Copa America champions Brazil dominate tournament best XI
Brazil lived up to their favourites billing as they secured Copa America glory on home turf at Peru's expense in Sunday's final. Here, we run through the best XI from the tournament...
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Brazil) - 6.89 rating
Brazil rightly dominate the Copa America best XI with Alisson the first of five Selecao players to make the grade. The tournament hosts and winners conceded just one goal in their six matches to success, that a Paolo Guerrero penalty in the final, as the Liverpool number one landed the Golden Glove award with five clean sheets to his name. The 26-year-old made eight saves on the way to a second winners’ medal in as many months, while a pass success rate of 93.3% was far and away better than any goalkeeper as Alisson yielded a WhoScored rating of 6.89. His fine summer with Brazil will boost Liverpool’s pursuit of domestic glory next season as the Reds aim to secure the Premier League title, with the best football tips from freebets.uk.
Right-back: Dani Alves (Brazil) - 7.60 rating
Copa America success saw Dani Alves lift his 42nd trophy of his career with the out-of-contract right-back impressive for Brazil in defence. He netted once in the competition, that coming in the 5-0 dismantling of Peru in the group stages, with the 36-year-old rolling back the years to shine on home turf. Defensively sound, Alves made 15 tackles at the Copa America, that ranking among the top 10 players, and won possession in the defensive third more times (25) than any other player, while 102 successful final third passes, 14 successful dribbles and four key passes contributed to a fine WhoScored rating of 7.60.
Centre-back: Jose Gimenez (Uruguay) - 7.71 rating
Uruguay may have crashed out of the Copa America at the quarter-final stage, losing on penalties to eventual finalists Peru, but centre-back Jose Gimenez was again imperious at the heart of the Albiceleste defence. Indeed, the Atletico defender returned a fine WhoScored rating of 7.71 from his four appearances, which included a man of the match display in a 2-2 draw with Japan, with averages of 2.3 tackles, 1.8 interceptions and 3.3 clearances per game sealing his spot in this XI.
Centre-back: Yerry Mina (Colombia) - 7.35 rating
Like Uruguay, Colombia also suffered penalty shootout heartbreak as they crashed out at Chile’s expense in the quarter-finals. Towering centre-back Yerry Mina partners Gimenez in defence having performed admirably in his three outings and he maximised his height well with four aerial duels won per game ranking among the top 10 players at the Copa America. With the ball at his feet, Mina was solid as he found a teammate with 85.4% of his 43.3 passes per game to help gain a WhoScored rating of 7.35.
Left-back: Filipe Luis (Brazil) - 7.38 rating
The third Brazil player to make the cut, Filipe Luis was effective down the Selecao’s left flank to return a WhoScored rating of 7.38 at the Copa America. While he didn’t have a direct hand in a goal at the competition, Luis excelled in recycling possession with a pass success rate of 92.2% one of the best at the competition to reinforce a statistically calculated WhoScored strength of ‘passing’. Off the ball, few got the better of Luis, who averaged three tackles per game, and he pressed forward well too as he averaged 1.8 dribbles and 1.8 key passes per game to make the tournament best XI.
Right midfield: James Rodriguez (Colombia) - 7.63 rating
Prior to Colombia’s exit, James Rodriguez proved just why he is a man in demand this summer, with his best performance coming in a 1-0 win over Qatar. Unwanted by Real Madrid, ample interest in Rodriguez’s signature comes as little shock as he landed a WhoScored rating of 7.63 in Brazil. He registered two assists at the Copa America, with those coming from 12 key passes, both returns ranking highly. What’s more, Rodriguez created more clear-cut goalscoring opportunities (5) as he enjoyed a fine tournament.
Central midfield: Coutinho (Brazil) - 7.76 rating
The WhoScored player of the tournament with a rating of 7.76, Coutinho put a difficult domestic campaign behind him with a series of fine displays for champions Brazil. The Barcelona attacker had a direct hand in three goals at the Copa America, scoring two, and he was the only player to win more than one man of the match award in his native Brazil. His two goals came from 21 shots, more than any other player, while only Charles Aranguiz (18) created more goalscoring chances than Coutinho (13) at the competition. 18 tackles was second only to Erick Pulgar (19) as the 27-year-old stepped up to fill the void left by Neymar’s absence with aplomb.
Central midfield: Rodrigo Bentancur (Uruguay) - 7.68 rating
Featuring alongside Coutinho in the middle of the park, Rodrigo Bentancur put in a series of solid displays in the Uruguay midfield and while the Albiceleste fell to a penalty shootout defeat to Peru, the 22-year-old emerged from the Copa America with ample credit as his WhoScored rating (7.68) suggests. 3.8 tackles and 2.3 interceptions per game were both impressive returns for Bentancur while 61.5 passes per game was also a notable achievement. Following the arrivals of Aaron Ramsey and Adrien Rabiot for club side Juventus, the youngster needed to put in a solid shift to re-affirm his quality and he did just that in Brazil.
Left midfield: Everton (Brazil) -7.49 rating
Rounding off the midfield and the Brazil contingent, Everton was a second half sub in Brazil’s opening two games against Bolivia and Venezuela, but was very much undroppable by the time the tournament came to a head. No player scored more goals than the 23-year-old (3) who repaid Tite’s faith in him with a man of the match display in Sunday’s 3-1 final win over Peru. In possession, Everton put in a dribbling masterclass as only Lionel Messi (22) completed more dribbles than the Gremio man (19) whose WhoScored rating of 7.49 was enough to make the tournament’s best XI.
Striker: Edinson Cavani (Uruguay) - 7.53 rating
The third and final Uruguay international to make the grade, Edinson Cavani landed a WhoScored rating of 7.53 at the Copa America, with a man of the match display against Chile a highlight for the PSG man. He hit the back of the net twice at he competition, with his winner against Chile helping him to the aforementioned award, with his two goals coming from an average of 3.8 shots per game. While he couldn’t fire Uruguay to glory, from a personal perspective, Cavani shone.
Striker: Alexis Sanchez (Chile) - 7.42 rating
Completing the XI is Chile’s Alexis Sanchez. After a disappointing season, Sanchez, like Coutinho, excelled in Brazil as he scored more goals at the Copa America (2) than he managed in the Premier League last term (1). Commendable returns of 1.7 key passes and 2.7 successful dribbles per game helped Sanchez to a WhoScored rating of 7.42 as the 30-year-old ended a fairly miserable campaign on a high, despite Chile’s failure to secure glory in Brazil.
