(Photo: Pixabay) The Copa América 2024 has officially started. The tournament, which will be held at 14 locations across the United States and ends on July 14, will feature 10 teams from member states of the South American Confederation and 6 teams from CONCACAF. In the opening match, Argentina, this year's favorite, dominated Canada with two spectacular goals. The excitement of the group stage will continue in the coming days and millions of people are eager to bet on the Copa América. Between already favorite teams and last-minute surprises, we analyze the performance of the participating teams and the best odds defined by the bookmakers.Argentina beats Canada, but not by much
In this Copa América debut, Argentina managed to score 2 goals, but despite this, the North Americans managed to maintain a good pace of play. This shows that Argentina's mechanics are not yet fully tuned, and if they do not encounter problems against Canada, this could change against better prepared teams.
However, Canada has shown that it can compete in the Copa América and even deserves a place among the top 10 teams currently quoted to win the Copa América by bookmakers. Of course, the odds are still 88.00, but depending on the evolution of the groups we will see how the situation changes.
Argentina remains the main favorite, with odds of 2.70 to win the tournament, according to all bookmakers. As for first place in Group A, Argentina's victory seems almost certain, with odds ranging from 1.20 to 1.50.
The situation in the groups
As we said, Argentina are favorites in Group A, but we still have to watch the clash between Chile and Peru. Chile and Peru represent the eighth and tenth teams respectively in the South American qualifying table and undoubtedly represent some of the weakest teams in this tournament. The match for group A seems to remain in perfect balance, with a probability of victory of 3.50 for Peru and 2.25 for Chile. The difference doesn't seem big, but the chance of these two teams making it past the round of 16 is minimal.
Group B seems to be the most exciting, with well-balanced teams and potentially each of them can gain an advantage over the others. In addition to Jamaica, Venezuela, Ecuador and Mexico represent the best in this edition of the Copa América. Of course, all eyes are on Mexico, but we can't forget their terrible performance in the last World Cup. The odds of winning the groups put Mexico in first place at 2.10, followed closely by Ecuador with odds of 2.50.
Group C seems the most predictable, with teams very far apart in terms of strength. Uruguay seems to be the most prepared for such a competition, although the United States has a good chance of reaching at least the quarterfinals. Bolivia and Panama, on the other hand, are completely out of the question for all bookmakers. A group win for Uruguay costs 1.70, with the United States close behind at 2.30.
Finally, in Group D there should be no doubts in terms of strength and performance on the field: Brazil should dominate any opponent.
Colombia may be the only one capable of doing so, thanks to a Brazil that still has a lot to prove, especially with the absence of Neymar and the appointment of a new coach. Be that as it may, there is no doubt at this point that Brazil's rating is at 1.40, while Colombia is a little further away at 3.70. Almost no chance of promotion for Paraguay, with odds of 12.00, and Costa Rica, with 18.00.