Wow – all I can say about the Euro’s this summer is wow. 3 of the 4 Quarterfinal games came down to overtime or shootouts as the teams battled tooth and nail for every shot, every save, every attack. The great thing it has been spectacular football. The Copa’s haven’t been quite as exciting with the grass issues and tiny fields shoe-horned into American football stadiums making the soccer almost unwatchable at times. None the less – we are to the Semis in the Copa too with the expected – Uruguay vs Colombia on one side and the unexpected Canada (with their jilted American coach Jesse Marsch) leading them against Argentina Tues night. Man I would love to see Canada put a scare into Argentina – but I think the mounties lose a respectable 3-1 looking like the US teams of old. While I like Colombia with a rejuvenated James outlasting Uruguay in PKs 1-1 at 8 pm on FS1 Wed night.
Indy 11 beats Atlanta Tues night 2-1 – Advance to US Open Cup Semis
Euro Blue Bloods face off Tues/Wed
Its Spain vs France on Tuesday — Spain who had to go to ET to beat the home-team Germany in my favorite game to watch this Euros – vs France who has yet to have a player of theirs score a goal in open play. Unbelievable that owngoal leads the scoring in this Euro Cup thus far. I like Spain here – 1-0. While England who had to score late in each of its knockout games faces the big Orange Machine – the Dutch on Wed at 3 pm on Fox. Sorry blokes – but I like the Dutch in this one. Afraid it’s not coming home.
US Men – Time for a New Coach
So I have been critical in the past of Berhalter – but I have always liked the way he has a family atmosphere around the team and have defended him until now- but I am now 100% on board with the fire Greg Berhalter group. Even The American Outlaws came out saying its time to pack his bags. Say what you want but since he has come back as head coach – the US has gone backwards. Our assistant coach BJ won the Nation League last spring and faired well in the Gold Cup with a B team playing. This summer under Berhalter 5-0 loss to Colombia, 1-1 lucky tie with a bad Brazil, horrific 3-0 win over, 2-1 loss to Panama (again) and finally the 1-0 loss to Uruguay. Was the US unlucky to go down a man vs Panama yes – (but good teams hold the tie). After watching the Euro’s this summer – its hard to believe the US would have won 1 game against that competition – just like like lost 2 of 3 in Copa. I think this is the golden generation but I question their heart under Berhalter. The US men certainly don’t seem to play with the edge we used to play with – are we more talented (in many positions – yes). In goal – certainly not. On defense – not really – with Ream aging out and Richards still learning – we are still a centerback short. PS – CCV ain’t the guy. I am hoping Miles Robinson proves in the Olympics he is. We’ll see. The question now becomes who’s the new coach? (next week I will dive into options).
Carmel High Girls Soccer Camp July 22-25
2-4:30 pm @ Murray Stadium Register Here contact fdixon@ccs.k1.in.us for more info
TV GAMES SCHEDULE
Tues July 9
3 pm Fox Euro Semi’s Spain vs France
7 pm Apple TV Atlanta United vs Indy 11 US Open Cup
8 pm FS1 Copa Semis Argentina vs Canada
11 pm Apple TV US Open Cup Sacramento Republic vs Seattle Sounders
Wed, July 10
3 pm Fox Euro Semi’s Netherlands vs England
8 pm FS1 Copa Semis Uruguay vs Colombia
11 pm Apple TV US Open Cup LAFC vs New Mexico United
Sat, July 13
3:30 pm TNT, Max, Peacock US Women vs Mexico
7 pm ESPN+ Indy 11 vs Loudon United
8 pm FS 1 Copa 3rd place Game
Sun, July 14
3 pm Fox Euro Finals
8 pm Fox Copa Finals
Tues, July 16
7:30 pm TNT, Max, Peacock US Women vs Costa Rica
July 24 starts US U23 Men & US Women In Olympics
EURO Semis Tues/Wed 3 pm Fox
Will England make it? Sutton’s semi-final predictions 4 questions ahead of Euro 2024 semis: England’s scheme?
What to look out for on EURO 2024 day 2️⃣2️⃣
Netherlands v England team news and predicted line-ups ahead of semi-final clash at Euro 2024
Phil Foden hails ‘improvement’ in England attack with new role in formation reshuffle
In defence of Foden – ‘this is a tactical issue, not a player problem’
Shaw or Trippier for Euro semi-final?
Gareth Southgate’s England revolution shouldn’t be overlooked just because it’s dull
Why ‘luck of the draw’ is a lazy phrase to throw at Gareth Southgate’s England
France’s ‘tournament ball’ or Spain’s ideology – how do you actually win the Euros?
Training in sandals & injuries – Spain’s unlikely turning point
Spain v France referee: Who is Euro 2024 official Slavko Vincic?
