Uruguay head to Argentina looking to put the pain of the past four Copa America tournaments behind them. Beaten on penalties by Brazil in the 2007 and 2004 semi-finals, by Mexico in the 2001 semi-finals and by Brazil again in the 1999 final, La Celeste are confident they can win the trophy last gained in 1995.
There is good reason for their conviction. The nucleus of the squad is that which took them to the semi-finals of the 2007 Copa and to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. These performances have created an air of expectation and belief in the squad. There is the incentive for some that this may be their final tournament in the sky blue shirt and that a win will take them top of all time Copa wins with 15, one ahead of their Argentine neighbours. A further incentive being to do so on the home soil of their historical rivals as when they won in 1987 and 1916.
Uruguay should reach the knockout round, after being drawn in Group C alongside Chile, Peru and Mexico. While Chile may offer the strongest opposition for first place in the group, injury hit Peru are seen as the weaker team and Mexico will be fielding a mainly U-22 squad, with many of their star names missing after their Gold Cup exertions. Finishing either first or second in the group will give them a tie against the second placed team from Group A or B and, from there, a potential semi-final against Argentina or Brazil.
The cornerstone for the “Charruas” success under manager
