The Copa America has already started and the 15-time joint-highest winners of this competition, Uruguay, will open their campaign against Panama on Monday. The neighbours of the tournament favourites Brazil and Argentina will be hoping to leave a mark in the 2024 edition of the Copa America. It has been 13 years since Uruguay lifted the Copa America, as they last won it back in 2011. But this year they might make history yet again. And there is good reason behind it.
1. Difference makers in Attack, Midfield and Defence
When the world speaks of “South American talents”, one’s mind always goes to the Brazilians or the Argentinians. Not often do you hear about Uruguay in such conversations. But that doesn’t mean Uruguay doesn’t have talent. Ronald Araujo and Gimenez in defence, Fede Valverde along with the young Ugarte in midfield, Darwin Nunez’s explosiveness in attack with Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani’s experience should tell you exactly how many differential players Uruguay really possess.
2. The Core in their Prime
La Celeste’s spearhead in attack, Darwin Nunez will celebrate his 25th birthday on Uruguay’s opening matchday. Fede Valverde, one of the World’s best midfielders, turns 26 next month. Barcelona centre-half, Ronald Araujo is still just 25. Jose Maria Gimenez is 29 years of age, while the young midfielder, Manuel Ugarte is still 23. The core of this Uruguayan side are all in their physical prime and at the right time. This gives them an edge over sides like Argentina and Chile where their core best players are all past their prime, like Otamendi, Alexis Sanchez, Di Maria, etc. While Uruguay does have Luis Suarez and Cavani who fall in that category, it’s unlikely that either of the two will be a starter for Uruguay. Meanwhile, players like Di Maria and Sanchez are starters for their respective teams.
3. Argentina-Brazil not as imposing as they look like
While both teams are undoubtedly better than any other team, including La Celeste on paper, both tend to be shaky on the pitch. While this argument looks diabolical considering Argentina’s world ranking and achievements in the past 4 years, they are indeed at their weakest right now. But their opening match against Canada proved to be an eye-opener of sorts. The 48th-ranked National team, Canada posed real threats to Argentina throughout the match. And on the other hand, Argentina missed easy chances, including Messi missing 2 or 3 1v1’s. While the scoreline at Full-time was 2-0, it could have easily been 3-2 for either team. Meanwhile, Brazil’s form since their exit in the 2022 WC reads: 5 wins, 5 losses, 3 draws. If that’s not a sign of a staggering team then what is? Moreover, Brazil have failed to find a balance between their attack which individually is insane and the other parts of the team. So it isn’t like the beasts of this tournament cannot be slayed. In fact, Uruguay has done it already, and to both of them.
4. Proven beast slayers
Uruguay are the only team in the whole world who have been able to defeat both, Argentina and Brazil since the 2022 WC concluded. They won both these games by a 2 goal lead while also keeping a clean sheet in both games. To put this into perspective, Argentina’s 2-0 loss to Uruguay on November 17, 2023, was only their 2nd loss since July 3, 2019, i.e. in almost four years. While the game itself was largely dominated by Argentina, Uruguay managed to restrict La Albiceleste to only 3 attempts on goal while they accurately scored off their 2 attempts on target. Against Brazil, Uruguay didn’t allow even a single attempt on goal during the entire 90 minutes and secured a 2-0 win on October 18, 2023.
5. Wakey Wakey for the Sleeping Giants
Often the sentiment within a team pushes it to perform better under the brightest lights. Look at Argentina’s WC run in 2022. The theme that it could very well be Messi’s last World Cup, and the sentiment that if anything Messi “deserves” at least one World Cup before he retires, made the fans and the players alike, believe. A similar sense can be felt within this Uruguayan side, the “Sleeping Giants” of South American football as they are often referred to are trembling in excitement to explode onto the stage. It will most likely be the last time “El Pistolero”(Suarez) and “El Matador”(Cavani) represent Uruguay in an international tournament. The feeling of providing them with the perfect farewell will be on the minds of players and fans alike.
And so, with all points considered, Uruguay will put their best foot forward in Copa America 2024. But will their best be enough? Only time will tell.
