In the early hours of Friday morning, the oldest international football tournament in the world will kick off when hosts Chile take on Ecuador in the opening match of the 2015 Copa America.
Twelve teams will play 44 matches in nine stadiums across eight cities with the winner of the tournament qualifying for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia, now an annual precursor to the biggest show on the planet, the FIFA World Cup.
Argentina, currently ranked third in FIFA's World Rankings are the bookmakers' favorite to win.Lionel Messi's scored 45 goals in 97 international games, but he's never really showed his Barcelona form in the colors of Argentina.Argentina are in Group B where they will take on Uruguay, Paraguay and Copa America debutantes Jamaica.
Brazil, the bookmakers second favorite are currently ranked fifth in the World.Neymar will once again lead the attack, just like he did at last year's World Cup. But the supporting cast has changed a fair bit. David Luiz is unfortunately still around. But there has been an injection of fresh blood in the form of Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho, Hoffenheim's Roberto Firmino and Shakhtar Donetsk's Douglas Costa.Brazil will have to negotiate a rather tricky Group C involving themselves, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela.
Hosts Chile, ranked 19th in FIFA's rankings, will start as third favorites even though they've never won the tournament. Their hopes lie largely on the shoulders of Juventus' Arturo Vidal and Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez, two players who come into the tournament with a solid season of European Football behind them.The hosts have a relatively easy Group A to negotiate along with Mexico, Ecuador and Bolivia.
Colombia, the only team to break the hegemony of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil at the Copa America in the last 25 years start as fourth favorites, coincidentally they are currently fourth in the FIFA World Rankings.James Rodriguez, Golden Boot winner at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and for many the player of that tournament will once again be the one to watch especially if the Colombians start to celebrate goals just like they did 12 months ago in Brazil.Colombia will cross paths once again with old nemesis Brazil in Group C along with Peru and Venezuela.
Defending Champions Uruguay will start as fifth among the favorites despite a FIFA World Ranking of eigth. They are the most successful team in the history of the tournament with 15 titles and their clash against Group B favorites Argentina on 16th June will be the 181st international between the two sides, the most between two countries.Apart from Argentina, Uruguay will also play 2011 runners-up Paraguay and Reggae Boyz Jamaica.
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