After Sunday night's draw for the 2016 Copa America Centenario, the US national team will be facing another tall task in the group stages of an official competition after watching Group A turn into what is unquestionably the tournament's "Group of Death."
Don't take our word for it. ESPN's Soccer Power Index says that Group A is the toughest of the four groups drawn.
There are two other rankings to look at when attempting to determine the Group of Death, or even the Group of Life (Mexico's): the FIFA rankings and the ELO Rating System. The latter is held in higher regard by most soccer pundits since it takes into account the type of match, home field advantage and goal differential.
GROUP A
Team |
FIFA Ranking |
ELO Rating |
|---|---|---|
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/copa-america/usa">USA</a> |
32 |
26 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/copa-america/colombia">Colombia</a> |
8 |
6 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/copa-america/costa-rica">Costa Rica</a> |
31 |
23 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/copa-america/paraguay">Paraguay</a> |
42 |
35 |
<strong>Average</strong> |
<b>28.3</b> |
<b>22.5</b> |
The Group of Death will not be kind. Although the USA may be the "seeded" team as hosts, Colombia are clear favorites to get out of the group with the other three nations fighting for the second spot in the quarterfinals. Although things could change come June, Costa Rica and Paraguay are currently the more in-form teams of the three.
GROUP B
Team |
FIFA Ranking |
ELO Rating |
|---|---|---|
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/copa-america/brazil">Brazil</a> |
6 |
2 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/copa-america/ecuador">Ecuador</a> |
13 |
12 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/copa-america/haiti">Haiti</a> |
65 |
86 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/peru">Peru</a> |
43 |
22 |
<strong>Average</strong> |
<b>31.8</b> |
<b>30.5</b> |
It's pretty obvious that Brazil and Ecuador are the top two teams here, but they will have to see off a Peruvian side that made it all the way to the semifinals of last year's Copa America. Haiti also showed some fight in the 2015 Gold Cup, when they advanced out of their group alongside the US.
GROUP C
Team |
FIFA Ranking |
ELO Rating |
|---|---|---|
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/copa-america/mexico">Mexico</a> |
22 |
13 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/copa-america/uruguay">Uruguay</a> |
11 |
9 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/copa-america/jamaica">Jamaica</a> |
51 |
61 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/copa-america/venezuela">Venezuela</a> |
81 |
56 |
<strong>Average</strong> |
<b>41.3</b> |
<b>34.8</b> |
While everyone will be paying attention to Mexico and Uruguay, let's not forget that Jamaica defeated the US in the semifinals of the 2015 Gold Cup before falling to El Tri in the final. It would be a surprise to see Venezuela get more than three points in this group.
GROUP D
Team |
FIFA Ranking |
ELO Rating |
|---|---|---|
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/copa-america/argentina">Argentina</a> |
2 |
3 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/copa-america/chile">Chile</a> |
5 |
5 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/copa-america/panama">Panama</a> |
60 |
41 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/copa-america/bolivia">Bolivia</a> |
72 |
53 |
<strong>Average</strong> |
<strong>34.8</strong> |
<strong>25.5</strong> |
Forecasting the two sides to emerge from Group D will not be tough for most, as Argentina and Chile are two of the top teams in the world. Panama will be the toughest opposition of the remaining two teams: They defeated the US in the third-place match of the 2015 Gold Cup, but they have not enjoyed the best of form since then. Bolivia have lost 5-0 to both Argentina and Chile in the past year.