Dani Olmo is Spain’s antidote to France’s anti-football at Euro 2024
COPA Semis Tues/Wed 8 pm FS1
4️⃣ big questions ahead of the Copa América semi-finals 🇦🇷🇨🇦🇨🇴
Brazil at rock bottom: how the Seleção lost their way
Copa América: are Canada now the best team in North America?
Uruguay brutally beats Brazil to reach Copa semis
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U.S. names men’s soccer team for Paris Olympics; first squad to play in Games since 2008
By Jenna West, Paul Tenorio and more Jul 8, 2024
Coach Marko Mitrović revealed Monday the 18-player roster for the U.S. men’s soccer team heading to the Paris Olympics. This summer marks the first time the U.S. men will compete in the Games since 2008 after failing to qualify for the previous three cycles.
The Americans’ first match will be against host France on July 24 — two days before the Opening Ceremony — at Stade de Marseille in Marseille at 3 p.m. ET. The U.S. men have never faced France at the Olympics.
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The U.S. will then take on New Zealand on July 27 in Marseille at 1 p.m. ET and finish the group stage against Guinea on July 30 at 1 p.m. ET.
Men’s Olympic soccer is restricted to players under the age of 23, with an allowance for three overage players. Defender Walker Zimmerman, who joined the team’s June camp as its first overage player, defender Miles Robinson and midfielder Djordje Mihailovic were selected for the overage spots.
At just 19 years old, midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi is the youngest player on the roster and also age-eligible for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Analyzing the overage player picks
Inevitably, the squad for a major youth tournament like the Olympics or a U-20 World Cup provides an opportunity to assess the state of the player pool at different stages of development. The fact that two of three overage picks were used on center backs is a cause for concern.
Perhaps if Jalen Neal hadn’t missed the first few months of the 2024 MLS season, it would have been a different story.
These picks are still wise, mind you: Zimmerman and Robinson partnered often during the 2022 World Cup qualification, which provides a stable bedrock for Mitrović’s side. Still, it’s an admittance that there isn’t a healthy number of young central defenders rising through the ranks — but that’s a headache to address in later years. — Jeff Rueter, soccer staff writer
Most surprising roster omission
It’s a bit of a surprise to see Mitrović use his third overage pick on an attacking midfielder rather than a striker. Djordje Mihailovic has been back to his best since signing with the Colorado Rapids this winter. However, his involvement coincides with the roster’s most surprising omission: Diego Luna, the dynamic attacking midfielder for Real Salt Lake. Luna seemed destined to not just make this squad, but be among its most important players given his chance creation prowess and eye for a long shot.
Further up the pitch, Duncan McGuire projects to lead the line without an obvious alternative, with Aaronson having only minimally logged time at striker. — Rueter
Euro-based forms offers encouragement
The roster contains a clutch of players who will arrive in Paris on the back of hugely promising seasons at their European clubs.
Kevin Paredes made 26 appearances in Bundesliga for Wolfsburg, and along the way was named 2023 U.S. Soccer Young Male Player of the Year.
A tactically astute left-footed midfielder, he operated across six positions for the German club, including left-back, and the 21-year-old scored three goals.
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In Italy, Venezia’s Tanner Tessmann and team-mate Gianluca Busio helped the club win promotion to Serie A, while putting themselves on the radar of bigger clubs across the continent. Tessmann made 42 appearances for Venezia, scored in their play-off semi-final win, and is regarded as one of the division’s most-coveted young defensive midfielders.
Busio, 22, created the solitary goal that clinched promotion, and was another near ever-present during the campaign with 42 appearances, seven goals and five assists from midfield.
Paxten Aaronson will link-up with international team-mate Taylor Booth at FC Utrecht next season, hoping to flourish in the same style Booth managed in the Netherlands.
Despite injury problems Booth made 21 appearances and scored six goals. Aaronson struggled for game time in Bundesliga at Eintracht Frankfurt, but the 20-year-old’s January loan to struggling Vitesse Arnhem saw him gain vital top-flight experience. He started all but one of the club’s 15 games during his time in Holland and scored four goals in the pressure of a relegation battle.
