The second day of the Copa America is here, and today's focus is on the perennial favorites of any tournament: Brazil. However, Brazil will have to contest this tournament missing a number of key players, the biggest of which is Neymar. Also out for various reasons are Marcelo, David Luiz, Douglas Costa, and Thiago Silva. Willian and Gabigol will be relied upon to shoulder the load.
On the other side, Ecuador has been the surprise of CONMEBOL qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, currently tied for first with Uruguay. The Valencias, Enner and Antonio, will be key for Ecuador to get qualifying off on the right foot.
Location: Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California)
Kick-off time: 10:00pm Eastern
Available TV: Fox Sports 1 (English), Univision, Univision Deportes (Spanish)
Available streaming: Fox Sports Go, Fox Soccer 2 Go (English), Univision Deportes (Spanish)
For listings in other countries, check out LiveSoccerTV.com.
The first game of the day closes out the action in Group A, with Costa Rica taking on Paraguay. The Ticos burst onto the world stage two years ago at the World Cup, and are looking towards this tournament to show that they can be consistently at the top of CONCACAF. Costa Rica will have to do so without the star of that World Cup run, Keylor Navas; the Real Madrid keeper is out with an achilles injury. D.C. United's Alvaro Saborio will be on the bench for this game and could factor in.
Paraguay are no slouch themselves, currently tied on points with Brazil in CONMEBOL qualifying. Seattle Sounders forward Nelson Valdez is likely to start and will need to play well for the historically low-scoring Paraguay team. Juan Iturbe will also needto have a good game; the young winger chose Paraguay over Argentina and could provide some magic.
Location: Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
Kick-off time: 5:00pm Eastern
Available TV: Fox (English), Univision, Univision Deportes (Spanish)
Available streaming: Fox Sports GO, Fox Soccer 2 Go (English), Univision Deportes (Spanish)
For listings in other countries, check out LiveSoccerTV.com.
The middle game of the day is Haiti and Peru. For me, Haiti are the darlings of the tournament and I would love for them to do well. Realistically, however, they don't have a good shot to gain any points, and if any team is dropping points to them they're also unlikely to make it out of the group. The team features five players from the NASL and one, Soni Mustivar, from MLS.
Peru, on the other hand, has finished third in the past two Copa America tournaments, though they have not gone to the World Cup since 1982 and are in a precarious position in this cycle's qualifying. The vast majority of Peru's roster comes from their domestic league, with players like Claudio Pizarro, Jefferson Farfan, and Carlos Zambrano all left out.
Location: CenturyLink Field (Seattle, Washington)
Kick-off time: 7:30pm Eastern
Available TV: Fox Sports 2 (English), Univision, Univision Deportes (Spanish)
Available streaming: Fox Sports GO, Fox Soccer 2 Go (English), Univision Deportes (Spanish)
For listings in other countries, check out LiveSoccerTV.com.