Copa America

Who's are the favorites?
How far is USA likely to go?
Will my boy darlington Nagbe see much playing time? Goal and an assist in the last 2 warmup matches.

Argentina are the favorites, followed by Brazil & Chile. USA should get out of their group but no farther. Nagbe will probably come off the bench in a couple matches.

Tickets look pretty expensive for this. Are the Argentina and Brazil star players going to play?

Glasgow Seahawk":d5qqueiv said:

Tickets look pretty expensive for this. Are the Argentina and Brazil star players going to play?

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Some are...

Neymar will play for Brazil in the Olympics only though.

JSeahawks":3h6py3tk said:

Who's are the favorites?
How far is USA likely to go?
Will my boy darlington Nagbe see much playing time? Goal and an assist in the last 2 warmup matches.

Click to expand...

1. Usual suspects. Brazil, Argentina, Chile. Nations that could make deep runs at it are Uruguay and Colombia.

2. Final 8.

3. If Jurgen wants to keep his job, a bunch. Nagbe and Pulisic are the spark plug pieces to the attack. IF we need a goal they will be on the pitch. Both should probably start IMO.

Neither should or will be starting. Let's not mistake some nice run out in some friendlies with taking on some elite squads. Pulisic is 17. Nagbe has been less than stellar with his MLS team this season. Both of their times will come, but neither are the current answer to what ails the US. Pulisic's abilities to maintain possession may see him getting time when the US are needing control of a game. Nagbe will come on when whatever slow US attacker has finally exhausted their usage. Either way, Klinsmann's job will not be determined by those two. The player who could really help the US attack here is Bobby Wood. If he continues to let Dempsey, Jones, Zardes try and control play they will be overwhelmed.

US has drawn Colombia, Costa Rica and Paraguay. There is a significant chance they do not emerge from their group.

Is this tournament make or break for Klinsmann? Seems a lot of the media are done with him after the Gold Cup but if the US don't get out of the group stages will he be allowed to continue world cup qualification. There does seem to be some decent youngsters coming through.

Are any managers tipped for the future US job?

Glasgow Seahawk":21xeknrr said:

Is this tournament make or break for Klinsmann? Seems a lot of the media are done with him after the Gold Cup but if the US don't get out of the group stages will he be allowed to continue world cup qualification. There does seem to be some decent youngsters coming through.

Are any managers tipped for the future US job?

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There are a handful of good players coming through, and this tournament is more a celebration of old and new than a litmus test of success. So its not make or break... unless they really flounder. If the US fail to make it out of the group stages and maybe pull off the 1998 levels of futility then he could see the door.If they make it out he stays. If they fail to emerge but maybe dont get out due to goal differential he will stay.

The issue with Klinsmann is he cannot settle on a plan that he wants. The US has begrudgingly given him his way, and then he changes it, upsetting further people whom he's already upset (essentially the MLS) but let it slide.

I have not heard of any substantial links to replacements. My first thought would be Porter at Portland.

Well that's not a good start.

Down 2-0 at half despite playing equal to Colombia for most of the first 45. Unless they can stage a miracle comeback the USA will need to win their other two group games to have a chance at the quarterfinals.

53 minutes in and I'm not sure the Colombian keeper has even had to make a save yet.

JSeahawks":5dwrefzm said:

53 minutes in and I'm not sure the Colombian keeper has even had to make a save yet.

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Two saves on Dempsey shots in the past few minutes. And now Pulisic & Nagbe are coming on.

Nobody on the US side had a good game, but Bradley probably had the worst. If he can't find his touch then the US is doomed.

Watching Paraguay and Costa Rica and they're spending more time floping and rolling around on the grass then playing soccer.

Waston with a red card in the 94th minute will miss the game against USA.

JSeahawks":as65dssm said:

Waston with a red card in the 94th minute will miss the game against USA.

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Today's result was best-case scenario for the US.

Messi will not play in Argentina's first match tonight.

SeatownJay":5wnmfc4a said:

Messi will not play in Argentina's first match tonight.

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Noone will notice as apparently noone is watching

Uncle Si":1wa0bpaf said:

SeatownJay":1wa0bpaf said:

Messi will not play in Argentina's first match tonight.

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Noone will notice as apparently noone is watching

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IMO the Copa is a mix of poor marketing, confusion and bad timing. It's hard to drum up interest for a tournament no one really understands and the majority of players are coming off full seasons with major stars missing matches, or missing the entire tournament.

The average US sports fan has a hard enough time following the Olympic and WC qualifiers and tournament matches and rules, let alone something like the Copa.

I think it's struggling because this is a one-off event. If they made a combined North & South American tournament every 4 years then it might gain some traction. Matches involving popular teams have had decent attendance. USA v Colombia had 67k, Mexico v Uruguay had 60k, and Brazil v Ecuador had 50k.