Fansided

Copa America: 15 surprises so far

By Nathaniel Reeves

Jun 9, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Venezuela midfielder Tomas Rincon (8) and defender Oswaldo Vizcarrondo (4) and defender Wilker Angel (2) celebrate a victory against Uruguay in a group play stage of the 2016 Copa America Centenario at Lincoln Financial Field. Venezuela won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 9, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Venezuela midfielder Tomas Rincon (8) and defender Oswaldo Vizcarrondo (4) and defender Wilker Angel (2) celebrate a victory against Uruguay in a group play stage of the 2016 Copa America Centenario at Lincoln Financial Field. Venezuela won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 16
Next
Jun 16, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; United States forward Clint Dempsey (8) reacts after assisting on a goal scored by forward Gyasi Zardes (not pictured) against Ecuador during the second half of quarter-final play in the 2016 Copa America Centenario soccer tournament at Century Link Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 16, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; United States forward Clint Dempsey (8) reacts after assisting on a goal scored by forward Gyasi Zardes (not pictured) against Ecuador during the second half of quarter-final play in the 2016 Copa America Centenario soccer tournament at Century Link Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /

13. Clint Dempsey’s top form

A strong Copa America performance from Dempsey doesn’t come as a total shock, but his form in the tournament has been much better than projected coming in.

Even as one of the most prolific goal scorers in United States history, it was fair to expect some regression from Dempsey at 33 years old. Dempsey has just two goals in 10 contests for the struggling Seattle Sounders, and hasn’t really been dominant at the club level since the 2014 season.

A few even called for Dempsey to be dropped from the starting 11 after the United States struggled to create chances against Colombia, and at the very least it looked like he couldn’t be the team’s primary attacking option anymore. However, Dempsey has responded with one of the best runs of his international career, and is in the conversation for the Golden Ball.

Dempsey bounced back right away from the tough game against Colombia, providing a goal and two assists in the United States’ 4-0 destruction of Costa Rica. An excellent finish on a nice cross from Gyasi Zardes in the USMNT’s next game against Paraguay gave Dempsey his second goal of the tournament and ensured qualification for the knockout stages.

The rest of the team played better against Ecuador, and Dempsey benefited. Dempsey scored the opening goal on a header from a terrific Jermaine Jones setup, and later did all the work on Zardes’ game-winner.

Good form from Dempsey isn’t a shock, but few could have expected him to be among the best players in the entire tournament.

Next: 12. Chile destroys Mexico in the quarterfinals

Home/Copa America