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Alexis Sanchez - Chile
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Whilst this is an important tournament for Neymar and Messi, it could be a career defining one for Arsenal and Chile forward Alexis Sanchez.
Sanchez will return to his homeland to find a nation of football fans expecting great things of this team of stars, and the number seven will be the an important attacking focal point.
Not many players can outshine Lionel Messi in terms of entertainment on a football pitch, but during his time at Barcelona, Sanchez occasionally did just that.
If Chile are to triumph in this Copa America on home soil, then he might have to give a more sustained run of performances to usurp tournament favourites Argentina, and their irrepressible number 10.
Sanchez fits perfectly into the system used by Chile’s highly respected coach Jorge Sampaoli, and the other components of the squad should fit snugly into place. If these theories work in practice, this could give Chile a slight advantage over the ongoing experiment that is Argentina, and the unpredictability of tournament mode Brazil.
James Rodríguez - Colombia
As the player who should have been awarded the Golden Ball at the 2014 World Cup, James Rodríguez heads into his first competition since the world, and more specifically Real Madrid, first sat up and took notice of him.
Neymar aside, he was perhaps the most “Brazilian” player on show last summer, donning a yellow number 10 shirt, and blasting in the goal of the tournament from his playmaking position.
The Colombian is a key part of the national side, but like the other players mentioned here, he’ll be relying on one or two others to step up to his level if his side are to be successful.
Rodríguez has taken his newfound stardom in his stride, and he’ll be hoping to slide through balls into the stride of Colombia’s forwards: Radamel Falcao, Jackson Martínez, and Carlos Bacca who’s fresh from his Europa League heroics with Sevilla.
