Group A: U.S., Colombia, Costa Rica, Paraguay
The Copa could hardly have a more dramatic start than a match between hosts U.S. and Colombia, one of the South American countries where this competition is likely to generate the most interest. In recent times Colombia have been followed by an impressively noisy set of fans and with so many Colombians based in the U.S., that is surely set to continue in June.
These two sides are the favourites to qualify although this might be the best balanced of the four groups.
Paraguay are notoriously resilient, and Costa Rica bring their 2014 World Cup pedigree to the dance. The question mark against the chances of the two CONMEBOL teams is whether they will be close to full strength. Paraguay coach Ramon Diaz has indicted that he will be experimenting with some youngsters, and the fact that Colombia have recently staged training sessions with a group of youthful, domestic players could be an indication that coach Jose Pekerman is thinking along similar lines.
If that happens, the balance shifts toward the two CONCACAF nations.