Collectively their experience in different but equally challenging environments across Europe should put them in good stead to make an impact at the games. – Greg O’Keefe
U.S. men’s Olympic soccer team roster
GOALKEEPERS (2): Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew), Gaga Slonina (Chelsea)
DEFENDERS (6): Maximilian Dietz (Greuther Furth), Nathan Harriel (Philadelphia Union), John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United FC), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Gianluca Busio (Venezia), Benjamin Cremaschi (Inter Miami CF), Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union), Djordje Mihailovic (Colorado Rapids), Tanner Tessmann (Venezia)
FORWARDS (5): Paxten Aaronson (Eintracht Frankfurt), Taylor Booth (Utrecht), Duncan McGuire (Orlando City SC), Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg), Griffin Yow (KVC Westerlo)
ALTERNATES (4): Josh Atencio (Midfielder, Seattle Sounders FC), Jacob Davis (Defender, Sporting Kansas City), Johan Gomez (Forward, Eintracht Braunschweig), John Pulskamp (Goalkeeper, Sporting Kansas City)
Why Alex Morgan missing the USWNT Olympic roster isn’t as drastic as it looks
Meg Linehan and Jeff Rueter The Athletic Jun 26, 2024
For the first time in 16 years, forward Alex Morgan will not feature on a major tournament roster for the U.S. women’s national soccer team.On Wednesday, coach Emma Hayes left Morgan off the 18-player roster for the Olympics this summer in Paris. In her absence, the U.S. will be without a previous gold medal winner, with the team’s last win from the London Games in 2012.
“It was a tough decision, of course, especially considering Alex’s history and record with this team,” Hayes said, “but I felt that I wanted to go in another direction and selected other players.”
Morgan’s absence can be considered in several ways. It is the end of an era for the USWNT. Some will see it as an overdue move to balance younger players alongside veterans. Others will argue that Hayes made a simple soccer decision. Above all, Wednesday’s move reminded us that no spot on any U.S. roster is guaranteed.“Today, I’m disappointed about not having the opportunity to represent our country on the Olympic stage,” Morgan posted on social media following the announcement. “This will always be a tournament that is close to my heart and I take immense pride any time I put on the crest.”ayes declined to get into her reasons for leaving Morgan off the roster and a list of four alternates, which included Gotham FC forward Lynn Williams. Instead, she highlighted “what an amazing player and human that Alex Morgan has been” through her brief window of working with her at this month’s camp for two friendlies against South Korea.“I saw firsthand not just her qualities, but her professionalism. Her record speaks for itself,” Hayes said. At the same time, she acknowledged the constraints of the 18-player roster, with spots for only 16 field players.Morgan has leadership, having captained the Americans on the biggest stage at the World Cup. Her experience outranks every other player on the roster in terms of appearances and goals. So what kept her off the Olympic team?It had been clear since the South Korea friendlies that the best forward starting line involved Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson, yet Morgan was still in contention for a roster spot. But her club performance may have hurt her campaign for a role.
“I’ve come from a club level and what I have learned is the best development is done at club level,” Hayes said at her first media availability last month in New York City, essentially directly addressing players through the media. “So go back to your clubs, play, compete, get healthy, and put yourself in the best possible place.”
https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/2MK6CUjaPQAIJTW50LKH0s?utm_source=generator
Hayes has been consistent since taking over the job that performance and form matter in her assessment, particularly on the club side.
“There are players on the roster that are performing well, and the decision to take those players was one that we certainly deliberated over, but I think it’s a balanced roster,” Hayes said. “I’ve considered all the factors that we’re going to need throughout the Olympics, and (this roster is) one that I’m really happy with.”
After a few years with limited club involvement — she only played 10 league games across the Orlando Pride and Tottenham from 2019-2021, including a break while she was pregnant with daughter Charlie — Morgan had a resurgent 2022 season for the newly launched San Diego Wave. She won the Golden Boot by leading the NWSL with 15 goals, including 11 from the run of play. It was Morgan at her best — consistently setting up shots on her left foot while finding plenty of space inside the six-yard box to convert dangerous chances.
Morgan, who turns 35 on Tuesday, has also missed time due to a lingering ankle injury.
Her form wasn’t quite as robust at the start of 2023, but her place on Vlatko Andonovski’s World Cup roster was assured. She was a fixture in his lineups throughout the run-up to the tournament, and the hope was that she could do some thankless line-leading work even if her scoring touch wasn’t quite in vintage form.
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Since the USWNT’s elimination in the World Cup round of 16, however, Morgan has struggled to score for club and country alike. San Diego has not hit form this season and dismissed head coach Casey Stoney this week. Still, a player of Morgan’s pedigree is expected to score even when the going gets rough. Instead, she has yet to find the back of the net in 2024, midway through the season.
Given the Wave’s struggles to advance possession this year, Morgan has had to drop deeper than usual to get on the ball. That’s illustrated by how much more frequently she’s having to direct her passes upfield — 16.2% of her distribution advances at least 5 yards toward goal, a rate more commonly seen from a midfielder than a striker and well above her 12.1% in 2022. She has looked less inclined to take an opponent on with her dribble, making just three take-ons in 542 minutes this season after logging 35 in 1,630 minutes last year.
Even more concerning is the 0 in her goals scored column this season despite logging nearly 600 minutes.
