It will be a busy summer for international soccer tournaments with Euro 2016 and the 100th anniversary of Copa America. The centennial edition of the 16-team tournament will be hosted by the United States with 10 South American teams and six CONCACAF contenders.
Argentina (+185) and Brazil (+450) are the favourites for the event. Argentina is deep and talented. Lionel Messi, arguably the best player in the world, and Sergio Aguero, one of the top scorers in the English Premier League, will be tough to contain. Defense has been a challenge with them before, but it shouldn't be this year. They also have plenty of experience as they were the 2014 World Cup runner-up. As for Brazil, they’re retooling after disastrous efforts in the World Cup and the previous Copa America. There’s no Neymar, David Luis, Thiago Silva or Marcelo, so they’re unproven.
After the front runners, the United States and Chile are next in line at +700. Team USA has home-field advantage, and Chile triumphed at Copa America last year. Colombia (+900) is also inside of 10/1 after an encouraging quarter-finals appearance in the 2014 World Cup. Many are looking forward to seeing how they measure up against the United States in their opening match.
Even so, some will be surprised to see those three teams ahead of Uruguay (+1000). With Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani up front, their scoring is as good as anyone. They’ve been in good form recently and are at the top of the standings for South American World Cup qualifiers as we go to press.
Mexico (+1100) and Ecuador (+2500) are deemed reasonable long shots, and of the two, Mexico might be the team to watch. They’re playing really well these days, having won eight straight competitive matches without allowing a single goal in their last six. Ecuador has long odds after bowing out in the Group Stage of Copa America last year.
As we go further down the list, we see the remaining South American teams including Costa Rica (+5000), Paraguay (+6600), Peru (+6600), Venezuela (+10000) and Bolivia (+15000). Further down, we find the other CONCACAF teams, including Panama (+15000), Jamaica (+20000) and Haiti (+50000).
The 2016 edition of the tournament will be hosted by the United States. Ten venues will host the games including CenturyLink Field, Soldier Field, Gillette Stadium, MetLife Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, Levi’s Stadium, the Rose Bowl, University of Phoenix Stadium, NRG Stadium and Camping World Stadium. The action starts on June 3 with team USA hosting Colombia at Levi’s Stadium. The tournament wraps up on June 26, with the final at MetLife Stadium.
*Odds as of May 25, 2016