The Uruguay National Team have a successful relationship with the Copa America. Nobody has won the competition more than La Celeste, who have lifted the trophy on 15 occasions. That said, last year was desperately disappointing for them as Uruguay was knocked out in the quarterfinals by eventual champions Chile. Despite that, Uruguay has to be considered one of the favorites to win the Copa America Centenario this summer.
Photo: @HomeOfBarcelona | Twitter
There are a couple of reasons for this. First, and perhaps the most obvious, is the presence of Luis Suarez. The Barcelona striker is coming off a sensational season in which he scored 40 goals, assisted 16, won the Pichichi and should arguably be in the running for the Ballon D'Or.
Uruguay were without their talisman for the Copa America last year mostly because of the fact that Suarez tried to take a chunk out of Giorgio Chiellini's shoulder. As far as we know, Suarez hasn't bitten anybody this year so his presence will make a huge difference for Uruguay, especially considering the outrageous form he has been in this season. That alone could give them the edge to win, but it's not the only thing they have going for them.
This season has seen the rise of young Jose Gimenez at Atletico Madrid. His partnership with fellow Uruguayan Diego Godin has made Diego Simeone's side a defensive juggernaught who have conceded a mere 18 goals in 38 games in La Liga this season. That is an absurd defensive record. A lot of credit should go to Simeone for his organization and tactics, but it can't be denied that Godin and Gimenez have created an almost unbreachable partnership.
This could serve very well for Uruguay, who are traditionally a very physical team that are hard to play through.
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So Uruguay, in a sense, has the best striker in Europe and the best defensive partnership in Europe. And let's not forget that they also have Edinson Cavani for good measure. It's going to take quite a performance to stop them from achieving their 16th Copa America crown.
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