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The 46th edition of the Copa America is upon us, as all 10 member nations of CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation) alongside two guest nations (Japan and Qatar) battle it out for glory.
The tournament would run from June 14 through July 7 2019 across six venues in five cities in host nation Brazil and would have on display some of the finest players on the planet.
One country which would be entering the competition with high hopes of triumphing would be Argentina, as the 14-time winners would be looking to go one better than their consecutive runners-up finishes in the last two editions.
However, they might find themselves falling short in the tournament. In this piece, we shall be taking a look at five reasons why Argentina aren't likely to win the 2019 Copa America.
Also see : Copa America Standings, Barcelona Transfer News.
#5 Overdependence on Messi could cost them
Ever since making his professional debut in November 2003, Lionel Messi has played his way into being considered debatably the greatest player in the history of the game.
The 31-year-old's numbers are well documented, so it is futile to repeat them. But, over the years, he has shown a pristine ability to decide the outcome of matches on his own, with his talent level far above what we have ever seen.
Any side facing a team that has Messi in its side almost goes into every match with an advantage. The Argentine maestro is more than capable of causing harm to his opponents either with his sublime passing, otherwordly dribbling or pin-point finishing.
Argentina has the luxury of having him within its ranks and this gives them an edge over other teams at the tournament, as the five-time Ballon d'Or winner has the ability to lead his nation to glory.
However, for all of his seemingly superhuman abilities, Messi is not without his shortcomings and there are instances (rather few of them) of the Barcelona talisman not stepping up to the challenge when required.
Beyond Lionel Messi, there are not many other players in the current Argentine squad who inspire confidence and as such, La Albiceleste's chances of success hinge almost squarely on their captain's ability to deliver for them.
There is a chance that Messi might not step up to the plate (as has happened too often by his standards on the international scene in the past). In the event that this does happen, are there any other players in the Argentine setup who would carry the mantle and lead their team to glory?
#4 They are not going into the tournament in the best of shape
In Argentina's last 10 international matches, they have lost four, drawn one and won five and this is a rather poor return for a nation of its standing.
However, a further breakdown of their results reveals just how bad it is. Five of their victories came against Italy, Haiti, Nigeria, Morocco, Nicaragua and with all due respect to them, but these are not exactly world beaters on the international scene with the exception of Italy (who at the time were out-of-sorts).
They lost matches against all three quality oppositions they faced - Croatia (0-3), France (4-3) and the rather ridiculous 6-1 defeat to Spain, while also posting a shock 3-1 loss to Venezuela in March.
Though they might have won their two Copa America warm-up friendlies against Nicaragua and Morocco, the atrocious form that the Argentine national team has been over the last one year means that they would do well to keep expectations low at the tournament.
#3 They are not the favorites
Argentina head into the Copa America as the 11th ranked team in the world and third highest in South America. While the FIFA World Ranking might not exactly be an precise yardstick for measuring countries' performance at tournaments, in many ways, this is a fair reflection of Argentina's current standing in the continent.
Uruguay is the second best placed South American nation - eighth in the world - and would be looking to extend their record 15 Copa America wins. They would be buoyed by the presence of their ever potent Luis Suarez in attack, while also counting on the defensive solidity of Diego Godin and Jose Jimenez at the back.
However, beyond these trio, La Celeste have a number of other players who can harm opposition players like Edinson Cavani and Rodrigo Bentancur. But, their strength does not lie in individual brilliance, but in the fact that Oscar Tabarez has molded Uruguay into arguably the most compact side in international football.
For their part, Brazil are the third best team in the world by FIFA's rankings. Even though they lost the services of their talisman Neymar few days to the commencement of the tournament, they still have more than enough in the tank to go all the way.
Players like Richarlison, Roberto Firmino and Ajax wonder David Neres are all coming into the tournament off wonderful seasons with their clubs while Philippe Coutinho and Gabriel Jesus would be looking to display their abilities to make up for their underperformance at club level.
Brazil are clear favorites to lift the trophy in July and can count on a vociferous home support to see them through.
Realistically, Argentina should be considered outsiders for the trophy judging by the strength of their squad and as such, not much should be expected from them at this point.
#2 They have a young squad still in transition
The last 15 years of Argentine football was characterized by the presence of numerous world-class players who had starred in back-to-back triumphs at the Under 20 World Cup and Olympics Games in the mid-noughties and as such were expected to translate this success into the senior team.
These groups of players were termed the 'Golden Generation' and had within its ranks some of the best players in history including Sergio Aguero, Angel DI Maria, Javier Zanetti, Javier Mascherano and arguably the greatest of them all - Lionel Messi among others.
With a squad of this quality, it was believed that Argentina would thump all before them on the international scene. But that failed to happen as a talented bunch of players always faltered on the big stages with three consecutive final defeats from 2014 to 2016 being the nadir.
Most of these men have departed the scene, paving the way for the younger generation to achieve what they could not. Coach Lionel Scaloni has been building his team around a core of young untested players since he took the reins in August 2018.
Of his 23-man squad for the 2019 Copa America, only five players - Lionel Messi (130). Sergio Aguero (90), Nicolas Otamendi (60), Ramiro Funes Muri (25) and Paulo Dybala (20) have won 20 caps or over, while 10 players have represented Argentina 5 times or below.
This shows that this is a very inexperienced squad building for the future and it is a known fact that tournament experience comes to the fore in triumphing more often than not. The inexperience in the current Argentine squad could be detrimental to their chances and ambitions of success.
#1 The weight of expectation
Of the 12 nations participating at the 2019 Copa America, perhaps there is none as desperate to win the tournament as Argentina.
Argentina is a country of 44 million inhabitants who absolutely adore football, with their fanatical love for the game religious and almost bordering on maniacal.
They are one of the most illustrious sides in the history of men's international football and have given us some of the greatest names to ever grace the field with Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona ranking high up there as the best of all time.
However, fans of La Albiceleste have had to watch in horror as their national team has gone a whopping 28 years without a major international trophy. This drought has been made worse by the fact that they have boasted multiple world class teams who are more than capable of winning in that time.
In the last three decades, all Argentine team have entered every tournament with high hopes of going all the way to please millions of their compatriots back home, but inexplicably they always fall short to the anguish and despair of Argentine fans.
This increased weight of pressure is always hanging around the neck of all Argentine internationals and this tournament is no different, with a number of their players including Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi stating that they are 'desperate' to win the trophy.
Increased pressure on teams sometimes spur them on to glory, but more often than not, the opposite happens to be the case. Players find themselves smothered by the weight of expectation (as has been the story with Argentina over the years) and the added demands of ending their trophy drought at the home of their heated rivals Brazil could just see the players crumble.
