Argentina- Obviously the La Albicelesti are the favorites to win the group and one of the favorites to win the tournament. Much has been made of the question as to whether or not they are bringing their A team. I do not put much stock into this concern. The goal of a team like Argentina is of course to Win the World Cup, as such, a mid cycle tournament like this can in some respects be seen as a building block for the up coming 2018 WC in Russia. New players need to be developed and that is what we will see from Argentina, a mix of new players and veterans. The best player on the planet, Lionel Messi, is at the tournament. He was slightly injured in a warm-up game this week. It appears to be just a bruise, but one might expect that he will only play sparingly in the early rounds as his participation is probably not required for the team to advance to the next round. I would be more concerned by his somewhat weak play the last half of the La Liga season. He was not his goal scoring self, and the pressure is mounting for Argentina to win a title of any sort while the proclaimed best player on the planet" is at his prime. We will see if the pressure works for or against them.
Chile- Chile are sometimes a forgotten team of South American football, of course up against the reputations of Brazil, Argentina and Columbia, it is not surprising. Still, they are a savvy side with many European based players and a strong team identity. Chili took advantage of some disarray among other teams and won its first South American Championship last year. The success they had came under the leadership of Coach Jorge Sampaoli. Sampaoli resigned in December. The new coach, Juan Antonnio Pizzi, is still trying to find an identity to the team. Team play and team spirit are not as necessary for powerhouse sides, but a team like Chili wins and looses together. Will the players come together under the new coach, or revert to also rans of world football?
Panama- The central American side are no stranger to U.S. soccer fans as they are in CONCACAF, and as such a frequent opponent in World Cup and other qualifying matches. They know how to get the most out of the talent they have in tournaments such as this. One can expect them to pack in the defense, rely on solid goalkeeping and hope for a counter attack goal from fast forwards Tajada and Perez. Making it out of the group stage would be considered a victory , but not an impossibility. It is likely that a win and a tie might be good enough, and this veteran squad has the experience to take advantage of a situation should one present itself.
Bolivia- The Bolivians are in a bit of a turmoil at the moment. They have talent and were actually gaining ground on their South American neighbors until the last year when the wheels seem to have come off the side. They have been struck by the injury bug and are barely able to field a complete roster. As evidenced by their lackluster showing against the U.S. in Saturday nights friendly. In fact, my excitement by how well the U.S. played is tempered by the realization that they did so against a Bolivian team that is not playing well at all. There is little reason too expect that this will change anytime soon, and 3 loses might be the result of the tournament for a recently hopeful soccer nation.
Group D winner- Argentina
Group D runner-up- Chili
Tomorrow- Group C
No comments:
Post a Comment