Many of the players would rather not be here, and that applies to some of the coaches as well.
It is hardly a surprise that three of the sponsors do not want their brands to be associated with the Copa.
The European based players — which means almost all of the big names — are giving up their holidays to take part.
But invited guests Australia and Qatar were forced to pull out, leaving two groups of five — and a long group phase that only eliminates the bottom team.
There is a key question here: Who can turn this into opportunity? As a result of the pandemic, only four rounds of World Cup qualifiers were played last year.
And the group phase of the Copa — competitive without being high-pressure — gives them an environment where they both consolidate and experiment.
With six wins out of six they are skating through World Cup qualification, with a swagger in their stride not seen since late 2016 and through 2017.
The so-called “Gabi-goal” was not on target in the qualifiers, but his movement across the front line was interesting, and he is the closest the current squad have to a genuine centre forward.
Scaloni would love to come away from the Copa with a better defined defensive unit, with the likes of keeper Emiliano Martinez and centre-back Cristian Romero emerging as undisputed names for the starting line up.
They failed to find the back of the net in the last three games, and now welcome back Edinson Cavani after suspension to team up with Luis Suarez once more.
Third in World Cup qualification, Ecuador will want to be able to convince themselves that the two defeats suffered earlier this month was down to bad luck more than bad planning.
Paraguay have yet to win at home in the qualification campaign, and will not make it to Qatar at the end of next year without an improvement, Coach Eduardo Berizzo is a former assistant to Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa.
They desperately need some dynamic young talent to take the mantle from the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal — making this an important tournament for Brazil-based striker Carlos Palacios and for Ben Brereton of Blackburn Rovers.
He was the hero of Tuesday’s win over Ecuador, and is now joined by another new striker, the Mexico-based Santiago Ormeno.
Both will hope to come away from Brazil with confidence enhanced, or at least intact — and a big part of that will be avoiding the early elimination that comes from finishing bottom of the group.