Morgan’s lack of versatility could have also factored into Hayes’ decision. Morgan has long been an expert striker, scoring 123 goals as the USWNT’s fifth-all-time leading goalscorer. But with that specialization comes a lack of experience at other positions, like some of the players called up for the tournament.
Hindered in part by her club team’s stagnating approach in possession, Morgan hasn’t been able to enjoy a similarly bountiful amount of service in the box. She has yet to take a single shot inside the six-yard box in the 2024 season, leading to a steep regression in her expected goals per shot, and only six of her 20 shot attempts this season have been taken on her stronger left foot.
Wave teammate Jaedyn Shaw was able to do just enough despite the team’s floundering form to remain in Hayes’ plans for the Olympics. Unfortunately, Morgan didn’t have the same bulk of strong USWNT performances that helped anchor Shaw’s case for inclusion, with Hayes calling her national team goal involvements “significant” on Wednesday.
Morgan’s greatest case for making another Olympic appearance had more to do with the intangibles, whether that was her presence as a veteran leader alongside captain Lindsey Horan, or the kind of presence she could offer at the late stages of a knockout match considering her major tournament track record. With an 18-player roster, it’s clear Hayes could not justify those intangibles over more basic roster needs.
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“There’s no denying the history of this program has been hugely successful, but the reality is that it’s going to take a lot of work for us to get to that top level again,” Hayes said.
Youth is part of that process. Hayes has named the youngest Olympic roster for the USWNT since 2008, when the team won gold in Beijing. The current roster has an average age of 26.8, four years younger than the team that went to Tokyo in 2021 and settled for a bronze medal. But even more stark is the difference in the number of appearances from the last Olympics. The average caps per player in 2021 was 111; for this team the average is only 58.
“Looking through the cap accumulation of the team, there’s been a lack of development, of putting some of the less experienced players in positions where they can develop that experience,” Hayes said. “I think it’s important that we have to do that to take the next step. So I’m not looking backwards.”
Morgan’s 224 appearances for the U.S. far surpasses any player on the Olympic squad. (Photo by Brad Smith, Getty Images for USSF)
Hayes pointed to Shaw’s inclusion on the roster to support this idea, focusing on younger players and their development at major tournaments to gain experience that would benefit the USWNT immediately and in the longer term. Hayes avoided questions about where the team might finish or what its goals would be for the Olympics, stressing that her mission was getting the team as close as possible to its best level and best version.
Morgan, for all the history and legacy she will leave in her absence, might have provided a short-term boost. She also might not have. It’s impossible to predict what an individual player might contribute in the run of a major tournament. Ultimately, Hayes is focusing on something larger, building on the changes that have already been made following the early exit from last summer’s World Cup.“For us, this is an opportunity to show those learnings will take us much further than it did last time,” she said. “But there is no guarantee in anything in life.”
This USMNT isn’t a ‘golden generation’ – the data shows it lacks top-end talent
By Paul Tenorio and Thom HarrisJul 7, 2024
In any era, the failure of the U.S. men’s national team to advance out of the group stage at a home Copa America would be disappointing. In the context of this particular set of players, it feels particularly egregious.
The discussion around the current U.S. team has centered on the idea it is better than any that came before it. That is a notion based largely on the fact more Americans are playing in Europe than ever before, and that those players are going to Europe earlier and playing for bigger clubs. In 2022, the USMNT played a World Cup finals game without a single MLS-based starter for the first time in that domestic competition’s history. Recently, its starting XI was made up of players from teams in Europe’s big five leagues (England’s Premier League, the German Bundesliga, La Liga in Spain, Italy’s Serie A and Ligue 1 in France — another first.
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It is what has led to a “golden generation” label for this group, though whether it is deserved has been debated since before that World Cup coming up to two years ago. This Copa failure should reframe those discussions.
Yes, coaching will take on some of the blame for the disappointing results. Gregg Berhalter’s performance is being evaluated by the U.S. Soccer Federation with many fans, sections of the media and former players calling for him to be fired. But the players, too, failed to live up to expectations.
The results across both the 2022 World Cup, where the U.S. competed but ultimately fell in the 16-team first knockout round to the Netherlands, and now the 2024 Copa America as hosts, where their lone win came against Bolivia (84th in FIFA’s world rankings), have added further context to the debate. While the U.S. has a strong roster, its place in the global football landscape hasn’t shifted that much. It is 11th in the FIFA world rankings but the 14th-place overall finish in Qatar is probably about right.
Here, The Athletic digs into the data to explain where the USMNT really sits in terms of global soccer…
The U.S. Copa squad had 10 players at clubs ranked in the top 50 worldwide by data provider Opta.
Across the 40 nations competing in this Copa America and the European Championship happening in parallel in Germany, that ranked 15th, more than Serbia, Austria (both nine) and even Uruguay (eight), but behind Poland (11), Denmark (12), Switzerland (13) and Turkiye (16).
