In the final instalment of Daniel Campos’ Copa America Centenario – who’s missing? series, the squads of Paraguay, Peru, the United States, Uruguay and Venezuela are dissected.
PARAGUAY
The Guaraníes are going through a late resurgence in form picking up vital points in World Cup qualifying so the Copa America will serve as a trial for coach Ramón Díaz to make adjustments in time.
Díaz has had to resurrect a national side depleted in the last couple of years and in last year’s Copa edition in Chile, heavily restricted both Uruguay and finalist Argentina in the group stage.
Key holding midfielder Néstor Ortigoza is out with injury ruling him out of his club side San Lorenzo of the Argentinian league final thus also leaving him out of the U.S. edition.
Read more
Copa America Centenario – who’s missing? (Part one – Argentina to Chile)
Copa America Centenario – who’s missing? (Part two – Colombia to Panama)
PERU
Ricardo “El Tigre” Gareca has impressed with Peru in last year’s Copa America and in qualifiers troubling several teams with a fierce attack-minded approach.
Peru will not be able to boast the “fantastic four” consisting of veteran stalwart Claudio Pizarro, Juan Vargas, Jefferson Farfán and Paolo Guerrero.
Only Guerrero will be present in Gareca’s squad. It is a shame as this Copa tournament was realistically the last opportunity to see all four play together one last time.
UNITED STATES
Remember the heroic exploits in the 2010 South Africa World Cup? Well it was Jozy Altidore latching on to score vital goals in sudden-death however Jurgen Klinsmann has left him out of the squad due to a hamstring injury.
The USA will also undoubtedly miss the presence up front of Jordan Morris who was overlooked for Chris Wondolowski. In defence, Timmy Chandler has been diagnosed with a right quadricep strain after he exited early from Eintracht Frankfurt’s relegation playoff win and will be replaced by Edgar Castillo.
This is a brilliant opportunity for the USA as host to shine in what will be the first major football tournament since the 1994 World Cup.
URUGUAY
Head coach Oscar Washington Tabárez has been forced to rule out Cristian “Cebolla” Rodríguez due to injury sustained for club side Independiente in Argentina. La Celeste arrives in the States on June 1st and will play Mexico first in their group drawn against Jamaica and Venezuela.
Luis Suárez sustained his injury against Sevilla in the Copa del Rey final and was seen in tears. However, the lethal forward will remain in the squad and is being closely monitored for a possible return.
VENEZUELA
The baseball-mad nation has gone through a change with the departure of Noel Sanvicente making way for former goalkeeper Rafael Dudamel and his changes have been immediate.
Boasting a world class forward in Salomón Rondón, there are however alternatives to his squad who have been overlooked. Eduardo Herrera, Daniel Benítez, Víctor García, Jhon Chancellor, Arles Flores, Jacobo Kouffati, Jeffren Suárez and Andrés Ponce all miss out with Jeffren Suárez the key name and his known to football fans after his time with FC Barcelona under Pep Guardiola.
Read more
Copa America Centenario – who’s missing? (Part one – Argentina to Chile)
Copa America Centenario – who’s missing? (Part two – Colombia to Panama)
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
