Copa America 2007 about to kick off

Copa America 2007 is about to kick off in Venezuela today/tomorrow (depending on which time-zone you are looking at. The 12 participants included invited guests from North America, Mexico & the US. Both these teams contested the CONCACAF Gold Cup (which is the North American championship) a couple of days ago, hosted & narrowly won by the US.

The groups are as follows:
Group A: Venezuela, Uruguay, Peru, Bolivia
Group B: Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador
Group C: Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia, US

The top 2 in each group, plus the 2 best third-placed teams will qualify for the quarter-finals.

The Copa America should be one to look forward to, even though Brazil will not have their best 2 players, Kaka & Ronaldinho. Both have asked for a break from national team duties, therefore disappointing their many fans who undoubtedly were looking forward to seeing them in action. Nevertheless, Brazil's squad will still be very strong, & their firepower up front remains second to none - after all, Brazil will always be Brazil. People may say their absences somewhat devalues the prestige of the Copa America. That may contain an element of truth, I dunno for sure. But whatI do know is that Kaka & Ronaldinho's absences will definitely give opportunities to other players to step up & grab the limelight, push for a regular starting place & make a name for themselves in the Brazil jersey.

Here's how I see the teams fare:

Group A: Venezuela should be able to make the most of home advantage & make it out of the group. Uruguay will accompany them. I'm not sure which of these will finish first. Between Peru & Bolivia, I'm not sure which will finish third either. If pressed, I'd say Bolivia to finish third, narrowly ahead of Peru.

Group B: Despite Kaka & Ronaldinho's absences, & despite the group being the toughest of the 3, Brazil will be favoured to finish first. Coming second is not an option for the samba kings. Mexico, the regular guests, have usually done well in these tournaments. I also tip Ecuador to finish third ahead of Chile, but the Chileans should not feel to hard done by. They may be the least experienced team in this group, & apparently are still in the rebuilding phase. This tournament will prove to be a valuable lesson in preparation for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers for South Africa 2010.

Group C: Expect Argentina to top this group. I cannot see any of the other teams finishing ahead of the Argentines. Certainly not the US, who will be bringing an experimental team. That's because they placed priority in the Gold Cup & therefore took a full-strength squad to that tournament, which they won. So, that meant a less experienced (but not necessarily less talented) squad will appear in the Copa America. Though they will be no pushovers, I think their comparative inexperience will mean they finish last. Colombia should take second place ahead of Paraguay. Paraguay will bring their usual fighting spirit & can play a bit, too. But Colombia are more flamboyant than Paraguay, & I believe will finish ahead of them, especially if Colombia's hitman Radamel Falcao Garcia gets into a scoring groove.

After that, we get onto the quarter-finals. Expect the winner of the tournament to come from the usual suspects: Argentina or Brazil. If pushed to choose, I'd say Argentina!