The Copa America 2024 edition has given fans their money’s worth till now. From football brawls and entertaining games to screamers and Joga Bonito. And now it’s time for the knockout stage of the competition to start. The Quarterfinals of the coveted continental tournament will kick off tomorrow at 6.30 am with 2 of the 4 Quarterfinals getting underway. So let’s try and predict the Copa America Quarterfinals starting with:
Argentina v/s Ecuador
The defending champions will start off the Quarterfinals by taking on an Ecuadorian side that made an epic comeback in the tournament after losing their first game against Venezuela. It was one of those games where a Red card changed the course of the entire match in the favour of their opposition. But ever since they went on to defeat Jamaica and draw against Mexico to secure a place in the Quarterfinals. But sadly, this might be where their Copa America journey comes to an end. As they take on La Albiceleste, led by arguably the Greatest Of All Time. Argentina after somewhat of a shaky start to the competition have finally clicked into gear and seems ready to defend their crown as South American champions. They are the only team in the competition to have not conceded a single goal yet, and their defence and Emi Martinez would like to keep that record intact when they face Ecuador. It’s a very easy prediction that Argentina will go through.
Venezuela v/s Canada
Canada will face a Venezuelan side that surprised everyone when they topped their group in front of teams like Ecuador and Mexico. Not only that, but Venezuela managed to make light work of their group-stage matches, scoring 6 goals while conceding just one, and also winning all three matches. On the other hand, Canada, who are making their first appearance in the Copa America will hope that their big-name players like Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David can deliver a big result against the Venezuelans. It’s already quite impressive that Canada has qualified for the Quarterfinals over teams having South American pedigree like Chile and Peru. But a positive result against a buzzing Venezuelan side seems unlikely for the Canadians.
Colombia v/s Panama
Many would say that Panama doesn’t deserve to be here. They are only here because of some horror refereeing decisions that went their way in the USA vs Uruguay match. While it is true that the USA was the team everyone saw going through, it’s not Panama’s fault that the USA fumbled. And Panama deserves to be here in the Quarterfinals going up against Colombia. A Colombian side who have been probably the most impressive apart from the usual suspects. It seems as if the Colombians and Luis Diaz in particular have picked up exactly from where they left off in the last edition of the Copa America. This time Colombia held Brazil to a draw in their last group game to finish their group-stage campaign undefeated. They were rewarded with a favourable Quarterfinal draw for topping their group and are highly unlikely to book a semi-final spot for themselves.
Brazil v/s Uruguay
Last but certainly not least, Brazil go up against Uruguay to decide which South American heavyweight goes through. In what will be the Copa America 2024 matchup of the tournament so far, La Celeste will battle it out with all they have to register a famous win against a Brazilian side that has no shortage of talent. But this time Uruguay, I feel, have the upper hand. Uruguay by far have been the best team at the tournament winning all their matches, scoring 9 goals including a 5-0 thrashing of Bolivia and have conceded only a single goal. On the other hand, the eternal favourites of this competition haven’t been at their best. Rather they haven’t even been close to being their best self. They lack belief, and team coordination which is visible in how they play. The attack-midfield-defense are often found out of synchronisation and don’t inspire much hope as their predecessors have managed to do every time they took the pitch. In what will be a two-sided affair, I am backing Uruguay to knock Brazil out of the Copa America.