But while the U.S. has more players at top clubs, it appears to lack players who play vital roles for those same teams.
Insight from Twenty First Group — a sports intelligence firm which advises clubs, leagues and investors — allows us to drill a little deeper. Its player model generates ratings for more than 145,000 players worldwide, using factors such as the strength of a player’s team, their position, their playing time, and their contribution to the team’s attack or defense.
This data suggests that, on average, the U.S. has a strong group of players in comparison to the rest of Copa America, ranking fifth of the 16 nations for average player quality (indicated by the gold line).
Significantly, though, it also shows that the USMNT lacks players at the very top of Twenty First Group’s rating system, as shown by the extension of the black line after the maroon box. Seven different Copa America teams have players who ranked above Antonee Robinson, of Fulham in the Premier League, who is the highest-rated U.S. player per these rankings.
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The issue is made even clearer when comparing Berhalter’s side to the eight teams who made the Euro 2024 quarterfinalists, where Robinson’s rating of 800 is beaten by 103 players from those nations.
While there is a tight concentration of high-quality players, the U.S. does not have as many difference-makers ranked at the top end of the model.
In Copa America, for example, game-changing talents such as Uruguay’s Darwin Nuñez, Luis Diaz of Colombia, Argentina’s star-laden front line and Brazil’s Vinicius Junior dwarf Robinson’s high score. But the list of higher-ranked players also includes Canadian pair Jonathan David and Alphonso Davies, Paraguay’s Gustavo Gomez and Piero Hincapié of Ecuador.
Of course, player quality is difficult to measure objectively, but even if you disagree with individual players on that list, the overarching conclusion of this model is clear.
The hopes around this American team have been built on exactly that: hope. The U.S. side that qualified for the most recent World Cup fielded 10 of the 11 youngest teams globally during qualifying, per U.S. Soccer. The USMNT starting XI during qualifying had an average of 23.82, almost two years younger than the next closest team — Ghana, 25.67.
Excitement around the potential of those young players built. Events at the World Cup may have even bolstered those expectations. The U.S. ranked eighth in field tilt, a metric which measures one team’s share of both sides’ touches in the attacking third; fourth in possessions reaching the final third, behind Germany, Brazil and Portugal; and fifth in successful counter-pressing rate. Statistically, the U.S. was better in Qatar than in its previous three World Cups.
But since then, progress has slowed — and maybe even stagnated.
The U.S. lost games in this cycle at Trinidad and Tobago and in the Gold Cup, with a ‘B’ squad, to Panama. They needed a late goal against Jamaica to escape with a win in the Nations League semifinal in March. They were beaten 3-1 by Germany in a friendly in October and 5-1 by Colombia ahead of Copa America. The group-stage losses to Panama and Uruguay were their fourth and fifth defeats in the past nine games.
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There is a lack of progress, too, at club level.
Of this bright “golden generation,” it could be argued that just four players had significant roles at big clubs last season.
Robinson established himself as a top Premier League left-back at Fulham, Christian Pulisic is coming off a career year at AC Milan in Serie A with 15 goals and 10 assists across all competitions, Weston McKennie fought his way into the lineup at Juventus and started 29 games in Italy’s top division (although he appears on his way out of the club, potentially home to MLS), and Sergiño Dest started 25 games for a dominant, league-winning PSV Eindhoven team in the Netherlands before tearing an ACL in April and missing this tournament.
Gio Reyna, once considered the nation’s next big star after Pulisic, has played just 2,284 minutes across all competitions in the past three seasons combined, fewer than he played in his first full season at Germany’s Borussia Dortmund as a 17-year-old in 2020-21. That is due partly to injury but Reyna, now 21, is coming off of a year in which he struggled to get on the field at both Dortmund and Nottingham Forest, of the Premier League, where he was on loan from January.
Tyler Adams, 25, who once looked like he might develop into a regular starter for a Champions League challenger at RB Leipzig, was transferred to then Premier League Leeds United in 2022 and then played just three games at Bournemouth, in that same competition, last season due to injury.
Ricardo Pepi, 21, played a supersub role for PSV, starting just one game as they became Dutch champions. Tim Ream went from Fulham regular to a player who made just one appearance over the final three months of the season and now seems bound for a move to MLS. Goalkeeper Matt Turner played just 1,530 minutes at Forest, and none at all after February. Tim Weah (1,258 minutes at Juventus, mostly at right wing-back) and Yunus Musah (1,478 minutes for Milan) had only rotational roles at big clubs.
There is still hope for growth throughout the roster, of course, and your optimism around this group hinges on whether you think this pool is near its peak or still on the ascent.
