THere is a recipe for making the best tournaments. You need the right balance of favourites marching to the final and underdogs slogging their way through the group stage. A country going on a huge unbeaten run doesn’t hurt either. The same goes for a host country falling apart in dramatic fashion.
The first 24 matches of the Copa América have added just about all the ingredients to that great tournament recipe. With the group stage complete and the knockout rounds now upon us, which teams look the strongest?
1. Argentina
Argentina won all three group stage matches and finished top of Group A, above Canada, Chile and Peru.
They romped to victory with Lionel Messi in the line-up. But, crucially, they looked dominant without him in their final group game due to a lower-body injury. Messi has returned to full training and looks likely to play in the quarterfinals. If not, you could do a lot worse than putting Alejandro Garnacho in the team.
In Messi’s absence, Lautaro Martínez has burst onto the scene. After starting the tournament on the bench behind Julián Álvarez, Martínez has worked his way into the starting line-up, scoring four goals in three group games, two of them from the bench.
If you go back a line, Argentina’s midfield is ready to beat you – and they want to push it in your face. “What I do is choose an enemy,” midfield general Rodrigo De Paul told Telemundo. “Well, let’s say a rival, because that doesn’t sound so bad. I want to have a dispute that keeps me on my toes. It’s not just that I want to win. I want to beat you. I make it personal.”
Good luck to Argentina’s opponents in the knockouts. You’ll need it.
2. Colombia
Colombia have gone 26 games without losing. They haven’t lost since February 2022. That’s objectively insane.
Sure, their failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup preceded this great run of form and puts a bit of a damper on the run. But now, 18 months away from that World Cup, Colombia look a real threat to extend that unbeaten run all the way to the final.
Colombia finished top of Group D, beating Paraguay and Costa Rica before drawing in their clash with Brazil. Despite conceding a wonder goal from a free kick, they fought back to earn the point that would keep them in first place and book a place with an overmatched opponent in the quarter-finals: Panama.
3.Uruguay
Uruguay are one of three teams to have won all three of their games and are not to be trifled with. Marcelo Bielsa has barely rotated his line-up, with just one change from their match against Panama to their second match against Bolivia. Even with their place in the knockouts effectively guaranteed for their clash with the USA, Uruguay used exactly the same line-up.
While Uruguay rely on a set group of players, they showed tactical flexibility at the Copa América. They didn’t try to outplay the US, as we often see with Bielsa’s teams. Instead, they sat in a largely reserved 4-4-1-1 block, absorbing pressure and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike in attack. That flexibility will be crucial against Brazil.
4. Brazil
Brazil have been in a slump since the last World Cup. They have won just two of their first six games in qualifying for the 2026 edition, drew with the USA in a friendly last month and then were held to a blank by Costa Rica in their Copa América opener.
We haven’t seen much dominance from Brazil lately, but just when you think they’re not a real threat, they go out and do things like thisWhatever their structural shortcomings as a team, Brazil can still boast individual game changers.
Brazil struggle to find the right moments to combine through the middle, because they play with three wingers in their front line instead of a real striker. But they are Brazil, which means they are strong. It feels silly to say they can’t figure it out. If they can navigate past Uruguay, they are as dangerous as anyone.
5.Venezuela
I did not have Venezuela finish top of their group with a perfect nine points from three games on my Copa América bingo card. Did you do that?
Group B was always going to be the hardest to predict. Ecuador were the favorites in the summer, but the distance between the four teams was closer than in any other group.
Sure, Venezuela were given a gift in their opening match against Ecuador, thanks to Enner Valencia’s red card in the 22nd minute. But with Salomón Rondón scoring goals and Yangel Herrera and José Martínez winning every ball in midfield, you’ll have to fight through a buzzsaw to beat Venezuela.
6.Ecuador
Ecuador came really, really close. If it hadn’t been for a (rightly) overturned penalty in their final group game against Mexico, there was a real chance they would have been forced to watch the rest of this tournament at home. But the decision was overturned, they picked up a much-needed point against Mexico on Sunday, and now they’re in the quarter-finals.
They will regret their early defeat to Venezuela when it comes time to play Argentina in the next round instead of Group A runners-up. It is probably a tournament cycle too early for teenage star Kendry Páez to give them a real chance against Argentina, but never say never.
7.Canada
All the stars are aligned for Canada this summer. They impressed in the group stage – the first half of their tournament opener against Argentina gave Canadian fans confidence. But they ultimately did something close to the bare minimum by coming out of Group A in second place. They couldn’t maintain their momentum in what ended up being a loss to Argentina, beating a 10-man Peruvian team and drawing with 10-man Chile.
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And now? They play a surprisingly strong, but beatable, Venezuelan team. They are not as versatile as the teams above them, but Jesse Marsch and co. can thank the tournament gods. They have a real path to the semi-finals.
8. Panama
The biggest underdogs going into the knockout rounds, Thomas Christiansen’s Panama team were expected to finish a distant third behind Uruguay and the USA in Group C. Timothy Weah’s red card in Atlanta changed all that. Panama defeated the USA and then took care of business on the final day against Bolivia to secure their place in the quarter-finals.
Panama are playing some nice football under Christiansen and deserve real respect for their run so far, but it’s almost impossible to see them beating Colombia without star player Adalberto Carrasquilla, who is serving a suspension for his late tackle on Christian Pulisic last week.
9. United States
The US failed this summer. There’s no getting around it. A moment of foolishness from Weah put them behind the 8-ball against Panama. An inability to at least draw deepened their problems. Then an uninspiring attacking performance against Uruguay, in a game they needed a win in, was the final nail in the coffin.
The US is talented enough to still be alive in this tournament, but everything that could go wrong this summer did. A home tournament was a chance to build momentum heading into 2026. Instead, a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of Colombia in the Copa, followed by a lackluster performance in the group stage, has led to existential questions about the entire program. Phew.
10. Mexico
The three are a dull, unremarkable team these days. They were in contention for the knockouts until the final whistle in their match against Ecuador, but they have also scored just one goal this summer. Mexico’s talent pool is drier than it has been in a long time – perhaps the driest in the country’s history.
11. Costa Rica
It was always going to be an uphill battle to escape Group D, but keeping a clean sheet against Brazil is something Costa Rica will remember for years to come. This team exceeded expectations and did so with the youngest team in the tournament. Their average age, by minutes played, was just 25.4. They may be out, but it’s a tournament performance to build on.
12. Paraguay
They finished with zero points, but Paraguay held Colombia in their opening match and quadrupled Costa Rica’s xG on Tuesday night. That’s something! There were great moments, but a tough group and conceding untimely goals ruined them.
13. Chile
Chile were one of two teams to not score a single goal in the Copa América, but never looked like a threat to reach the quarterfinals. They are at the opposite end of the age spectrum to Costa Rica: their average age during the group stage, weighted by minutes played, was 30.7. Chile needs new blood.
14.Peru
Oh, hey, look! It’s the other team with no points. Peru finished bottom of Group A, with their only point coming in – you guessed it – a scoreless draw with Chile. This team is a far cry from the team that made waves at the 2018 World Cup.
15.Jamaica
There was plenty to win in Group B, but Jamaica always seemed the team most likely to finish bottom. With off-field drama swirling and without starting goalkeeper Andre Blake, they never posed a real threat.
16. Bolivia
They ended their Copa América run with a goal difference of -9, no team was as miserable as Bolivia in the group stage. The cellar dwellers of South America can also lay claim to being the cellar dwellers of the Copa América.