Lionel Messi, Vinicius Jr and 13 players under the most pressure to perform at Copa America

Ballon d'Or loading? If Vini can add a Copa America to his resume, it may just be a formality.

The soccer world is too focused on the Ballon d'Or these days, largely waiting for someone to formally claim Messi and Ronaldo's thrones. Vini is one of the candidates to do just that and, after his Champions League final heroics, he's on the precipice of true superstardom.

His final test? The Copa America. With Brazil's previous hero, Neymar, sidelined, the Real Madrid star has a chance to take over as the Selecao's real leading man. Thus far, he's largely been limited to a sidekick role with the national team but this summer the pressure is on.

He's an incredible player, but is he ready to be the face of his country? If the answer to that turns out to be "yes" we'll all look back at this summer as the start of the Vini era.

He's the face of American soccer and, at just 25, you could argue he's accomplished more than any of the legendary names that preceded him in that role. Yet the question remains: is Christian Pulisic world-class?

His performances at AC Milan made one hell of a case, as Pulisic emerged from the mess at Chelsea to become a Serie A star. The American still has more to prove, though. Many will be waiting for him to put it on display in 2026 at the World Cup on home soil but, before that, this Copa America is a good starting point.

This past European season was the start of Pulisic's rise, not the middle or end. If he wants to strengthen his "world-class" case, leading the USMNT on a deep run would make an impression.

There isn't a player in the world that divides opinions quite like Darwin Nunez. Is he a lethal chance-creator and chaos-maker, or is he a wasteful mess in front of goal that holds his teams back?

Folks in both camps are pretty entrenched in their positions, but one group will almost certainly get more evidence to boost their argument this summer. The Liverpool star is going to be key to Uruguay's Copa hopes and, in a tournament like this, Nunez can't afford to be as wasteful as he has been in the Premier League.

Uruguay are super talented and Nunez is one of the young guns leading the charge. You know he'll get his chances, but his ability to bury those chances could mean the difference between success and failure for Uruguay this summer.

Caicedo looked set for superstardom last summer. Chelsea won the bidding war to sign him from Brighton, thrusting him into the spotlight at one of the world's biggest clubs.

It's way too early to label Caicedo a bust, but he certainly didn't live up to expectations during his first season at Stamford Bridge. Now he'll head into Ecuador duty with a point to prove to any detractors due to his Chelsea struggles.

Ecuador aren't a superpower and their talent level is nowhere near the elite of this tournament. They are, however, a tough team to play against and, in Caicedo, they have a player that has the potential to be elite.

We'll find out in coming years if he lives up to that potential but, at least for this summer, he'll have a chance to become the latest player to flourish when freed from Chelsea's shackles.

It feels so, so unfair to put him on this list, particularly at age 17, but the fact is that this summer is Endrick's proper introduction to the rest of the world. Many fans will be seeing the Brazilian prodigy play for the very first time and, as the saying goes, you don't get a second chance to make a first impression.

Regardless of how he fares this summer, Endrick will almost certainly be a superstar. He's simply too talented and appears to have good head on his shoulders. The Pele comparisons are wildly premature, but Endrick does look like he'll be next up in a long line of Brazilian game-changers.

If he struggles, though, detractors will have a field day. Look, the social media world isn't fair and it certainly isn't nuanced, so any mistakes or missteps by the 17-year-old attacker will lead to criticism. On the other hand, his legend can grow even more with a strong tournament.

The world is ready to meet Endrick... what kind of introduction will he provide?

Martinez is far from the first star to struggle to bring his club form to his national team. When you play with Lionel Messi, though, the spotlight is very, very bright, and Martinez will be under pressure again this summer.

In Serie A, Martinez is unstoppable. He led Inter to a Scudetto this season, scoring eight more goals than anyone else in the league. For his club, Martinez is a legitimate superstar who gets it done time and time again.

For country? Very different. Martinez has 22 goals in 56 international caps, a respectable haul, but he's never quite dominated on the biggest stage. Julian Alvarez is fighting for that No. 9 shirt, too, putting pressure on Martinez to score or else.

Argentina are ridiculously talented, so they'll likely be fine regardless, but this will be an important run for Martinez to prove himself as a key player for the national team.