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Folarin Balogun, 23, had an up-and-down first season at Ligue 1’s Monaco in 2023-24, with seven goals and five assists, but is being counted on to produce at a big club. Chris Richards, 24, earned a starting role as a center back at Crystal Palace of the Premier League in February, and logged more than 2,000 minutes at a top-level club for the first time in his career. Malik Tillman started 17 games for PSV and ranked in the 90th percentile or better in eight different categories for his position in the Eredivisie, per fbref.com.
And while the USMNT is not the inexperienced, youthful group it was going into Qatar 2022, it was still the second-youngest team across Copa America and Euro 2024 with an average age of 25.2 years, only behind Costa Rica.
It is clear then that this team isn’t a golden generation, at least not in the way we think about teams given that label in the past (such as Luis Figo’s Portugal, Wayne Rooney’s England and Thierry Henry’s France). The U.S. just doesn’t have that top-end talent.
As they regroup from the setback of Copa America, the hope will be that American players can push forward at club level in Europe and try to raise their ceiling.
The 2026 World Cup, co-hosted with neighbors Canada and Mexico, is a massive opportunity. They can’t afford a repeat of this summer’s failure.
(Top photo: Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Colombia have spent far too long in the shadows. They are the team to watch at Copa America
By Stuart Jamesul 7, 2024
We need to talk about Colombia.We need to talk about a team now unbeaten in 27 matches, a run stretching back more than two years.We need to talk about a side who finished a Copa America quarter-final last night like it was an exhibition match.We need to talk about James Rodriguez, who is playing in 2024 like it’s 2014.ADVERTISEMENT
After spending far too long in the shadows of fellow South American nations Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay – the Colombians didn’t even qualify for the most recent World Cup finals 18 months ago – supporters of this proud football country are having a lot of fun right now, watching their fast, free-flowing team play with confidence and, at times, a swagger.
There was a moment in the second half of their 5-0 win against Panama on Saturday when Luis Diaz was ball-juggling. There were olés from the crowd even before that and you couldn’t help but wonder how those same supporters would have reacted if a breathtaking one-touch passing move later in the game had finished with a fifth Colombia goal. Instead, it was left to Miguel Borja to sign off on that number and complete the rout from the penalty spot with the last kick of the game.
“But it was only Panama,” some will say. Yeah. Just like it was only Spain in March, only Brazil last November, and only Germany a few months before that. Colombia have beaten them all.Nestor Lorenzo, their humble and easy-going manager, was asked after the Panama result about the level of morale in the camp. The best place to look for the answer to that question was at the corner flag where every Colombia player, including all the substitutes, joined Borja to celebrate his first goal for the national team in more than two years.Rodriguez was in the middle of it all, just like he’s in the middle of everything good that happens to this Colombia side right now. A misfit at club level, where he has drifted for the last few seasons and is currently up for sale at Brazil’s Sao Paulo, the man who was top scorer at the 2014 World Cup finals continues to roll back the years in a Colombia shirt.Now 32 – he turns 33 on Friday – he has five assists and one goal to his name across their four matches here in the United States, and there’s no question whatsoever he’s been the standout player in the tournament. The pass from a free kick that set Diaz free for the third goal against Panama was a beauty – a product of his football intelligence as much as his technique, both of which tend to work well for Rodriguez these days.
“He runs less and thinks more,” Lorenzo said, when asked how Colombia’s No 10 has changed his game since he burst onto the global scene at that World Cup in Brazil a decade ago.
There are plenty of others in the Colombia team willing to put in the hard yards for Rodriguez, which is a point that Lorenzo made afterwards when he was quizzed about the way that some of them are unrecognisable from how they perform at club level.
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“Football is 11 players,” Lorenzo said. “But sometimes 10 have to play for that one player.”
Diaz – “Lucho” (a common South American nickname for those called Luis) to the supporters who chanted his name when he was withdrawn to a huge ovation in the second half – runs like he would play for everyone in this Colombia team. An indefatigable presence up front alongside the powerful figure of Jhon Cordoba, the Liverpool forward covers every blade of grass for his country. And still had the energy to sprint down the touchline, swinging a towel around his head and wearing a smile from ear to ear, when Borja scored.
Diaz and Rodriguez are the A-listers and get the headlines, but there are plenty of unsung heroes in this side. Jhon Arias, who plays his club football for Fluminense in Brazil and must surely be on the radar of top European teams, has emerged as a key player under Lorenzo, operating as an intelligent left-sided No 8. It was Arias’ driving run that led to the first of the night’s two penalties awarded against Panama.
On the opposite side is Richard Rios, who scored Colombia’s fourth with a terrific shot and has shades of Argentina’s Rodrigo De Paul about him with his all-action style, while in the middle of the two of them is that walking yellow card by the name of Jefferson Lerma. Suspended last night, Lerma will surely be back for Wednesday’s semi-final against Uruguay, snapping into tackles and making a contribution nobody in the Colombia camp underestimates.
