The Copa America Centenario rumbles on tonight, with Group C pairing off into all-CONCACAF and all-CONMEBOL games. Uruguay will take on Venezuela in the early game, while Mexico will face Jamaica at the Rose Bowl. El Tri will certainly enjoy a massive home field advantage at that venue in what is a rematch of the 2015 Gold Cup final. They'll also likely be pleased to note that Jamaica is not playing anywhere near the level they were at this time last summer.
In fact, this won't even be a full-strength Jamaican team. Midfielder Rodolph Austin, one of their best players, was sent off against Venezuela, while head coach Winfried Schäfer was sent to the stands at halftime. Jamaica lost to Venezuela, which means they realistically cannot afford to lose tonight's game regardless of who they can actually call upon. That would count as a major shock, as Jamaica has been deeply disappointing in recent World Cup qualifiers. They needed an 89th minute goal from Simon Dawkins to get past Nicaragua in CONCACAF's third round, and if they lose to Panama in their next qualifier they will be eliminated before the Hexagonal even begins.
Of course, Mexico also had some issues in their Copa opener. It looked like things were going well enough after an own goal handed them a lead and a second yellow for Matias Vecino gave them a man advantage. The stage was set for Mexico to open the game up and pad their lead, but they instead had their worst stretch of play on the night. Uruguay's 10 looked just as likely to score as Mexico's 11, and then Andres Guardado took a very avoidable second yellow himself. Uruguay leveled the score from the resulting free kick, and it looked for all the world like Uruguay was going to turn the tables. Instead, Mexico got a crucial goal from possible vampire Rafael Marquez and then padded their lead in stoppage time through Hector Herrera.
Playing in the late game, Mexico will know whether they can seal a spot in the knockout round. If Uruguay-Venezuela ends in a draw or an (admittedly unlikely) Venezuela win, El Tri will be sure of advancement with a win. The Reggae Boyz, meanwhile, more or less have to win. There is a sequence of events in which they can draw - or even lose! - tonight's game and go through, but both would require every other game in the group to go a specific way, including beating a strong Uruguay team this coming Monday.
Location: Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)
Kick-off time: 10:00pm Eastern
Available TV: Fox Sports 1 (English), Univision (Spanish), Univision Deportes (Spanish)
Available streaming: Fox Sports Go (English), Fox Soccer 2Go (English), Univision Deportes app (Spanish)
For listings in other countries, check out LiveSoccerTV.com.
And here's what you need to know to watch Uruguay vs. Venezuela in the early match:
Location: Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia, PA)
Kick-off time: 7:30pm Eastern
Available TV: Fox Sports 1 (English), Univision (Spanish), Univision Deportes (Spanish)
Available streaming: Fox Sports Go (English), Fox Soccer 2Go (English), Univision Deportes app (Spanish)
For listings in other countries, check out LiveSoccerTV.com.