Copa America Futures (2024)

The summer is quickly approaching and with that comes the 2024 edition of the Copa America. The Copa America will have a new look this year as it will be hosted in North America, primarily in the United States, with 6 North/Central American countries joining the 10 South American countries. The 1st match of the tournament will be kicking off on Thursday, June 20, between Argentina and Canada. Argentina are the defending champions from the last Copa America as well as being the reigning World Cup champions from 2022 Qatar, so now it is time to see if Argentina can keep up that success or if there will be a new country crowned champions this year.

Argentina +175: Argentina is coming into this tournament as the team with the best chance to lift the trophy according to the oddsmakers. Argentina are the defending champions from the last Copa America, and they are also the last World Cup champions as it has been a very impressive 4 years for this team. They have been a dominant team over the last year as well, leading South America with the best record in the World Cup qualifiers after 6 matches. They also have a lot of talent at every position as their team is made up of some of the best players from the best teams all across Europe. There is no shortage of talent on this team and there is no reason to believe that this team is any worse than the one that has dominated on the international stage over the last few years. The team is also going to be very motivated to repeat in this competition as this very well could be the last Copa America that Lionel Messi plays in, as he will be 40 when the next one comes around, and that last Copa America that Argentina won was actually the only Copa America Lionel Messi has won in his career so the team has something to rally around there as well. Argentina is still the best team by far in all of the Americas and in a competition like this with a very small field to navigate, there is a lot of value in Argentina to win at this price as there are not many teams in the field that can match them. 

Brazil +225: Brazil is coming into this tournament as the team with the next best chance to lift the trophy according to the oddsmakers. Brazil has a lot of talent in their squad as, just like Argentina, their team consists of some of the best players at the best clubs all across Europe. There is no shortage of talent in this Brazil squad and they have a lot more talent on the attacking end than Argentina does, but defense has been a big problem for this squad over the last few years. Brazil has still had a lot of success as they went to the Final of the last Copa America, being the team that Argentina beat to win it all, and they also made it to the quarterfinal at the last World Cup where they were stopped by Croatia after a 1-1 draw. They have not been in good form since then as they have played in 6 World Cup qualifying matches over the last year and they are sitting in the bottom half of the table right now. They have been able to beat up on the weaker teams in South America, but they actually lost their last 3 meaningful matches played in the qualifiers, losing to Argentina, Colombia, and Uruguay who are all top 3 teams in that table. Brazil has the talent to make a deep run in this tournament but the players themselves have not been playing well together on the pitch as they have had a lot of scoring troubles going back to that World Cup. They do not have a strong defense either as their defenders are washed up so they need their attack to bail them out of certain situations and without an attack that is consistently producing goals, this team really has nothing going for them until they fix those problems. Brazil has the potential to make a deep run here and end up in the final but considering the problems they have right now with both their attack and their defense, there is not a lot of value in them to win at this price. 

Uruguay +500: Uruguay is coming into this tournament as the team with the next best chance to lift the trophy according to the oddsmakers. Uruguay has not had a lot of success in recent tournaments as they have struggled in the Copa America and in the World Cup over the last few years. They failed to get out of the group stage at the last World Cup in Qatar, going 1-1-1 in the group stage, but they have been in much better form since that competition. They have played in 6 World Cup qualifiers since then and they are currently sitting in 2nd place in all of South America after 6 matches. They also have some quality wins recently as they beat Argentina and Brazil who are 2 of the best teams in South America right now. Their attack has also been on fire recently as they are leading the South American teams for goals scored in the World Cup qualifiers. Uruguay also has a very good defense with some very talented defenders and a very talented midfield to go with it as well. The toughest team that Uruguay will have to face in the group stage will be USA, but they are going to make it out of the group regardless of if they win the group or not. They do have a tough road as they would have to face some teams from Group D which has both Colombia and Brazil in it, but these are also teams that Uruguay has played over the last year without losing to either as well. Uruguay has the talent to make a deep run in this competition and there is some value in them as a dark horse at this price since they have been improving since their disappointment at the World Cup.

