Copa America Centenario 2016...

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PARAGUAY

 

 

Paraguay has won Copa America twice but haven’t tasted tournament triumph since 1979. They’ve come close in recent editions, falling in the finals to Uruguay in 2011 and finishing fourth 2015. La Albirroja have the tools to make another deep tournament run at Copa America Centenario, beginning with their opening match on June 4 vs. Costa Rica.

 

Since defeating Brazil on penalties in last year’s Copa America, Paraguay has gone 2-5-3 in its last 10 games, including a 6-1 shellacking at the hands of Argentina in the very next game. Seattle Sounders forward Nelson Valdez and Ingolstadt's Dario Lezcano figure to lead the attack, which will be without injured midfielder Nestor.

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PERU

 

 

A two-time tournament champion, Peru has come close to lifting the Copa America trophy in recent years, finishing third place in both 2011 and 2015. Under the leadership of Ricardo “El Tigre” Gareca, La Blanquirroja have sights set on advancing from a group featuring Brazil, Ecuador and Haiti at Copa America Centenario. Should they do so, the side won’t be an easy one to dispatch at the tournament’s later stages.

 

The goalscoring exploits of forward Paolo Guerrero led Peru to a surprising third-place finish in last year’s Copa America, and he will return for this year’s edition. Veterans Claudio Pizarro and Jefferson Farfan aren’t in the squad, though, and as a result this Peru team is fairly inexperienced. On the other hand, its preparations for the tournament have gone well, with multi-goal wins over Trinidad and Tobago and El Salvador. Not exactly the caliber of opponent they’ll be facing here, but any momentum is good momentum.

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URUGUAY

 

 

Uruguay won the first edition of Copa America in 1916 and in the subsequent 99 years they've added 14 more titles to their trophy cabinet. After being bounced in the quarterfinals by eventual champion Chile last time around, La Celeste will hope to celebrate the 100th anniversary of their first Copa America glory with another title in the United States this summer.

 

There are all sorts of reasons to feel confident in Uruguay going in to this tournament. The team leads South American qualifying, boasts a talented squad, and has had historical success in the Copa America, having won the title a record 15 times. However, even with the powerful Edinson Cavani up top, the injury to striker Luis Suarez is a big blow to its chances. An experienced back line could help cushion that blow, however.

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UNITED STATES

 

 

As hosts of Copa America Centenario, the United States will welcome some of the best teams in the world this summer. Under the leadership of Jurgen Klinsmann, the path to a deep tournament run starts with Colombia, Costa Rica and Paraguay in Group A. The USA have history in the century-old tournament and will hope to replicate their magical run at Copa America 1995, where they advanced to the tournament semifinals before finishing fourth.

 

One gets the sense that the U.S. is still trying to recover from a disastrous second half of 2015 in which the team lost in the Gold Cup semifinals to Jamaica, then lost the third place game, then lost the Confederations Cup playoff to archival Mexico. More recently, the team was pushed to the brink of World Cup elimination by tiny Guatemala. At the same time, the U.S. showed in 2014 that it can find a way to get results in big matches against top teams, and has looked better in recent friendlies. Which U.S. team will show up?

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VENEZUELA

 

 

Venezuela has shown improvement in recent years, with a fourth-place finish at Copa America 2011 and placement just outside of CONMEBOL’s World Cup qualifying playoff spot for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Under the new leadership of Rafael Dudamel, La Vinotinto will look for more gains at Copa America Centenario this summer.

 

Venezuela owns last place in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying, where it has yet to win a game and has been outclassed in nearly every contest. The team does have talent, with striker Salomon Rondon coming off a solid debut EPL season with West Brom, midfielder Tomás Rincon playing well for Serie A’s Genoa, and defender Oswaldo Vizcarrondo captaining Nantes of Ligue 1. Rafael Dudamel is a young, unproven head coach who faces a stiff test getting this team ready to play after only being in the job for a couple months.

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Copa America embarrassment as Pitbull song disrupts Chile anthem

Just when you think the Copa America Centenario organisers would have learnt from their embarrassing gaffe a day earlier, they made a mess of Chile's national anthem before their 2-1 Group D loss to Argentina.

The first mishap took place at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, when the organisers wrongfully played out the Chile national anthem instead of Uruguay's prior to the 3-1 loss to Mexico.

But it wouldn't be the last of such blunders, as a second happened at the Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, when Pitbull's single "Mr. Worldwide" interrupted the conclusion of Chile's anthem.

While the embarrassment was clear for all to see, credit has to be given to the Chilean team and their fans for ignoring the interjection and continuing to belt out their anthem with pride.

 

 

 

 

chilean team

 

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SEMIS 

 

Tuesday, June 21
United States vs. Argentina -- Houston, Texas (9 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1)

Wednesday, June 22
Colombia vs. Chile -- Chicago, Illinois (8 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1)

[Roger_that]

[tom bhayya]

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azz xfectddd ARG to fnl...

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One year on, and it seems little has changed in the South American soccer scene. Argentina and Chile, the No. 1 and No. 5-ranked teams in the world, will meet Sunday evening in the Copa America Centenario final, a re-match of the game that Chile took on penalty kicks back in July 2015. The game will also mark the second time the two teams have met, after Argentina took a 2-1 victory from the teams' group-stage encounter on June 6, the tournament opener for both sides.