But how long will this last?
Who can dethrone them? Will it be Brazil? They have not won a major championship since the 2013 Confederations Cup. They finished fourth in the 2014 World Cup, were eliminated in the Round of 16 in last year’s Copa, and failed to make out of group play in this year’s Centenario. They qualified for this year’s Summer Olympics in Rio De Janiero but face a competitive draw with Iraq, South Africa, and Denmark. So its not likely Brazil will be challenging “La Roja” anytime soon.
What about Argentina? Well, they have their own issues to deal with. Aside from the consecutive championship losses to Chile, they fell to Germany in the finals of the 2014 World Cup. They haven’t qualified for the Olympics since 2008 and have not won a Copa America since 1993. These recent struggles led to multi-award winning forward Lionel Messi “reportedly” walking away from Argentina’s national team, as well as head coach Gerardo Martino’s resignation. Add to that, FIFA recently took over operations of the Argentine Football Federation after AFA president Luis Segura was charged with fraud. So clearly, Argentina needs to get its house in order and Brazil needs to rediscover their winning ways.
Until then, it’s Chile’s turn to shine.