The host nation for the 2024 Copa América starts its campaign Sunday at AT&T Stadium, fighting traditional straggler Bolivia in a Group C contest.
By Jon Arnold
The United States is participating in the South American continental championship as an invited team for the fifth time, and will hope to once again make the semi-final as it has twice before, including in 2016 when it last was played on U.S. soil. While a teenage Christian Pulisic was on that squad, the AC Milan attacker is one of few holdovers from that generation of American soccer.
He’s joined at this tournament by a midfield full of talent, whether it be Juventus’ Weston McKennie, Bournemouth’s Tyler Adams, Pulisic’s Milan teammate Yunus Musah and Real Betis’ Johnny, a relatively new face with the U.S. who is coming off a tremendous six months in Spain.
There may be more concerns about the current generation at the back, where typically secure goalkeeper Matt Turner enters the summer after playing little with Nottingham Forest. Sergiño Dest is missing the Copa América with an injury, though Joe Scally’s performance against Vinicíus Júnior in a friendly against Brazil has U.S. fans hopeful they have the personnel needed to lock down attackers who excel out wide.
Bolivia historically has struggled to win when they’re not the home side, so a date with the hosts will be an intimidating start to the tournament they last won in 1963. A sterling run in the Copa Libertadores by Bolívar has lifted some hopes in Bolivia that this group could be the one to break what is nearly a decade-long winless run in official games played away from the altitude of Bolivia.
They’ll need to find the right attacking mix, with Henry Vaca missing the tournament as he recovers from injury and legendary goalscorer Marcelo Martins Moreno having announced his international retirement after 108 caps and 31 goals for La Verde, both all-time highs.
Matching the highs of the 2015 Copa América in Chile, when Bolivia beat Ecuador and advanced from the group stage would be success at the tournament for Antonio Carlos Zago’s men. Any result against the host nation would go down as an historic result.
The other teams in the group, Panama and Uruguay, meet later Sunday in Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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