The USMNT (United States Men’s National Team) have just two friendlies left before they begin their Copa America campaign on home soil. On Saturday, they’ll take on Colombia at Commanders Field in Landover, Maryland (5:30pm ET kickoff).
Then next Wednesday, June 12, they’ll battle traditional powerhouse Brazil at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida (7pm ET kick).
After that, the games start to count for real, as the Copa group stage begins on June 20. The USMNT are not considered among the favorites for this tournament. However, some of the soccer betting trends are on their side, to a decent extent. Their opponents this weekend have the same odds to win the whole tourney +1200, as do you the Stars & Stripes’ arch-rivals Mexico.
There are three countries with more favorable odds than the trio of USA, Mexico and Colombia.
The reigning World Cup and Copa America champions, Argentina, are the Copa 2024 front-runners at +175. Their arch-rivals Brazil are right behind them at +225.
Then comes the third traditional South American power, who typically right below the other two, Uruguay at +500. If you’re looking for dark horses to keep an eye on, then consider Ecuador at +1600 or Chile at +2800.
USMNT Copa America 2024 Group Stage Schedule
vs Bolivia — Sunday, June 23 — AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas — 6pm ET
vs Panama — Thursday, June 27 — Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia — 6pm ET
vs Uruguay — Monday, July 1 — Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri — 9pm ET
So with that in mind, who might USMNT Head Coach Gregg Berhalter select for his first team?
USMNT Starting XI First Choice
Matt Turner; Yunus Musah, Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Antonee “Jedi” Robinson; Tyler Adams, Johnny Cardoso, Weston McKennie; “Captain America” Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun, Giovanni Reyna.
USMNT Starting XI Second Choice
Matt Turner; Joe Scally, Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Jedi Robinson; Tyler Adams, Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie; Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun, Timothy Weah.
You have several locks- Turner, Richards, Ream, Robinson, Adams (who is now finally healthy), Musah, McKennie, Pulisic and Balogun (who might actually be the long-awaited answer to their persistent question mark at center forward).
Everyone else will have to fight for their positions. No one expect the Yanks to win the Copa, by any means.
The Copa America will be staged from June 20 to July 14, entirely in the United States of America. The other big competition this summer for the USMNT will be the Paris Olympics, which takes place July 24 – August 10 in France.
However, the USA squad for that competition will just be the kids and the fringe guys, not the first team or the key reserves.
Look for the Yanks U23 roster to field that team, a group that will be pretty similar to what we saw at the national team camp in this winter.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.