The 48th edition of the Copa America is all set to kick off on June 21 (IST) with Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, looking to defend the title.
Apart from the usual CONMEBOL teams, this edition will have six teams from the CONCACAF region as well, making the competition even more exciting.
Mexico is paired alongside Eucador, Jamaica, and Venezuela in Group C.
Following is Sportstar’s preview for Group B for the upcoming Copa America 2024:
Ecuador:
Ecuador is one of the most promising sides in the tournament. The furthest Ecuador has reached in the Copa America in its history is fourth, doing so twice in 1959 and 1993. Since then, they have made it beyond the group stages just three times, reaching the quarterfinal in 1997, 2016, and 2021.
Ecuador’s top scorer in its history will aim to fire Felix Sanchez’s side into the knockout stages. Enner Valencia certainly caught the eye at the 2022 World Cup, having struck three times in Ecuador’s eventual group stage exit, and while the 34-year-old is struggling for game time for Internacional, he’s still expected to lead the line in its Copa America campaign.
Ecuador has reached the knockout stage in two of the previous three Copa America campaigns, and with its squad boasting the likes of Piero Hincapie, Willian Pacho, Moises Caicedo, Kendry Paez, and Valencia, it has the calibre to top the group and qualify for the quarterfinal.
Mexico:
Mexico has participated in 10 editions of the tournament and has finished as the runner-up twice and third three times. The El Tri are expected to reach the knockouts but have a lot of unanswered questions in their squad, including the exclusion of big names like Memo Ochoa and Raúl Jimenez.
The Mexican team is in a rebuild under coach Jaime Lozano, who left out some of the old guards. There are some fresh faces on this list along with some experience, but putting it together has proven tricky. The El Tri lost two consecutive Copa warmup matches last week, 4-0 to Uruguay and 2-3 to Brazil, after a 1-0 win against Bolivia.
Having not been invited to the 2019 and 2021 editions, the side will look to make up for lost time in the USA.
Jamaica:
Jamaica has previously participated in this tournament on an invitational basis in 2015 and 2016, getting eliminated in the group stage on both occasions. But this time, it qualified after finishing as a semifinalist in the 2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League.
Keeping the remuneration-centred controversies of the federation aside, the side has done well in the recent past. It has lost just two of its last eight games, including four wins out of the last six. Currently on a three-game winning streak, it could pose an outside threat to Ecuador and Mexico for second place in Group B.
Venezuela:
After a 40-year stint of not making it beyond the group stages, Venezuela has reached the Copa America knockout stage in four of the last six editions, with a fourth-place finish in 2011 marking its best finish in the tournament.
However, Fernando Batista’s side comes into this edition of the tournament on the back of some worrisome performances. The side has lost all of its previous five games, and the lukewarm form might continue in the tournament as well.
Nine players on the roster have 10 or fewer international caps, and this is one of the weakest teams on paper in the group.
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