Draw for Copa America Announced
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by user Thecrookedcap
The draw for Copa America 2007 was announced yesterday in the host country of Venezuela. For those less familiar, Copa America is the top international competition in the Americas, similar to the European Championship. The 2007 edition will feature all 10 nations of CONMEBOL (South America) and the top two North America teams, Mexico and the United States, who both accepted the standing invitations they have had since 1993.
The first round should have some balanced competition, if only for its complete imbalance.
Group A
Group B
Group C
Argentina
Colombia
Paraguay
United States
Let's put things into perspective here: Groups B and C each include three World Cup finalists, meanwhile Group A has only one team that came close: Uruguay, which lost on penalties to Australia. In fact, the remaining Group A teams were the bottom three of CONMEBOL qualifying for 2006. Uruguay probably has the easiest draw in the tournament. Venezuela, who has never reached the semifinals of the event, has a chance to do so on home soil, as they should qualify for the knockout rounds (1st and 2nd place along with the top two 3rd place teams) and will just need an upset in the quarters for their best result.
Group B is a fantastic group with 3 of the top 16 from the World Cup. Brazil is the obvious favorite, with Mexico and Ecuador likely to battle for 2nd place.
Argentina, the favorite of Group C, will begin play against the United States. The U.S. returns to Copa America for the first time since 1995, when they finished in fourth place. No one is this group is safe, as Paraguay has shown itself well in recent CONMEBOL play, making the last two World Cups and even beating Brazil in group play at the 2004 Copa America. Columbia may have had less impressive results, but considering that Group C's host cities are in western Venezuela, Columbian fans should be in full force.
