Copa America 2024: Group B Preview

Copa America 2024 kicks off at the end of this week! The competition that usually features the 10 South American countries has been expanded for this interaction to include six Concacaf Nations. Canada, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, and the USA are the six Concacaf nations joining Conmebol to make a 16-nation Copa America 2024!

This tournament will take place in the United States for the first time since the Copa America Centenario back in 2016. The 16 nations will play all across the vast country hoping to be able to hoist the trophy after a month-long tournament! Four groups of four teams will duke it out with the top two teams in the group making the quarterfinals. PSN has you covered with previews of all of these nations and groups, continuing here with Group B!

Copa America 2024: Group B

Recent History

Like many of the South American teams not named Argentina or Brazil, Ecuador are often underestimated, in large part because they usually play tough opposition. In recent times, they’ve rarely blown other teams away, but they’ve also rarely gotten blown away themselves, even against the likes of Argentina (a 1-0 defeat on June 9th). In the 2022 World Cup, they went 1-1-1 in the group stage, which included a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands before a disappointing 2-1 loss to Senegal knocked them out of the tournament.

Since that World Cup, Ecuador has defeated several other teams participating in this Copa America, with draws coming against Colombia and fellow Group B opponents Venezuela, and losses only coming to Argentina (both 1-0).

Tactical Outlook

Manager Félix Sánchez, in charge since March 2023, clearly did enough as Qatar manager at the 2022 World Cup to impress the Ecuadorian Federation. Ecuador has been deploying a 4-2-3-1 formation, and despite being good at maintaining possession of the ball, they do not turn that possession into a lot of goals.

Defensively, Ecuador adapts depending on their opponent and game state. When starting games against opponents they feel confident against, they press high. They tend to be more vulnerable when doing so, allowing a lot of space, but it’s a sacrifice they are willing to make in service of generating better attacking opportunities. When facing teams they believe to be stronger, or after taking the lead, they sit back in a low block, attempting to minimize that space and hit opponents more on the counter.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Ecuador has a good mix of youth and experience, with enough quality that Brighton defender Pervis Estupiñán was a surprise exclusion from the squad. As previously mentioned, they are defensively strong, rarely allowing more than a goal or two. That’s a good recipe for tournament success.

While being defensively strong is important, so is putting the ball in the back of the net. Ecuador does not generate many chances or score many goals, and they will need to increase their offensive production to truly make an impact in this tournament. Veteran striker Enner Valencia will lead the line, and his goals will be key to any success Ecuador has.

Copa America 2024 Betting Odds

To qualify for the Knockout Round: -250
To reach the Semifinals: +200
To reach the Final: +800
To win Copa America 2024: +1800

Recent History

Jamaica, in some ways, have felt like they are simultaneously overachieving and underachieving at the same time. They’ve never been a traditional powerhouse in Concacaf, so results like defeating Canada on the way to a 3rd place finish in the most recent Concacaf Nations League feel like a very good achievement.

And yet, with the squad they have, consisting of Premier League players like Michail Antonio and Leon Bailey, as well as the best goalkeeper in the region in their captain Andre Blake (yes, that is my Union bias shining through), it feels like perhaps they could have ascended to even greater heights. A lot of blame can be laid at the feet of a chaotic federation, which seems to be consistently embroiled in one controversy or another.

Tactical Outlook

The assistant coach for Iceland when they knocked England out of the 2016 Euros, and head coach for them at the 2018 World Cup, Heimir Hallgrimsson was a surprising appointment for Jamaica when he was hired in 2022, but he has been somewhat successful. In their recent World Cup qualifying victories over Dominican Republic and Dominica, they played with a 4-1-4-1 formation. However, the most recent Concacaf Nations League saw them deploy a variety of formations, including a 3-4-3 and a 4-2-3-1.

Despite their strength in attack (spoilers), Hallgrimsson likes his team to play with a stable, defense-first mentality- noticing a pattern here? They will look to sit back, with defensive-minded central midfielders (Union centerback Damion Lowe has even been deployed as a defensive midfielder), before countering with long balls to the striker, who can knock it down to their speedy wingers or take the ball himself.

Strengths and Weaknesses

As already spoiled, Jamaica has some very strong attackers. In addition to Michail Antonio, they also have the likes of Demarai Gray and Bobby Decordova-Reid. That trio will be relied upon to generate and put away their scoring chances if Jamaica are to have any hope.

Team captain Andre Blake is, as Union fans know, coming back from injury. While he was included in the squad, it would be a surprise to see him on the field, unless Jamaica can advance beyond the group stage. Likewise, do not expect to see Leon Bailey. Despite being included, he has been public about his frustrations with the Jamaican Federation and said that for now, he does not want to play for them. The off-field turmoil that Jamaica has been dealing with for so long has the potential to once again derail this team.