This Mexico team is lacking starpower. Hirving Lozano isn't here. Neither is Memo Ochoa. The generation of Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez, Jonathan dos Santos and Hector Herrera has moved on, leaving behind a younger group that looks like it will struggle to compete at the same level.

Alvarez, though, is a player that could play in any era. The West Ham star is a monster in midfield and will be a key figure for El Tri from start to finish. He'll be absolutely massive when it comes to guiding some of his more inexperienced teammates in the squad.

If you know anything about Mexico, the fans don't have any patience with inexperience. The expectations, as always, will be sky-high. Alvarez will be one of few players with the talent to help them get anywhere close to those exepctations.

After a disastrous spell at Nottingham Forest, Reyna heads into the summer with an uncertain future. Will he return to Dortmund? If not, where will he go to rebuild his career?

Even without that, Reyna would still be under pressure this summer. Given everything that's happened since the 2022 World Cup, the spotlight is extra bright for the 21-year-old star as he heads into his second major tournament. It can't go as poorly as his first, particularly with Reyna becoming an even more integral part of the USMNT over the last year or so.

Will he seal a starting role this summer and, if he does, can he be the creative force that takes the USMNT from good to great? American soccer will certainly hope to find out.

The Colombian is in a weird place when compared to other wingers. He isn't quite in the world-class category, but there are few teams across the globe that would pass on the opportunity to add Diaz.

The 27-year-old attacker is the guy for Colombia, though. He'll be the one under pressure to lead from the front as this team's in-his-prime star. At Liverpool, he's part of an attacking group that comes at you in waves. With Colombia, he's pretty much the focal point.

Can he step up to that responsibility? If so, he might just earn that world-class label.

For years, the world has been waiting for David to take the proverbial leap. How many times do we have to see his name linked to big clubs before that move actually happens? Could it finally happen this summer?

A strong Copa America would surely help. The 24-year-old Canadian star has been consistent as can be at Lille, scoring at least 13 goals in each of his last four seasons. After totaling 24 league goals last season, David took a slight step back in the most recent campaign, scoring a mere 19. He remains on the radar for bigger clubs but, at least so far, no move has come to fruition.

That aside, David will be key to Canada's hopes. All eyes will be on Alphonso Davies, but that's just fine for David, who can drift into the space opened up by the Bayern Munich speedster to be Canada's primary goal threat.

We're going to group these two together. Dorival Junior made a huge call to leave Casemiro at home, excluding a key leader in the heart of the Brazil midfield. Aside from Paqueta and Guimaraes, two key starters, the other four midfielders in the squad combine for 18 caps, and 13 of those come from Douglas Luiz.

The point is this: Brazil's midfield is either going to sink or swim. With no Casemiro as a safety net, Paqueta and Guimaraes will need to shine if the Selecao want to make a deep run in this tournament. When breaking down the roster, Brazil's midfield is perhaps weaker than ever before, but can Paqueta and Guimaraes be strong enough to help the rest of the team shine?

Brazil have the attacking horses up top. There are some strong defenders in back. The midfield, though, will need to be the glue that holds this group together.

Fans have been calling for him for what seems like forever. Is this the summer El Tri finally unleashes their young striker?

Gimenez has scored 49 goals over the last two seasons at Feyenoord, but has never been handed the reigns by El Tri. He controversially didn't make the 2022 World Cup squad and has started just 11 of the 25 games he's played for the senior team.

With Mexico in the midst of a generational shift, can this be the summer of Santi? El Tri fans will hope so as the striker looks like the country's most likely star to reach the elite level.

We couldn't do this list without mentioning the GOAT. His legacy is secure, of course, but this summer is still a huge chance to add to it.

Statistically, Messi is four goals off the Copa America all-time record of 17. By playing in one game, he'll be the competition's all-time appearance leader. Of course, Messi isn't there for the individual accolades - he's there for the trophies.

If Messi adds another Copa America to his resume, he'll have led Argentina through an all-time run. That would be three consecutive major trophies for Messi and company, who would have gone Copa-World Cup-Copa in a three-year span.

There's no denying Messi's greatness, but he can add still another layer to it if he can lead Argentina to glory one more time.