconds of forcing Belgium to extra time in their round of sixteen clash last year. One thing’s for sure, they will be no push overs.

As for Qatar, they are a relatively new side, but one that shocked the established order with their victory over Japan in the Asian Cup final in January.

This is very much a tournament they will use to prepare themselves for their World Cup debut in 2022 and, as an unknown quantity, they could spring a shock.

Throw in the passion of Peru and the promise of Venezuela and you have numerous teams up for the fight in what is building to be a truly unpredictable Copa America.