Throw in the attacking intent Daniel Munoz and Johan Mojica provide at full-back – the latter played a gorgeous ball with the outside of his left foot after straying over to the right side against Panama, while the former claimed an assist to go with his goal against Brazil in the group stage – and you can start to see why all the pieces fit together.
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Greater than the sum of their parts? Maybe.
Copa America contenders? Definitely.
Either way, Lorenzo sees a bigger picture than this Copa America and one that has brought a lot of enjoyment to the Colombian people.
“Much has been achieved,” he said, when asked about success or failure in the semi-finals. “And we do not depend on a result to value what we have done so far.”
Are Copa America’s $200 tickets and empty seats a missed opportunity ahead of the World Cup?
By Melanie Anzidei Jul 8, 2024
When Argentina returns to MetLife Stadium to face Canada on Tuesday, they will likely do so before a soldout crowd. When they faced Chile in East Rutherford, it was the highest-attended match this Copa America so far.
It’s the norm at major tournaments: wherever the Argentina national team goes, fans follow.
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This summer, they have gone from Atlanta to New Jersey to Miami to Houston and now back to New Jersey. The demand to catch Argentina and captain Lionel Messi has meant tickets to watch the world champions have been the most expensive. Yet fans have shown their willingness to pay hundreds of dollars for a single match ticket, if not more.
The average cost per ticket at Copa America is high anyway, however; estimated at more than $200 (£160), per multiple accounts. As we enter the final stages of the tournament, ticket prices are only getting higher.
Argentina fans at Hard Rock Stadium (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
For organizers CONMEBOL, attendance at this year’s Copa America may be considered a resounding success. Eight days before the tournament, officials boasted how more than one million tickets had already sold for the first 32 games. Alejandro Domínguez, president of South American football’s governing body, said officials were “filled with excitement and enthusiasm”.
Yet there have also been less-than-spectacular crowds at several group-stage matches, with every empty seat in cavernous NFL stadiums representing a missed opportunity to attract a fan who could have been enthralled by the growth of soccer in the United States. Never mind the impact on players or how poor those empty seats look to those watching at home on television.
While Copa America began with a reported sellout of just over 70,000 fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta when Argentina were in town, the following five fixtures drew crowds that were tens of thousands of fans below each stadium’s capacity.
It wasn’t until the fifth day of competition, Colombia-Paraguay at NRG Stadium in Houston on June 24, that we saw another full stadium, as the table below shows. (Green indicates matches which were considered sold out, while red was below 66 per cent of capacity — and note that Levi’s Stadium has an expandable capacity.)
CONMEBOL said it consider nine of the 24 group-stage matches as sellouts. Copa America Centenario in 2016 — which also took place in the United States — sold more than 1.5 million tickets and has served as a benchmark for organizers this summers. By the conclusion of the group stage, sales were on track to reach similar figures to 2016, according to Ruben Olavarrieta, CONMEBOL’s commercial manager in charge of ticketing.
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Before the tournament, Nery Pumpido, CONMEBOL’s deputy secretary general of soccer, told The Athletic that tickets were “set at a price that I think has been important, because people have come to buy a lot”.
Overpriced tickets were out of the confederation’s control, he continued, because the dynamic ticket pricing that determines those figures is handled by the ticketing partners at each stadium.
“From what has been demonstrated so far,” Pumpido said last month, “the price has been correct.”
Dynamic pricing has the potential to price out fans from some nations competing in the tournament. Not only are tickets costly, but any tourist attending matches would also have to account for hotels and flights in the United States — and also the travel between stadiums if they want to catch multiple matches.
Average net salaries in many of the competing Latin American nations fall below $900 (£700) per month. In Argentina, where inflation is among the highest in the world, the average monthly net salary was estimated at $423.32 last year, per Statista.
In many ways, dynamic ticketing favors American buyers with higher incomes and lower travel costs. The large diasporas of Latino communities across the U.S, coupled with the popularity of some tournament favorites, means Argentina, Brazil and Colombia have drawn the biggest crowds, but not in every market. When Colombia and Costa Rica battled it out in Glendale, Arizona, only 27,386 filled the 63,400-capacity State Farm Stadium.
For the July 4 quarterfinal match at NRG Stadium, where Argentina ousted Ecuador after a painstaking penalty shootout, the cost for a single resale ticket on Ticketmaster started at $176 on match day. Even eight minutes into play, tickets on StubHub were still going for $120.
Panama vs Bolivia in Orlando drew a crowd of 12,933, when the stadium capacity is 25,500 (Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images)
Tickets for the remaining quarterfinals were still pricey, by soccer’s standards, but lower than Argentina-Ecuador. On Thursday, a single ticket for Venezuela-Canada at AT&T Stadium was $107, $132 for Brazil-Uruguay at Allegiant Stadium, and $70 for Colombia-Panama at State Farm Stadium in Arizona. That is likely due to the low turnout for Colombia in that market during the group stage.
