BY DANIEL CARRERO
The 49th edition of the Copa America has come to an end, with Argentina crowning itself as champions of the Americas once again. After watching 32 games and staring at my TV for a whole month, I have mixed feelings about this tournament—I watched unexpected teams outperform expectations while also seeing my country lose the Copa America final to Argentina in the 112th minute.
In the end, the 2024 Copa America came with big surprises and controversy. Here are my takeaways from the tournament that took place across the United States.
Canada stands apart among CONCACAF disappointments
Group stage exits for the United States, Jamaica, Costa Rica and Mexico signified a very disappointing tournament for most North American sides. The United States and Mexico fell short of high expectations finishing third in their respective groups, while Costa Rica also finished third in group D. Jamaica finished last in group B with three losses and a goal difference of minus six.
Canada was the only country representing the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) to make a stamp in the tournament with their fourth-place finish. The men commanded by American head coach Jesse Marsch understood the task of playing against countries from the CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation) confederation, who played a more physical game compared to the Canada we saw at the Qatar 2022 World Cup under John Herdman.
Canada’s first game against Argentina—the number-one ranked country in the world according to FIFA—showed a team with tenacity and potential even with a 2-0 loss. Les Rouges learned from that game and came with a better mentality, defeating Peru 1-0 and tying Chile 0-0. Both of those games featured a red card for the opposing team earlier in the match, favouring Canada to control the game at their own pace.
In the round of 16, Canada faced Venezuela, a team performing very well in the tournament. 24-year-old winger Jacob Shaffelburg scored the first goal for Canada in the 13th minute, making his mark in the match and the tournament. After a tense game with 1-1 on the scoreboard, the game was settled via penalties, where goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau showed his strength and saved two penalties to send Canada to the next round.
Canada then faced Argentina for the second time in this tournament. The red-and-white couldn’t handle them again, and the result stayed the same—a 2-0 defeat ended their championship hopes. The match against Uruguay for third place was an intense match that showed the personality of both teams and a late goal from Luis Suárez pushed the game to a penalty shootout, which favoured the Uruguayans 4-3.
Regardless of that result, Canada can be more than satisfied with this tournament. Several players proved to fit perfectly into the new Canadian football system, while Shaffelburg emerged as a star and a fresh pair of centrebacks, Moïse Bombito and Derek Cornelius, showed hints of experience and hierarchy, combining for a tournament-best 65 clearances. The Canadian midfield is also going through changes, as Ismaël Koné is adapting to the huge gap left after Atiba Hutchinson retired from the national team. Koné has struggled to fit into the number six role, but even Hutchinson has hope for the 22-year-old midfielder.
“[Koné] has an amazing future ahead of him,” said Hutchinson in a live show for TSN. “He plays with so much confidence and it's just going to get better and better.”
Koné will also face a new challenge, as Olympique de Marseille just announced him as a new signing for the 2024-2025 season. The League 1 team managed by Robert De Zerbi will help him reach the next level in his career.
Expected teams proved themselves with top-three finishes
With a perfect six-for-six tournament, Argentina defended their Copa America title and are now the country with the most titles at 16. Lionel Scaloni’s side was considered the biggest contender for the title and didn't disappoint. The system they have used since the Qatar 2022 World Cup still works with perfection and the only change since is Lisandro Martínez starting over Nicolás Otamendi. The highlight of the team was Lautaro Martínez, who was the goalscorer of the tournament with five goals.
Another of the best teams in the tournament was Colombia. They reached this Copa America on a 23-game undefeated run dating back to Feb. 1, 2022. Los Cafeteros, managed by Argentinian head coach Néstor Lorenzo, showcased an orchestra of football that consisted of high possession and overlapping fullbacks, while their unstoppable set pieces proved to be a massive threat throughout the tournament. The key to their success, though, was James Rodríguez. Crowned Best Player of CONMEBOL Copa America 2024, the 33-year-old midfielder broke the record for most assists in a tournament with six. Despite losing the final against Argentina, the Colombian team can lift their chins with pride as they almost did the impossible.
Another expected performance came in the exceptional form of Uruguay. Marcelo Bielsa’s side came third, with their youth proving to be a valuable asset rather than a hindrance. With their usual 4-2-3-1 formation, their strongest feature was their powerhouse midfield, characterized by Federico Valverde’s endurance and Manuel Ugarte’s defensive technicality. Darwin Núñez led the Uruguayan attack force with support from the wings charged by Maximiliano Araújo and Facundo Pellistri. Uruguay might have made the final if it wasn’t for Ronald Araújo suffering a right hamstring injury in the semifinal against Brazil.
A tournament full of goodbyes
Melancholy was also a big part of this tournament, as many legends of the sport played their last international tournaments.
The only player who confirmed his retirement from international duties is Ángel Di María. After 144 games in 16 years with the Albiceleste, the Argentinian decided to hang his boots after this successful spell at the Copa America.
“It’s my last battle. There’s nothing left to say that I haven’t said a lot of times before,” said Di María to the Independent before the final. “It’s my last game. I have to say thank you to all Argentineans and to this generation that has allowed me to lift so many trophies.”
