Hosts Ecuador And Argentina In Open Group

Copa América Femenina is set to be held in Ecuador for the third time in the last five editions of the tournament. This time around, though, the entire competition will be held in just one city: Quito. The two outright favorites have both been drawn in Group B, so Group A should be quite open and interesting.

🇪🇨 Ecuador

Current FIFA Ranking: #67

Copa América History: 8 previous appearances; best result: third place (2014)

Major International Trophies: N/A

After an impressive third-place finish the last time they hosted the tournament, Ecuador have had quite a tough time in recent Copas América as they have lost all but one of their matches in the last two editions of the tournament. They will certainly hope to change that back on home soil.

Recent Results and Performances

Ecuador changed coaches at the start of the year with the appointment of Eduardo Moscoso, who is vastly experienced in their youth setup but is now in his first senior international coaching role. In the build up to the tournament, he has overseen four friendly double-headers against Latin American nations with mixed results.

Altogether, Ecuador had a 50% win rate in these fixtures, though they notably failed to beat Paraguay and only got the better of opponents from the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). They will have to get the better of tougher teams if they are to do well at the Copa América, so these games might not be entirely representative of what to expect from them.

Key Player

Despite being a teenager in her first senior international tournament at the time, Nayely Bolaños was the standout for Ecuador at the last Copa América with two goals and as many assists. She has since gone on to impress for club side Independiente del Valle including in the Copa Libertadores, recently earning a move to Mexican side Pumas. Now 22 years old, the sharp forward will be expected to play a leading role in her side’s attack.

Expectations

Ecuador are some way off the top two in the group by the FIFA rankings, but they will hope to use their home advantage to put up a serious challenge for a semifinal spot at least.

🇦🇷 Argentina

Current FIFA Ranking: #32

Copa América History: 8 previous appearances; best result: Champions (2006)

Other Major International Trophies: N/A

Argentina are the only team to have blotted Brazil’s otherwise-perfect record in the Copa América thanks to their triumph in 2006. While a repeat of that would be a surprise, they will be the favorites in the group at least.

Recent Results and Performances

Although the Albiceleste finished at the bottom of their group in the last World Cup, they gave a decent account of themselves by only losing narrowly to European opposition and drawing with African champions South Africa. Head coach Germán Portanova has continued to develop the team well thereafter, and this year’s friendly results suggest some promising signs.

Argentina started the year with a convincing win over group rivals Chile followed by a goalless draw against the same opposition. They later got one impressive win in a double-header against Canada before going on to lose both games against Australia about a month later. Beyond the results, the experience they gained against such strong sides could well prove valuable at this tournament.

Key Player

Following Estefanía Banini’s retirement at the end of the last World Cup, Argentina will need a new attacking star to emerge at the Copa América. Teenage forward Kishi Núñez could well be the next big thing, but for the moment, greater expectation will fall on the more experienced Yamila Rodríguez. The 27-year-old forward has not had the best of times at the club level recently, so she should aim to seize this opportunity to prove her quality.

Expectations

As the highest-ranked team in Group A, Argentina should certainly be gunning for top spot. Failure to qualify for the knockouts would be a huge disappointment, but progression to the final might be a little too much to ask ahead of two very strong teams from Group B.

🇨🇱 Chile

Current FIFA Ranking: #39

Copa América History: 9 previous appearances; best result: runners-up (1991 and 2018)

Major International Trophies: N/A

Chile have been quite inconsistent at the Copa América as they have not reached the second stage in consecutive iterations of the tournament since the very first two editions. They failed to make it last time around, so the pattern would suggest that they ought to progress this year.

Recent Results and Performances

This Copa América will be Colo-Colo legend Luis Mena’s first major tournament in charge of a senior national team since he took over in 2023. His side did pretty well last year to win the majority of their friendly matches, but results this year have not been as great. Besides the aforementioned double-header against Argentina, they also took on Haiti and lost on one occasion. A big win over Bolivia in the build up to the tournament might just have been the confidence-booster they needed, though.

Key Player

Now 34 years old and with over 100 caps to her name, Karen Araya very much is a veteran in this Chile squad. Her flexibility in being able to play various roles in midfield and defense as well as composure both on and off the ball will make her a critical component in the team.

Expectations

Chile should also aim to reach the semifinals, for which their third-round match against Argentina could prove pivotal. Anything beyond that would be a huge surprise.

🇺🇾 Uruguay

Current FIFA Ranking: #63

Copa América History: 7 previous appearances; best result: third place (2006)

Major International Trophies: N/A

Uruguay have only managed to get past the group stage in one of their seven appearances at the Copa América, but they might aim to break the ongoing 19-year streak this time around.

Recent Results and Performances

Although the Celestes’ squad does not have too many standout names, long-serving head coach Ariel Longo has seemingly fashioned a solid side in the build-up to this tournament. They beat both Argentina and Chile in friendlies last year, won two such matches against Paraguay earlier this year and also gave a good account of themselves in a 2-2 draw and one-goal defeat against Mexico recently. Sustaining such a level of performance would certainly make them a competitive team in Group A.

Key Player

Belén Aquino might just be the attacking star Uruguay need in this tournament. The 22-year-old forward had an incredible record of 11 goals in just eight appearances at the international under-20 level and is already into double digits in terms of goals on the senior stage. Her side would certainly like to see more of the same.

Expectations

Given the nature of the group and their recent results against upcoming opponents, Uruguay can hardly hope for a better opportunity than this to reach the Copa América knockouts. Their opener against the hosts could well go a long way towards setting the course for both teams’ tournaments.

🇵🇪 Peru

Current FIFA Ranking: #77

Copa América History: 7 previous appearances; best result: third place (1998)

Major International Trophies: N/A

Peru have failed to get past the group stage in each of their last five appearances at the Copa América, with their last win coming all the way back in 2006.

Recent Results and Performances

Portuguese head coach Emily Lima has been in charge of Peru for the last couple of years and will lead them into a major tournament for the first time this summer. She has a wealth of experience in South America having previously been the first woman to coach Brazil’s senior team and also led Ecuador between 2019 and 2022.

Recent results have not been overly encouraging for Peru as they have lost all but three games in the last year. Their narrow wins against the lower-ranked Bolivia and Cuba were the kinds of matchups which will most likely not be replicated in this tournament, so they should expect an uphill battle.

Key Player

Peru will have to do quite a bit of defending in this group, so it will likely have to be individual quality that gets them something in attack. Veteran forward Gladys Dorador has been in good goal-scoring form for her national team lately, so she could have an important role to play.

Expectations

Peru are the lowest-ranked team in an otherwise tightly-matched group, so they would need to stage a fair few upsets to finish in the top two. They should at least aim to put up good fights and see where that gets them.