The influence of Alex Morgan's TikTok came from the USWNT. There is a time and a place for this.
The prestige of the ninth edition of the Women's Copa America has been highlighted by a visit last week from the president of the world's largest sports organization. The hope is that the standards will continue to rise after the competition is staged every two years.
Brazil are still on a different level from everyone else in the group phase of the Women's World Cup. Brazil has won seven of the last eight editions of the tournament. In 2006 Argentina won on home ground.
Argentina showed defensive tightness in the last World Cup, could they do it again? They might meet again in the final, but they weren't able to live with Brazil. Brazil easily defeated the teams in the first round.
Three more convincing wins, not a goal conceded and the opposition unable to lay a glove on them, was all that was left for Brazil. Brazil scored 17 goals and didn't score against.
On the other hand, this is great news for Brazil as they prepare for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next year as well as the Olympics in Paris in four years' time. For the first time in a long time, they are without any of their famous trio, including Formiga, who has retired, and Cristaine, who has not been included in the squad.
A new generation is having the chance to make a name for itself with investments taking place in the domestic game. Is it a good test for serious things? Before the tournament, Brazil played a pair of warm-up games against Sweden andDenmark. The Brazilians are not likely to face the same kind of pressure in the semifinals.
The biggest shock of this year's tournament is likely to be the semifinal between Brazil and Paraguay. Four South American teams have never before made it to a World Cup or an Olympics, and one of them is in this year's Olympics. That may be changing. The match between the two teams that finished second and third in the group was a nail-biting affair that saw Paraguay win 3-2 after having a two- goal cushion for most of the game.
They will be going to the World Cup. The top three teams will qualify for the continental playoffs, with the fourth and fifth going into the playoffs. The chances of a win against Brazil are very low. There is a good chance that the big match will be for third place. There was a lot riding on a third-place playoff.
The biggest game of the tournament so far is Monday's opener between Argentina and Colombia.
If Argentina used home advantage to win the title in the past, then they hope the same can happen to them. The host nation won all of their games in the group stage, usually with something to spare.
A cultural proximity with the United States may have been a factor in the development of women's football. They tried to host the World Cup, but lost out to Australia and New Zealand. One of the greatest moments in the history of women's football in South America, a 2-0 win over France in the 2015 World Cup, has to be credited to Colombia.
In order to get to the next World Cup, they need to win the semifinal or come out on top in the third place match. What they want to do is shine in front of their own fans.
Argentina is their opponent. One of the most interesting rivalries in South America is between Argentina and Columbia. After World War II, it was Argentine players who got the professional league up and running. Argentina's first home defeat in World Cup qualification was seen as a case of patricide by some.
The women's game doesn't have the same history as the men's, but that doesn't stop the Argentina side from carrying on with their self-esteem. In the last World Cup, they came out of the tournament with credit for the first time, and in this tournament they recovered from a potentially demoralising loss to Brazil. There is rich promise in the upcoming match between Argentina andColombia.
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