Copa America 2024 Betting Odds

To qualify for the Knockout Round: +400
To reach the Semifinals: +1600
To reach the Final: +8000
To win Copa America 2024: +20000

Recent History

To put it bluntly, this Mexico side is potentially the worst we’ve seen in decades. This is best illustrated by their record against the USA in the 2020s: 0 wins, 2 draws, and 4 defeats, including defeats in a Concacaf Nations League semi-final, and 3 finals across the same competition and the Gold Cup. All that being said, they did win the 2023 Gold Cup, defeating Panama in the final, and making the finals of those tournaments shows that even at a low point, Mexico is still one of the better teams in the region.

In some ways, Mexico’s tune-up friendlies in the lead-up to Copa America were similar to the US. They started with a shambolic defeat to a quality South American side, 4-0 against Uruguay. That was followed by a more promising, competitive performance against Brazil. Despite falling in a 2-0 hole, Mexico showed a good mentality to bring the game level at 2 with goals in the 73rd and 92nd minutes. Unfortunately for them, Brazil would go on to score a 96th-minute winner through soon-to-be Real Madrid forward Endrick.

Tactical Outlook

Mexico is a tactically flexible side, generally playing out of a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3. They prefer to play a possession-oriented, higher pressing system, but they are comfortable without as much of the ball, defending deeper as well, as seen in their most recent friendly against Brazil.

Given manager Jaime Lozano’s surprising team selection (more on that in a bit), it would not be at all unexpected to see him throw in a few tactical wrinkles. For a team using this Copa America as a competitive experiment to prepare for putting their best football forward when co-hosting the 2026 World Cup, and with far less pressure (if the big-wigs at the Mexican Federation are to be believed) to deliver results than Mexican managers typically face, it feels like we could see anything from this team.

Strengths and Weaknesses

It’s difficult to pick out strengths and weaknesses with this team because of the aforementioned team selection. Several veteran players were left out of the squad, including World Cup legend Guillermo “Memo” Ochoa, Henry Martín, Raúl Jiménez (all 3 in their 30s), and, perhaps most surprisingly, Hirving Lozano, who, at 28, should be at the peak of his career. Instead, they’ve gone with a young squad in an attempt to test the upcoming generation and try to put them in as good a place as possible to contribute to the 2026 World Cup.

That youth and apparent lack of pressure on them to bring immediate results (as touched on before, a big shift in mentality from the federation, and, if they go along with it, the fanbase) could end up being their biggest strength. Young, hungry players able to play with freedom could be very dangerous for their opponents. Look out for star striker Santiago Giménez, who plays for the Feyenoord side that just ~~stole~~ i mean bought Julián Carranza from the Union, to score goals and impress during this tournament.

The opposite side of the coin is, that if the players do start to feel pressure, particularly from a fanbase that travels well and always makes themselves heard, it can be difficult for young players to deal with. The team will also be without the presumed starting keeper, Luis Malagón, who suffered an injury that will rule him out of the tournament. This will not help them solve their tendency to allow goals. Those same fans could cause trouble for their team, as they frequently resort to a homophobic chant when things aren’t going well, and it remains to be seen what sort of punishment or reaction tournament organizers would have in response to that disgusting behavior.

Copa America 2024 Betting Odds

To qualify for the Knockout Round: -333
To reach the Semifinals: +150
To reach the Final: +550
To win Copa America 2024: +1400

Recent History

Everything said about Ecuador and the lack of goals at both ends of the field applies to Venezuela, perhaps even more so. Except a 3-0 victory over Chile in World Cup qualifying where 2 of the goals came after Chile went down a man, Venezuela has played 14 games without any being decided by multiple goals, the last being a 4-0 victory over United Arab Emirates in September 2022. That includes an impressive 1-1 draw at Brazil in World Cup qualifying, which as of now has been going well for Venezuela- they are on track to possibly qualify for their first-ever World Cup*.

*It must be noted that with an expanded World Cup tournament, more teams do qualify.

Tactical Outlook

After taking over from his mentor, the legendary José Pékerman, manager Fernando Batista has generally lined his team up in a 4-3-3, and set them up to focus on being defensively solid (the pattern continues). They will look to keep their opponents in check first and hope to grab a if not lucky, then opportunistic, goal at the other end.

When they do attack, Venezuela will adopt a “get it to our striker and hope he pulls a goal out of a hat” approach. When you have a striker like Solomón Rondón, that approach can sometimes pay dividends. Union fans know all about how dangerous he can be after his hattrick as part of Pachuca’s 6-0 Concacaf Champions League win against Philly, in arguably the worst Union performance of all time.

Strengths and Weaknesses

It’s tempting to copy/paste the strengths and weaknesses of Ecuador. This Venezuela team has shown they can shut down even strong attacks, remaining solid even against the likes of Brazil and Italy. And as mentioned, on his day, Rondón can make anyone pay if they’re not dialed in defensively.

Unfortunately for Venezuela, Rondón often feels somewhat isolated, as the attacking players behind him too often fall short of expectations. Even the best strikers need someone to feed them the ball, and Venezuela has been sorely lacking in players who can generate chances.