The Chilean team has already closed its preparation for the Copa América in terms of friendly matches. Ricardo Gareca decided not to play another match, so now all that remains is to travel to the United States and train for his debut.
In this way, in 2024, the “Red” of the “Tiger” accumulated two victories – the 3-0 over Albania in Parma and the 3-0 against Paraguay in the National Stadium – and one defeat – the 3-2 at the hands of France in Marseille. The balance was more than positive.
However, two of the three rivals of the “Everyone’s Team” in the group stage of the continental tournament have not yet concluded their duels prior to the competition, since they will play today. Below, a review of the present of Peru, Argentina and Canada.
Peru
It will be Chile’s rival in the debut, next Friday, June 21 at 8:00 p.m., at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Prior to that, the “Inca” team will face El Salvador today, starting at 8:30 p.m., at the Subaru Park stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania.
The Rímac team had a forgettable start in the South American Qualifiers, where they are bottom with just two points in six games, including a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the “Roja” at the Monumental, in October. That bad season cost his coach, Juan Reynoso, his job.
Jorge Fossati arrived to replace him, who took office in January. The experienced Uruguayan coach of 71 “springs” was directing Universitario, which he won champion in 2023 after nine years.
The “Charrúa”, who commanded the national teams of his country and Qatar -on two occasions-, has already been in charge of three friendlies. They beat Nicaragua 2-0 and the Dominican Republic 4-1 in March, and have just drawn 0-0 with Paraguay a week ago, all of these games in Lima.
His big absence for the Copa América is Renato Tapia. The midfielder, who still belongs to Celta de Vigo, demanded an injury policy from the local federation, which did not arrive, so he decided to withdraw from the squad.
Argentina
It will be the “Red”’s second opponent in the United States, on Tuesday, June 25 at 9:00 p.m., at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Today he will have his last pre-tournament preparation, facing Guatemala at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, starting at 8:00 p.m.
The current champion of America and the world is first in the South American Qualifiers, with 15 points in six dates. His only defeat was at home at the hands of Uruguay, 2-0, but he later vindicated himself with a historic victory in Brazil, 1-0.
Despite some doubts about his continuity, Lionel Scaloni confirmed in January that he would continue at the helm. The young 46-year-old coach has an enviable record leading the “Albiceleste”, with 51 wins, 12 draws and only six losses.
This year they have played three friendlies on American soil and won all of them. They beat El Salvador 3-0 in Philadelphia and Costa Rica 3-1 in Los Angeles, both in March, and on Sunday they defeated Ecuador 1-0 in Chicago.
In the last hours, Lionel Messi remembered the two continental finals lost against the “Roja”, which led him to resign from his national team at the time. “He couldn’t take everything he was experiencing anymore and it came out,” he commented in an interview with ESPN.
Canada
They will close the group stage by facing Chile on Saturday, June 29 at 8:00 p.m., at the Explora Stadium in Orlando, Florida. Like the “Red”, they have already concluded their previous friendlies, so they are waiting for their debut against Argentina.
The last official matches he played were in the Concacaf Nations League, where in the 2023-24 edition he reached the quarterfinals. In November, they were surprisingly eliminated by Jamaica due to away goals criteria, after drawing 4-4 on aggregate.
In March they recovered by beating Trinidad and Tobago 2-0 at the Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, for the playoffs of the continental tournament. That victory allowed him to get a ticket to play in the Copa América for the first time, with Alphonso Davies, from Bayern Munich, as his banner.
This entire process was led by the Canadian interim Mauro Biello, who replaced his English boss John Herdman, coach during Qatar 2022. Today the American Jesse Marsch is in charge, thinking about the 2026 World Cup, where they will be one of the local teams.
The former coach of Salzburg, Leipzig and Leeds has been in charge of two games, both in the current month. The 6 suffered a 4-0 defeat at the hands of the Netherlands in Rotterdam, while they have just achieved a creditable 0-0 draw with France in Bordeaux, last Sunday.
