Okay, so the US national team’s Copa America Centenario campaign didn’t start out quite so promising, with a 2-0 loss to Colombia in the tournament opener on Friday, June 3. But things are definitely looking up after Tuesday’s 4-0 rout of Costa Rica—and it’s promising enough going into Saturday’s match in Philadelphia versus Paraguay.
The US now sit second in Group A, behind Colombia, who have won both of their games so far. To emerge from the group stage, the US simply can’t lose against Paraguay. (Click here to read all the different scenarios on how the US can advance.)
Assuming all goes well and the US either draws with or wins against Paraguay, however, who should a US fan root for in the rest of the tournament’s games this weekend? Let’s break it down.
Chile vs. Bolivia, June 10 (7 pm ET, FOX, UniMás, UDN): Bolivia doesn’t have a chance here, really, against defending champs Chile. Rooting for Chile is a safe bet looking down the line, since, if the US were to advance beyond the quarterfinals, they’d eventually have to face either Chile or Argentina. Messi could be fit by the time that happens, which is scary, obviously.
Argentina vs. Panama, June 10 (9:30 pm ET, FOX, UniMás, UDN): You could root for Panama here, because of that future Messi threat—and hey, maybe the Vancouver Whitecaps’ own Blas Perez can pull out some magic.
Colombia vs. Costa Rica, June 11 (9 pm ET, FS1, Univision, UDN): Here, you should root for Colombia. If Colombia beat or draw Costa Rica, the US would advance to the quarterfinals, finishing second place in the group. If Costa Rica win, it gets tricky and comes down to goals—click here to read how that breaks down.
Ecuador vs. Haiti, June 12 (6:30 pm ET, FS2, Univision, UDN): Haiti’s been eliminated from advancing, so root as you wish here, along geopolitical or other lines.
Brazil vs. Peru, June 12 (8:30 pm ET, FS1, Univision, UDN): Brazil and Peru are tied with four points, but Brazil leads on goal differential, with a plus-six after the first two games of the tournament. Even with what many have dubbed a mediocre squad, Brazil is going to greatly trouble Peru—and any team it faces afterwards.
If the US go through to the next round as the second-place finisher in Group A, then they will play the winner of Group B in the quarterfinals, and if the US somehow wins Group A, then they would face the Group B second-place finisher. So if you want to avoid a potential meeting with Brazil, and you want Brazil out of the tournament, then root for Peru here, AND root also for Ecuador to beat Haiti. If Brazil and Peru tie, and Ecuador beats winless Haiti, then Brazil, Peru and Ecuador would all be tied with five points and Brazil would go through on goal difference. Ecuador would join them in the next round by beating Haiti by more than one goal. Peru would need Haiti to lose by no more than one goal, and it would need to score enough goals against Brazil to leave it with more goals scored in group stage than Ecuador. (After goal difference, goals scored is the next tiebreaker.)
