Mexico and Uruguay are widely tipped to finish as the top two teams (in some order) in Group C. That order could very well be determined immediately as the two championship contenders go head-to-head in their first game of the 2016 Copa America Centenario. Can El Tri capitalize on the absence of La Celeste‘s best player and stake their claim for top spot in Group C?
Read on below for our comprehensive breakdown of this crucial Group C matchup. Meanwhile, don’t forget to check out our preview of the other game in Group C, Jamaica vs. Venezuela.
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Mexico will be one hot tamale entering the Copa America Centenario. El Tri still has a 100 percent record in seven matches with new manager Juan Carlos Osorio, which includes a 1-0 win over reigning Copa America champions Chile its final tune-up match. In fact, their last loss came in last year’s Copa America, a 2-1 defeat to Ecuador, which was 19 matches ago.
Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez scored the winning goal against Chile, and “The Little Pea” will be a huge reason for El Tri‘s success or failure in this tournament. Chicharito is coming off an outstanding season with German club Bayer Leverkusen, scoring 26 goals in all competitions. He’s pretty prolific for his country as well, finding the net 44 times in just 82 appearances.
But Chicharito is hardly the only quality player on the team. Captain Rafael Marquez is still going strong at age 37; Andres Guardado is simply outstanding in midfield; and Porto teammates Miguel Layun, Hector Herrera and Jesus Manuel Corona are as talented as they come.
Mexico’s attacking talent, particularly on the wings, will be difficult to corral, and should be able to push back a Uruguayan side that also likes to get forward.
The bad news for Uruguay is that Barcelona superstar Luis Suarez is still suffering from a hamstring injury and is a doubt to play any part in the group stage. The good news is that they still have a supremely gifted goalscorer in Paris Saint-Germain star Edinson Cavani (32 goals in 81 caps) to lead the line. Cavani scored twice in La Celeste‘s recent 3-1 win over Trinidad & Tobago.
Uruguay, the most successful country in Copa America history with 15 championships, knows how to deal with the loss of its talisman.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Uruguay has outscored non-CONMEBOL competition 20-7 since 2014 when it’s without Suarez. They were also without Suarez in last year’s Copa due to his World Cup suspension, but still managed to squeeze through to the quarterfinals, where they were beaten by hosts and eventual champions Chile.
The Uruguayan defense helped them progress that far in the tournament, and it’s more than capable of silencing its biggest challenger in Group C, Mexico. The unit is comprised of very dependable veteran full-backs (Alvaro and Maxi Perreira) and the center-back pairing of Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez, who helped Atletico Madrid form arguably the meanest defense in all of Europe last season.
Uruguay is currently tied for the best defensive record in COMNEBOL’s 2018 World Cup qualifiers with just four goals conceded in six games.
Writer’s Prediction
Mexico (+133) manages to edge out Uruguay in a 2-1 win.
