Ranking the top 3 favourites for the 2019 Copa America trophy

The 46th edition of the Copa America would take place in Brazil from June 14 to July 7, 2019, as 12 countries battle it out for international supremacy.

The Copa America is the premier international competition on the South American continent and all 10 member nations of the CONMEBOL (football organizing body in South America) will contest the tournament, with invitations extended to Japan and Qatar.

South America alongside Europe are the two biggest footballing continents in the world and the former has provided us with some of the best players in history with Pele and Diego Maradona ranking high up there as two of the greatest exponents of the beautiful game.

The current crop of players are no different and for three weeks, some of the best in the world will slug it out for the bragging rights in South America. In this piece, we shall be having a rundown of the top three contenders for the 2019 Copa America title.

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Also see : Copa America Standings, Real Madrid Transfer News.

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#3 Uruguay

Oscar Tabarez would be looking to lead Uruguay to Copa America glory for the second time

Current FIFA ranking - 6

Head Coach - Oscar Tabarez

Player to watch - Luis Suarez (Barcelona)

Uruguay is the most successful side in the history of the Copa America and would be looking to add to their 15 trophies this summer.

With just a population of 3.4 million people, they are also the smallest country (by population) to win the World Cup (twice) and they have consistently slugged it out on the biggest stages with nations more populated than them.

Their last Copa triumph came back in 2011 on the home soil of hated rivals Argentina, while they disappointingly got eliminated at the group stage of the last tournament hosted by the USA in 2016 and would be eager to make up for that disappointment this year.

Their charge would be led by their top marksman and record goalscorer Luis Suarez who is coming into the tournament off the back of another impressive campaign in front of goal where he scored 25 goals in all competitions for Barcelona.

He would be supported in attack by partner-in-crime Edinson Cavani and Rodrigo Bentancur, while their ever-reliable centre-back pairing of Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez can be counted upon to keep things tight at the back.

They have been drawn in group C of the tournament alongside Chile, Japan and Ecuador.

#2 Argentina

Messi would be leading Argentina's charge

Current FIFA ranking - 11

Head coach - Lionel Scaloni

Player to watch - Lionel Messi

This must surely represent the last chance of a highly talented but underperforming team of Argentine players to finally win something for their country.

Over the last two decades, few if any country can genuinely claim to have produced as much talent like Argentina, with La Albiceleste boasting numerous world-class players who have made the world envious of their talents.

However, despite triumphing in consecutive editions of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in 2005 and 2007 as well as winning successive Olympic gold medals in 2004 and 2008, the Argentine players have failed to make the step up to the senior team, consistently failing on the biggest stages.

The crux of the so-called 'golden generation' have gradually bowed out, with Javier Mascherano and Gonzalo Higuain no longer on the international scene, but one man who still remains is Lionel Messi.

The 31-year-old has played his way into the annals of history as possibly the greatest player of all time, breaking all sorts of records with Barcelona and winning all there is to win with the Catalans.

However, a major blot on his resume is his lack of success on the international scene and with time running out, Lionel Messi has fewer chances to etch his name in Argentine folklore, especially seeing as his eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo has two international trophies to show in his burgeoning medal collection.

With 14 Copa America wins, Argentina is the second most successful side in the tournament's history, one behind Uruguay but rather surprisingly, they have not triumphed on their continent since 1993 (which incidentally was their last major trophy, while they have lost four finals since then).

This means that fans of La Albiceleste have been on an agonizing 26-year trophy drought and the 2019 Copa America offers an opportunity to right this anomaly, with the opportunity to do so on enemy territory only adding to the allure.

#1 Brazil

Brazil are the favourites to triumph in the tournament

Current FIFA ranking - 3

Head Coach - Tite

Player to watch - Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)

Brazil is by far the most popular and celebrated Men's National Team in the world of football, having given us some of the most iconic names ever to step foot on the lush green grass in history including Pele, Zico, Ronaldo de Lima, Ronaldinho, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Rivaldo but to name a few.

With five World Cup wins, the Samba Boys are the most successful side in the history of the most prestigious football competition in the world as well as the Confederations Cup, while they have also won every other major football tournament at all levels.

However, for all of their successes elsewhere, Brazil have somewhat underperformed in the Copa America with just eight triumphs, which is some way beneath the totals posted by Argentina and Uruguay.

The last five years have not exactly been the most glorious for Brazilian football, as other than winning a long-awaited Gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games on home soil, there has not really been much else to celebrate. Their shocking elimination by Germany in Belo Horizonte in the 2014 World Cup semifinal will go down as one of the most disappointing performances in their illustrious history.

Brazil has failed to make it to the semifinal of the Copa America in each of the last three editions and would be looking to make amends on home soil.

Their charge would, however, be hampered by the absence of talisman Neymar who pulled up with an ankle injury just a few days to the commencement of the tournament but in the absence of the PSG man, Tite has more than enough ammunition in his armoury to go all the way.