Other players have shown hints of considering retirement, such as Argentinian defender Otamendi, who had an emotional moment with Di María and Lionel Messi during the trophy ceremony. Another example is Suárez, who had the perfect farewell game after scoring the equalizer against Canada to push the game to penalties and posed on Instagram with Núñez covering the number one from his shirt—this showed the pair as equals with the legacy of the number nine in Uruguay and hinted at a successor in the near future.
Unfortunately, Messi turned 37 over a month ago, and with every year, the question arises again: When will he retire? Messi had an average Copa America, with one goal and one assist, but the victory brought him to 44 titles, making him the most decorated player in history. During the final, he suffered an awful-looking ankle injury which raises concerns about his durability and pushing his limit. Still, Messi seems confident the 2026 World Cup will be his last tournament.
“As I’ve said before, I intend to continue,” said Messi to the Independent after the 2-0 victory over Canada in the semifinal. “I intend to keep living day by day without thinking about what will come in the future or whether I’ll continue or not. It’s something I just live each day. I’m 37 years and only God knows when the end will be.”
Other legendary players from South American mainstays who may have played in their final tournament include might have disputed their last major tournament; Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo (41 years old), Chilean winger Alexis Sánchez (35), Peruvian striker Paolo Guerrero (40) and Venezuelan midfielder Tomás Rincón (36).
FIFA’s and CONMEBOL’s issues arise on largest stage yet
While it was a remarkable tournament, FIFA and CONMEBOL demonstrated the amount of work that has to be done to have a safe tournament for fans and players.
After the final whistle between Colombia vs. Uruguay, a fight broke out between Colombian fans and the Uruguayan team. Video footage shows Núñez throwing punches at fans and minutes later consoling his son on the pitch. The Uruguayan Football Association released a statement explaining what occurred.
“On Wednesday, under a context of verbal violence, provocation and various attacks, a group of Uruguayan fans located behind the substitutes' bench and technical area were involved in various skirmishes that escalated and triggered situations in which several families of players and staff members ended up being involved,” the statement read.
Uruguayan center back José María Giménez commented regarding this traumatic event.
"It was a disaster. There was no police and we had to defend our families,” said Giménez. “This is because of two or three who had one drink too many.”
This commotion demonstrated the lack of organization from the police for the event, which would appear once again when the finals rolled around.
On July 14, the Copa America final was delayed over 75 minutes due to an accumulation of fans trying to force their way into the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. From jumping over fences, pushing through police and even crawling through air vents, fans proved relentless. A rough estimate showed nearly 8000 fans snuck their way into the stadium, which led to people who had tickets not being allowed in. For example, Argentinian player Alejandro Garnacho’s brother Roberto and teammate Marcos Acuña's family struggled to get in the stadium.
The whole planning for the evening was a disaster and caused a lot of disruption and action from the police, who didn’t hesitate to use force upon fans.
It’s a shame incidents like this overshadow the quality of football we saw in this tournament. FIFA and the United States have some rethinking to do before hosting another tournament of this calibre.
Coaches speak out on pervasive problems
It's common we see managers bite their tongue while criticizing the actions of football federations like FIFA or CONMEBOL. Even with training ground conditions so awful Bolivia was unable to train in theirs, no one could say anything as everyone feared the sanctions imposed by FIFA on whoever spoke against the federation.
However, after the game between Uruguay and Colombia, Uruguay’s head coach Bielsa didn’t hold back. He spoke out against the tournament’s failings in a Spanish-language press conference.
Another coach who spoke their mind about this edition of the Copa America was Marsch, who noted how his team was subjected to unacceptable behaviour on the field—such as defender Alistair Johnston getting headbutted in the game against Peru without any sanction—and off it with racial slurs directed towards the team through social media and live games.
“For me, this tournament hasn't been professional,” said Marsch in a press conference after the third-place game versus Uruguay.
Looking ahead to the 2026 World Cup
Having success in this tournament does not guarantee you a spot in the World Cup, as we have seen in the past with Italy winning the euros and failing to qualify for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Still, it gives a good idea of where each team is, and from what we saw, CONCACAF teams have to make a bigger effort to adapt to a different game style, one needed against European countries. Canada’s work under Marsch has shown great results but the team still needs to work on developing the younger generation that placed Canada fourth in the tournament.
Teams like Peru, Chile, Paraguay and Bolivia should use this tournament as a wake-up call to try to change their trajectory. The qualifications for the World Cup are still ongoing and they will have to work on several elements of their games to even dream of reaching the 2026 World Cup.
Considering the standards of a team like Brazil, they had a mediocre tournament. The lack of depth in their squad hindered creativity in their midfield, which became a massive issue across the tournament for the Seleção. Even with Lucas Paquetá playing the number ten role, the Brazilian team needs Neymar Jr. to recover from injury and return as soon as possible.
While teams should take this time to reflect on their performance, organizations like FIFA and the hosting countries should use this opportunity to work on a better approach to hosting a tournament like this. If issues with security and ticketing, as well as training grounds, happen at a tournament of this scale, the issues could be significantly worse at a World Cup with 48 teams, rather than 32. All federations involved will have to work to raise the standard and bring forth a tournament the world needs and today’s football deserves.
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