On Copa América, unpredictability, and the final no one saw coming.

By Daniel Colasimone, editor of ArgentinaFootballWorld.com writing from Argentina

There were no easy games. It is a cliché that is often wheeled out during international tournaments but for the very first time, it did actually apply to the Copa America. In past editions, teams like Venezuela and Bolivia, when facing any of the continent’s big guns, could almost always be relied on squeal, drop to the floor, cover their faces and whimperingly accept a savage beating. Bolivia had conceded a whopping 42 goals against Argentina in previous Copa Americas and scored only 8.

Venezuela had only ever won two games in the competition in 49 attempts and their record against Brazil was horrendous; 5 played, 5 losses, 1 goal for, 25 against. Peru have a better record historically, however, coming into this edition, most expected them to be mere speed bumps for the likes of Uruguay. Mexico and Costa Rica brought Under 22 squads – surely no match for South America’s powerhouses. Yet after the first round of matches, it became clear that the gap between the haves and the have-nots has dwindled significantly. And nothing changed in the knockout stages to go against that argument.

None of the big names had it easy. Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay drew with Bolivia, Venezuela and Peru respectively. Mexico’s kids went ahead against an impressive Chile outfit, before being pegged back. There were none of the traditional group-phase massacres. Nor are there likely to be. Venezuela and Bolivia especially showed themselves to be tough, intelligent, skillful outfits. Based on the first round of matches, it would not be a huge shock if one or more of the so-called ‘minnows’ battles their way to the Copa quarter-finals. There may be those who will miss the 7-0 annihilations, but for the rest of us, the tournament got a lot more interesting. Here’s to the Uruguay vs Paraguay, the final no one saw coming.