The 2024 Copa America will begin in style Thursday with Group A action as reigning champions Argentina take on Canada. Argentina are also the current World Cup holders and will view this competition as more of a celebration of this team’s accomplishments rather than something they have to win at all costs to cement Lionel Messi’s legacy. Messi will be the focus of Group A, but there are three other teams fighting for a spot in the knockout round. Here’s a look at Group A and our predictions for how things will play out. All odds are courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
Argentina (-400 to win group, -5000 to qualify for knockout round)
In 2021, Argentina was a desperate side entering the competition hoping to add at least one international accolade to Messi’s storied career. Three years later, arguably the greatest of all-time has a Copa America and World Cup title to go along with his long list of domestic accomplishments. Messi can play without pressure, and the rest of the Argentina side will continue to follow his lead. There’s a good mix of experience and youth here, with Messi and Angel di Maria serving as guides for the likes of Julian Alvarez, Lautaro Martinez, Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez. When a talented side like this can play without pressure, good things will happen. Argentina should have no issues advancing out of Group A.
Chile (+600 to win group, -120 to qualify for knockout round)
Chile have denied Argentina before in this competition, and will feel they have the experience to match up well with their South American rivals. However, there’s already some controversy with star attacker Arturo Vidal being left out of the team. Alexis Sanchez, Claudio Bravo and Eduardo Vargas are in the side, as is experienced defender Mauricio Isla. The back line for Chile will be a big question mark, although Bravo should be solid in goal. There’s plenty of attacking talent which should be able to exploit the lesser-known defenders in this group. Chile will get a big test against Argentina, but I don’t anticipate any challenges in the other group stage games.
Peru (+1000 to win group, +200 to qualify for knockout round)
If there’s a darkhorse to back in Copa America, it might be Peru. This side has one of the more underrated attacks with Paolo Guerrero, Christian Cueva, Andre Carillo and Edison Flores to contend with some of the other high-scoring teams in this group. Peru come into this competition winning three of the last four international matches and have done well in Copa America lately, making the semifinals in four of the last five tournaments. It’ll be an uphill battle in this group but Peru could spring a surprise.
Canada (+1200 to win group, +250 to to qualify for knockout round)
There’s been a steady decline in Canada’s performance of late, which is unfortunate given how well the team did play for much of the last year. This was a group that went toe-to-toe with the United States in the Nations League final and Gold Cup, but has recently flamed out against the likes of Jamaica, Japan and Netherlands. A 0-0 draw with France just before Copa America offers some hope for Jesse Marsch’s group but it will be a challenge for this team to get to the knockout round.