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All these prices do not include the service and processing fees, taxes and public transportation or parking that might be needed to get to a match. Parking cost up to $132 for Argentina’s quarterfinal in Houston.
But prices alone are not solely to blame for lackluster crowds at some of the tournament’s group-stage fixtures. Better marketing around matches could have raised the profile of some matches, especially those that included the United States. The team’s tournament opener against Bolivia at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, only drew 47,873 fans to the 80,000-capacity stadium.
How Uruguay v Brazil became this Copa America’s dirtiest match
UMSNT’s second match against Panama in Atlanta only featured 59,145 fans in a 71,000-capacity venue. And when the U.S. fell to Uruguay 1-0 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City and exited the competition, only 55,460 fans filled the 76,400-capacity venue, with half of the upper bowl appearing empty on television. Blistering temperatures, and the team’s shocking fall to Panama the match prior, could have also been a deterrent.
Originally, the tournament was set to be played in Ecuador, but almost everyone involved considered the relocation to the United States last year as a win — except those in Latin America who considered it an unpopular decision. For CONCACAF (the confederation for North and Central America and the Caribbean), it gave its member nations a chance to shine on South America’s biggest stage.
It also gave the United States, Mexico and Canada, co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup, a chance to capture fans’ interest ahead of the main event. Few South American nations have venues with such large capacities as the U.S, which is filled with massive NFL stadiums at the ready (even if that has brought its own issues with some of the fields), which was a prospective win for CONMEBOL. Would it have been prudent, however, to host games at smaller Major League Soccer stadiums with bigger pitches in more established markets for soccer fans?
While unsold tickets mean missed revenue for the South American federation and other stakeholders, the missed opportunity is more of an issue for those who want to grow the game in North America. Mexico and the United States failing to advance beyond the group stage has been viewed as an utter failure for both nations. Instead of captivating audiences with deep runs in the tournament and preparing markets for 2026, the conversation is squarely focused on the crisis each nation’s men’s soccer team now finds itself in.
Mexico’s Copa America failure is one that could echo for the next World Cup’s co-hosts
While Canada’s run to the semifinals no doubt helps, the CONCACAF nation has played in front of some of the smallest crowds in the tournament, such as the 11,622 fans who braved the heat to watch their 1-0 win against Peru at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City. That match, in which an assistant referee collapsed from heat exhaustion due to the high temperatures, was the lowest-attended fixture all summer.
Canada has also had the misfortune of playing against teams with clear home-field advantages in every match.
“With how our fanbase works, and how diverse Canada is, even our home games (in Canada) have been really difficult,” said defender Alistair Johnston.
“And so I think that most of our matches with the national team have always been in these kinds of environments, and I think that has helped us in the long run so that when you do come and play the Argentinas, Peru, Chile, whoever it is, and probably again here against Venezuela as well, we are ready for that because it’s almost become the norm to us.”
Empty seats at the quarterfinal between Colombia and Panama at State Farm Stadium, Arizona (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
The real crown jewel of the competition remains the final game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Its more limited capacity of 65,300 only pushes demand even higher. Tickets for sporting events and other entertainment in Florida as of July 1 are, however, tax-exempt through the end of the month thanks to local law.
As of Friday morning, a single resale ticket in the upper bowl at Hard Rock started at $1,369. That drops to $1,292 each when you buy two tickets together. That number will continue to rise and fall, with those same tickets going for $1,350 each just an hour earlier. The service fee for these tickets (an additional cost) was an estimated $271 each.
It’s why there will likely be several fans sprinkled around the outskirts of the stadiums hosting these last few rounds of Copa America, hoping to catch a glimpse of the madness while watching the match from the comfort of their phones or tablets. Of course, tickets for the remaining matches will continue to fluctuate depending on demand. So, one fan seated in the same section who purchased tickets weeks prior may end up paying hundreds more than a fan who bought a ticket hours before kick-off.
While the forensic accounting over the attendance and ticket sales will continue after the tournament’s final whistle, CONMEBOL has made one thing clear: the U.S. market is one it wants to continue exploring.
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“It’s a place to look at, especially as hosts of the World Cup in 2026. That’s important to take into account,” Pumpido said.
“We believe the United States has also made great progress at the soccer level… (and) it has advanced a lot with the arrival of Messi. Of course, CONMEBOL will always have the United States in mind for tournaments in the future.”
USMNT had questions before its Copa America exit. Now those get even louder
(Top photo: Empty seats for Costa Rica v Paraguay in Texas; by Buda Mendes via Getty Images)
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