Lionel Messi, Vinicius Junior lead stars at Copa America with 20 players from the Golazo 100 taking the field

Euro 2024 is not the only international competition that showcases players from Golazo 100 inaugural with the Copa América also featuring a good amount of top talent and starting this Thursday, when Lionel Messi’s Argentina take on Canada. Vinicius Junior and Brazil will also be represented in the US this summer, while the host country and Canada have provided representatives to battle a largely South American talent pool that includes two members of the Golazo 100 top 10.

We look at the main names in the ranking and which of them will be present at the Copa América.

Nations

Raphinha, Neymar Junior, Marquinhos, Gabriel, Bruno Guimarães, Ederson, Alisson, Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior.

Julian Alvarez, Paulo Dybala, Emi Martinez, Alexis Mac Allister, Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martinez.

Ronald Araújo and Federico Valverde.

Christian Pulisic.

Afonso Davies.

Luis Diaz.

Brazil

Although Neymar Junior and Ederson are unavailable due to injury, the Brazilian squad is packed with talent this summer – particularly Real Madrid duo Vini Jr. and Rodrygo, who have just won the UEFA Champions League and La Liga. Barcelona’s Raphinha, Paris Saint-Germain’s Marquinhos, Arsenal’s Gabriel, Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimarães and Liverpool’s Alisson also feature in Golazo 100 and look set to star in Group D and beyond, with their paths potentially crossing with the USMNT and Christian Pulisic in the quarterfinals. Second only to future teammate Kylian Mbappe, Vini Jr. is the highest-rated South American talent and by far Brazil’s star at the moment, with Real teammate Rodrygo the closest but only among the Top 30.

Argentina

The defending champions have the only Major League Soccer player on this list in Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi and Lionel Scaloni’s Albiceleste, who make their debut against Canada and could face Mexico in the quarter-finals. Inter’s Lautaro Martinez, Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister, Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez and Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez are also called up for this tournament. AS Roma’s Paulo Dybala was not selected for the USA but is in the Golazo 100 as part of Argentina’s six-player contingent. The highest flag in this group is Lautaro Martinez, with the Inter player in 10th place in the Golazo 100, two positions ahead of Messi, who narrowly missed out on the top 10.

Clubs

• Liverpool (3): Alisson, Alexis Mac Allister and Luis Diaz.
• Actual (3): Rodrygo, Fede Valverde and Vini Jr.
• City of Manchester (2): Ederson and Julian Álvarez.
• Barcelona (2): Raphinha and Ronald Araújo.
• Aston Villa (1): Emi Martinez.
• PSG (1): Marquinhos.
• Armory (1): Gabriel.
• Inter (1): Lautaro Martinez.
• Milan (1): Christian Pulisic.
• Newcastle (1): Bruno Guimarães.
• Bayern Munich (1): Afonso Davies.
• Inter Miami (1): Lionel Messi.
• Rome (1): Paulo Dybala.
• Al Hilal (1): Neymar.

Uruguay

The third-best nation in terms of talent in this summer’s Copa América is actually Uruguay, with Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo and Real’s Federico Valverde in Marcelo Bielsa’s group and also in the Golazo 100. La Celeste will face the USMNT in Group C, which could be a decider between the two for first place and a – theoretically – safe passage to the quarter-finals. In fact, Uruguay or the USMNT should face Brazil or Colombia in the quarters so we can see Araujo and Valverde face some of their Barça or Real teammates, which will be unmissable football. The Real man almost made it into the top 30, one place ahead of Real teammate and Brazilian Rodrygo.

USMNT and Canada

Flying the US and Canadian flag are Milan’s Christian Pulisic and Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies. The USMNT captain is expected to reach the latter stages given their Group C draw along with Uruguay, Panama and Bolivia, while the Canadian star faces a tough draw with Argentina, Chile and Peru in Group A. Pulisic could face a familiar face from the Milan divide with Inter’s Lautaro Martinez at Albiceleste, while Real are keeping an eye on Davies and could add him to their squad in the future, which a strong Copa América could help with.