Some might argue it's been a bit of an underwhelming Copa America so far, given the majority of the big guns have failed to find their rhythm for one reason or another. However, 18 games and 40 goals later, we have our quarter finalists and over the next 10 days, 8 nations will battle it out in the knockout stages in order to be crowned the Champions of South America... and Mexico... and Jamaica.
This article shall be split into two halves; the first half shall be focusing on the reviewing the group stage and in the second half I'll look ahead to what we could expect in the knockout stage!
Group A
You would've expected the nations that advanced from Group A to be Chile, plus one, correct? Well to an extent that went to form; however the plus one, Bolivia, no one could've predicted with any expectation of it happening. In my preview of the group stage, I quite fairly said Bolivia would do well to pick up a point and I stand to that to this day. But for them to not only pick up a point, but for them to win a game and scored 3 goals in the process? Quite remarkable, awful from Ecuador though. That being said, they did advance from the group with the least goals scored, the most goals conceded, the least shots on average per game and least possession on average per game...
Chile, for me, are the only favourite that fired on the majority of their cylinders in the group stages and even then they didn't take maximum points, which shows how relatively even of a tournament this can be. Gary Medel, Charles Aranguiz, Arturo Vidal and Jorge Valdivia have been the Chilean standouts for me as they dispatched of both Ecuador and Bolivia and really should've beaten Mexico if it weren't for some poor defending; not saying that the likes of Claudio Bravo, Eduardo Vargas and Alexis Sanchez have been poor my any stretch, mind.
As for Ecuador and Mexico, both will be gutted to not have reached the quarter finals. Mainly because both could've advanced to the knockout stage with 3 points against Bolivia (as the two highest scoring 3rd place teams advance), however fore neither to qualify from this group is really, really poor. There were some star performances from individuals though, Ecuador's Enner Valencia and Miller Bolanos and Mexico's Tecatito Corona and Raul Jimenez haven't done themselves any harm.
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Group B
Probably the only group that's gone to form, with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay all progressing and with Jamaica sat at the foot of the table with nothing to show for their efforts. Argentina, to me, are the only side that are realistic favourites alongside Chile, and like the Chileans, should really have a 100% record themselves after blowing a 2 goal lead against Paraguay. Their standout players have of course been their attackers, Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero were both named in the Team of the Group stage and they'll have to remain on song, as will the likes of Javier Mascherano and Angel Di Maria if Argentina are to go the entire way.
The third and final unbeaten team left in the competition are Paraguay and they, like Argentina, have their attackers to thank for their progression; Edgar Benitez, Nelson Valdez and Lucas Barrios all key to their success. Uruguay however have their defence to thank for their place in the quarter finals; the Atletico Madrid duo of Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin have been key to their side and have more than done their part to make up for the absence of Luis Suarez.
Jamaica, as expected to be brutally honest - 3 played. 3 losses. 0 goals scored.
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Group C
One man has grabbed the headlines for Brazil and I'm afraid it's for all the wrong reasons. Neymar was instrumental in Brazil's opening fixture, notching both a goal and an assist, however a moment of madness against Colombia could've scuppered his nations chances of winning the tournament. That's not to say their squad isn't full of other quality internationals, there's a reason why Liverpool have just paid £29m for Roberto Firmino; Thiago Silva and David Luiz were both named in the most recent FIFA TOTY, Dani Alves is in fantastic form and we all know what quality the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Robinho possess.
Bolivia aside, Peru have arguably been the surprise package of the tournament so far; the only goals that they've conceded came against Brazil in their opening match, but since then they've looked like a side that could challenge anyone. Ricardo Gareca, formerly of Velez and Palmeiras, was named Manager of the Group stage, and deservedly so given the Peruvians managed to finish about Colombia in what was a tricky looking Group C. Speaking of the Colombians, they've been massively underwhelming and have vastly relied on defensive players to carry them through to the quarter finals. Radamel Falcao and James Rodriguez haven't found their form so it's been down to the likes of Carlos Sanchez and Jeison Murillo to put in massive performances, against Brazil especially, to allow Colombia to qualify for the last 8.
Finally, Venezuela, and they were perhaps unlucky to be eliminated, let alone finish bottom of Group C after beating Colombia, however their failure to build on a good start and utilise the quality of Salomon Rondon and Juan Arango, especially the latter's set piece delivery cost them dear.
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Team of the Group Stage
The official TOTGS is as follows: Bravo; Medel, Gimenez, T.Silva; VIdal, Aranguiz, C.Sanchez, Labaton; Messi, Aguero, Barrios.
However, seeing as neither of the aforementioned Charles Aranguiz and veteran Peruvian Carlos Labaton are on FUT15, I've replaced them with two players I feel had 3 outstanding matches in the group stage. Marcelo Diaz, alongside Aranguiz, controlled the Chilean midfield in each of their group matches and Jeison Murillo not only scored Colombia's lone goal in their victory over Brazil, but he was also fantastic defensively as the Colombians conceded 1 goal from their 3 group stage matches. Also, in case you were unaware, Lucas Barrios has the "legend" badge on his card because he recently left Spartak Moscow and joined Palmeras, a team that are not on FIFA 15.
The Knockout Stage
Well what can we expect from the knockout stage of the 2015 Copa America? To be honest, I reckon most results will go to form. and given this is the Copa America and nothing ever goes to form, that's a bold statement. I reckon there's enough reason for each result to go as I've predicted and if anything, the results that are most in doubt feature the two sides that I believe will make the final, Chile and Argentina. Chile, on paper, have just about enough attacking firepower and tactical awareness about them to beat Uruguay, however Uruguay can pose a threat going forward, especially from set pieces. Chile's lack of height and the likes of Diego Godin and their prowess from set pieces could cause a problem for the Chilean defence. Bolivia's fairy tale may well come to and end against a Peru side full of confidence, and if it doesn't come to end then, I imagine it most certainly will against either Chile or Uruguay in the semi's; could you imagine Bolivia in the final?!
As for the other side of the draw, are things going to be that simple? I doubt it. Firstly, Argentina and Colombia. On group stage form alone, you'd expect Argentina to walk this, however we all know full well what Colombia and their star men are capable of from the World Cup last year. The likes of James Rodriguez, Teo Guiterrez and Radamel Falcao will provide a stern test for Marcos Rojo, Ezequiel Garay and Nicolaes Otamendi, the latter of the three I feel is one of the best centre backs in the world at the moment. As for Brazil, and minus Neymar, they're hard to predict. Very, very rarely does the Barcelona man not start and in the rare occasions he doesn't, such as in Brazil's victory over Venezuela for example, they look good, they look solid, but they lack that world class moment. They have great talents as Firmino, Robinho, Coutinho, etc., but are they capable of beating, in my opinion, eventual winners Argentina? I doubt it.
See a graphic of my prediction for the knockout stage below:
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@Rawrdrigoo