Indian satta

One to watch: Eduardo Silva (Lanus)

Bolivia

Oscar Villegas has kept together the majority of the under-17 group which excelled in their age bracket two years ago in Ecuador. Several of the team are also first team regulars for clubs in the Bolivian top-flight. Villegas has been brave enough to include three 16-year-olds in his squad who he believes are ready to step up. Anyone who doubts Bolivia’s ability to go far at the tournament can’t have seen their recent friendly defeat of Argentina.

One to watch: Diego Suárez (Dynamo Kiev)

Brazil

The holders of the South American under-20 championships Indian satta are never likely to field a weak side. The man in charge of the current Canarinha is national boss Dunga’s right hand man Rogério Moraes Lourenço. All of Brazil’s squad play in their homeland courtesy of the legislation which now makes it illegal for players to ply their trade abroad before their 18th birthday. It’s not even as if the national side were struggling, with seven World Cup titles in the under-20 and under-17 categories already beside their name. The Brazilian youth teams have also managed to collect silverware at a further seventeen South American tournaments.

One to watch: Douglas Costa (Gremio)

Colombia

A tricky task lies ahead for Colombia as first they try to advance from the initial group stage. Coach José Helmer Silva has only recently taken up the post and must organise his troops well if they are to stand any chance in the competition. Failure to qualify for the last under-20 World Cup could provide the spur needed for the only nation to have broken Brazil and Argentina’s dominance of this competition in the last 25 years. Another plus for the Colombians is that their fans do not have far to travel and should turn out in numbers to support their team.