Mexico +1100: Mexico is coming into this tournament as the team with the next best chance to lift the trophy according to the oddsmakers. Mexico has been a very inconsistent team over the last year. They used to be the dominant force in North America hands down, but in recent years that crown has been passed to the USA as Mexico has struggled on a number of occasions to get the job done against them. They failed to get out of the group stage at the last World Cup in 2022, then they followed it up by winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2023, but they also did not have to face USA once during that tournament. The last meaningful match they played in was actually just a few months ago, back in March, as they were in the CONCACAF Nations League Final and they lost in that final to USA 2-0. Luckily for Mexico, they are in the most watered down group in the tournament which will help them get out of the group stage, and they do not have USA on their side of the bracket either which is going to help them out a lot since they cannot figure that team out, but they still have Argentina to deal with on their side of the bracket who is arguably the best team in the world right now, and even if they do get past them and make it to the final, there are a number of other strong teams from South America as well as USA lurking on the other side of the bracket. Mexico is not even the strongest team in North America right now and they do not have the team to beat some of the other stronger teams in South America either. There is no real value in Mexico at this price as they do not have much of a chance to win this tournament. 

Colombia +1200: Colombia is coming into this tournament as the team with the next best chance to lift the trophy according to the oddsmakers. Colombia has been a very interesting team over the last few years. They failed to even qualify for the 2022 World Cup, but they did finish 3rd at the last Copa America, beating Peru in the bronze medal match after losing to Argentina in the Semifinal. Colombia has been in much better form since failing to make the World Cup though. They have been one of the better teams in South America over the last year as they are in the top 3 in the group for the World Cup qualifiers. They do not have a great attack as they have been struggling to score goals, but their defense has been very good as they rarely concede. They have also beaten some of the better teams in South America over the last year like Brazil, so that is going to give them confidence coming into this tournament. Colombia has the defense to take them far in this tournament, but they do not have a favorable road to the final. They are in a group with Brazil so winning that group is still going to be tough and even if they qualify from it, they could have to see Brazil again after their first knockout match which will not be easy either as they are going to have to play a team from the group with Uruguay and USA who will both be tough outs. Even if they get to the final, they still have quality teams like Argentina lurking on the other side of the bracket and that is not a team they have had a lot of success against. Colombia does have some value here as they have a defense that can take them far, but their recent troubles on the attack could be their downfall here against a stronger and more balanced team. Colombia is not the best option to win the Copa America this year.

USA +1200: USA is coming into this tournament as the team with the next best chance to lift the trophy according to the oddsmakers. USA made it out of the group stage at the last World Cup in Qatar, losing to the Netherlands in the Round of 16, and then they followed that up by losing to Panama last year in the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup. They regained their glory earlier this year as they beat Mexico in the CONCACAF Nations League Final back in March. USA has been the best team in North America over the last few years as Mexico used to be the big power, but recently Mexico has struggled against the USA which has opened up the continent to a new dominant team. USA already has a bit of an advantage here being the best team in North America right now, but they also have an even bigger advantage as the host nation. USA has been a very good team on home soil over the last few years and it is a big reason why they have become so dominant against other North American teams. They do not have an easy group as they are in a group with Uruguay, but they will likely get out of the group whether they win it or not as the other 2 teams in the group will not pose much of a threat. The road to the final will not be kind though as they will have to face a team from Group D if they make it out of the group stage, and that group has some tougher competition in it with both Brazil and Colombia in that group. They are going to have a very difficult road in the knockout rounds and even if they do get to the finals, the defending champions of the competition are still lurking on the other side of the bracket. USA may be the best team in North America and the home advantage is going to help them out a lot in this tournament, but they will eventually run into a team that is too strong for them as they still do not have the talent that some of these stronger South American countries produce. There is some value in this price with the home advantage on their side, but they do not have a great chance at lifting the trophy this year.

There are a lot of talented teams in the Copa America this year and the 6 North American teams joining the competition are going to make it a lot more interesting as this field is not nearly as weak as it has been in previous years. That being said, there is still a clear favorite here as the defending champions of the competition are also the current World Champions as well. Argentina at +175 is still a good bet to make here considering how they are the best team in the world right now and also have a very easy group as well as an easy path to the final. There is not really a team that will be able to stop Argentina on that side of the bracket, but there are a lot of talented teams on the other side of the bracket and of those teams, Uruguay at +500 has the most value considering their recent performances since their disappointment at the last World Cup and the fact that they have a very strong midfield with a lot of talent that will carry them far. Argentina at +175 and Uruguay at +500 are the teams with the most value to win this tournament, and there is a chance that both end up in the final with the way the bracket is set up.