Copa America 2016 Predictions: Ranking the Final Four; Chile & Argentina Are Favorites
And then there were four.
The final four of the Copa America feature four sides that have proven their worth over the course of four arduous matches. There are no lucky sides here with each team boasting strong offense and decent defense.
That most shocking thing about the four finalists? All of them play a similar possession-based attacking style with all the sides well suited to counterattacking. Here is a breakdown of the four remaining contenders and which team is most likely to win it all.
4. United States
The Americans have come a long way from their 2-0 loss to Colombia, finding solidity offensively and then navigating through three games with increasingly organized play. They had a tremendous 4-0 win over Costa Rica, a 1-0 defensive effort against Paraguay and a systematic masterclass against Ecuador.
Best player? Clint Dempsey has been utterly dominant, scoring three goals and assisting three throughout four games.
Biggest concern? The United States has only taken on one world class side in Colombia in this tournament and struggled to do anything against Los Cafeteros. Now they play arguably the best team in the world and will have to see if its defense can stand up to the challenge.
3. Colombia
Los Cafeteros started the tournament firing on all cylinders but have slowly lost that edge. That said, the team is still an attacking machine led by the quartet of James Rodriguez, Edwin Cardona, Juan Cuadrado and Carlos Bacca. Each player has had a big moment in the tournament and now the team needs the four to put it together against its biggest challenge to date.
Best player? James Rodriguez has two goals and one assist thus far and was a major attacking threat throughout the game against Peru.
Biggest concern? The team starts fast and slows down in every single game to date. Is it stamina? Is it the system? The team needs a consistent 90 minute effort if it hopes for a final appearance.
2. Argentina
The top ranked side in the world has been attacking brilliantly, scoring 13 goals in four matches while dominating possession and capitalizing on opposition mistakes. Scoring has been spread across the entire lineup as well.
Best player? This is not even a fair question as Lionel Messi has four goals and two assists through three games to cement himself as the tournament's top player, with maybe one or two other true challengers.
Biggest concern? Can this team sustain the grind of another long tournament? Argentina will play at least six games in one month for the third straight summer dating back to 2014. Gerardo Martino has rested Messi throughout and rotated the squad accordingly, but the bottom line is that fatigue is bound to set in at some point and could slow the team down.
1. Chile
The 7-0 win over Mexico certainly has a lot to do with this, but the bottom line is that Chile is getting better and better with each game. The team struggled against Argentina, then got some luck against Bolivia before finally finding its attacking best against Panama. But the masterclass against Mexico might be the single greatest team effort since Germany's 7-1 murder of Brazil in the 2014 World Cup.
Best player? This is a tough one with Arturo Vidal dominating the midfield and Eduardo Vargas scoring at will. But Alexis Sanchez is the man making it happen in the final third.
Biggest concern? Goalie Claudio Bravo has had a poor tournament thus far, conceding poor goals against Argentina and Panama. He got off easy against Mexico but surely won't get that easy a ride in the semifinal and final should his team make it that far.
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