5 Copa America Tips for the Weekend's Opening Fixtures

Hosts Brazil faces Venezuela in the opening match of the tournament at the Estádio Nacional de Brasília and they enter the tournament on a seven-game winning streak including victories against Uruguay and upcoming opponents Venezuela.

The Brazilians are favourites to retain the trophy which they won at the last tournament in 2019 after beating Peru 3-1 in the final. The likes of Neymar, Roberto Firmino and Thiago Silva have the talent and experience to win the competition, however, Brazil have been known to underperform at times in recent tournaments at international level prior to their Copa America victory in 2019.

Tite’s men top the Comnebol qualifying group scoring 16 and conceding two so far going into the World Cup and they will hope to carry this momentum and winning mentality into the Copa America. We can't see anything but a Brazil win here, and it should be a comfortable one, too.

Columbia go into their first fixture against Ecuador expecting to begin the tournament on the front foot. Reinaldo Rueda’s men went out in a cruel penalty shoot-out against Chile in 2019 and will look to make up for their coming up short on the international level after a dazzling performance at the 2014 World Cup.

James Rodriguez’s exclusion from the squad has caused some confusion amongst fans and speculation has surrounded the 30-year-old Everton playmaker who was reportedly declared as fit prior to the tournament.

Atalanta forwards, Luiz Muriel and Duvan Zapata, will be tasked to lead the line for the Columbians after scoring 45 goals between them in all competitions last season. They will look to make their mark on the tournament by securing a convincing victory against Ecuador and we think they'll get the win here, but Ecuador should but up a decent fight and get a goal.

As Lionel Messi comes to the end of his majestic career, where he will be regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, success at international level continues to elude the minute magician.

Argentina face Chile in their tournament opener and have gone unbeaten since 2019 where they lost out to eventual winners, Brazil, in the semi-final of the Copa America. Messi has been made the scapegoat when Argentina have failed to meet expectations, even with a supporting cast containing the likes of Sergio Aguero and Angel Di Maria.

Younger talents such as Lautaro Martinez and Emi Buendia have now been integrated into the current setup alongside the aforementioned experienced names in the team. The new blood will need to carry their form from the previous season into the tournament in order to drive the Argentinians forward in the tournament.

Paraguay will be expected to claim victory against Bolivia in their opening fixture. They are currently sixth in Comnebol qualifying and are known for their solid approach in games.

Head coach, Eduardo Berizzo, has put together a stronger squad since 2019 where they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Brazil on penalties and will look to improve on their performance from that competition.

The Paraguayans will need to get started on the right foot and claim all three points in order to give themselves a chance of making it out of their group which includes: Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.

Chile faces Bolivia in their second group game as they look to win the tournament for the third time in four attempts.
Victory against Bolivia will be straightforward according to most fans, however, games in this tournament contain a lot of passion making them tight and causing upsets at the most unexpected times.